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Long the pygmy, pygmy,
Studies with the Crimson Sage.

Bob:

The wind is a purifying fire
I catch up its force under my wings
While I am consumed.

Nancy: Day 5. I feel exotic. Personally and as a couple with Bob. The way I dress, even when camping, is extremely different from the way the other women around here dress. They wear, exclusively, jeans or shorts and a t-shirt. And here I am in Indian skirts and dresses with my nose rings, tattoo and fifties cats-eye glasses. We must seem to be the ultimate hippies here. I mean, Bob definitely has the longest hair for a man in Nebraska! When we go into town, I feel so unusual that I assume folks think I'm from some foreign country in the Third World. Certainly, they haven't ever seen a nose ring outside of a back issue of the National Geographic!

Anyhow . . . when we woke up this morning, the sky was cloudy and it was a little chilly and breezy. We thought that maybe the clouds would burn away leaving us with a warm day. Although the sun showed itself here and there, it remained overcast and never got very hot as on other days.

The first thing we did was stop at the general store for some soft drinks before heading over to Big Alice. On the way to the lake we spotted a great blue heron and added him to our growing list of birds. When we got there I almost immediately started an installation on the first beach we could come to on foot. The other installation is at a spot further down the shoreline. I began sticking sticks down into the soft, yet firm, damp sand forming a kind of archway. Bob liked that it followed the shape of the lake itself. As I continued to work on the piece, I got the feeling that Bob would like to collaborate on it, but didn't want to encroach. So, I invited him to work with me. I want him to know that, on these Novena days, he is always welcome to collaborate on installations in the same way (I hope) I am always welcome when he is inspired to create something. I feel like the Novena is a totally shared experience for Bob and me. However, if I start something that Bob doesn't feel moved to work on, I wouldn't be offended at all ever!

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