Jeff Potter called from somewhere nearby, on the road,
with Martha, and I invited them to come and eat with us
and spend the night. This was before Henry was born,
but Martha might have been pregnant. He knew me from
the small press movement, which he had been involved in.
Martha was an artist, who painted, but also worked in fabrics.
They published Out Your Backdoor, a magazine of activities
you can do yourself, out of doors. Bicycles, skis, boats,
home winemaking, killing or trapping and cleaning and cooking
big and small game and fish and growing or gathering your own
fruits and berries and vegetables and nuts. Making double-cream
like a Norwegian.
Swedish female skiers who dip
You meet the nicest people on a ten-speed.
Cross-country bike rallies. Desert hiking.
Live off the land. Pick yourself up
by your bootstrap, camerado.
Tin boats and bay scallops.
Em McElderry sent me $40.
I bought a mess of shrimp
and boiled them in crab boil
and we ate them with cocktail sauce
with lots of lemon juice off our tree
and fresh horseradish. Also, Brenda kept chickens,
so we had fresh yard eggs. I think Owen and Balder
were still at home and played music for them.