Semi-Subterranean Circle

Semi-Subterranean Circle, originally uploaded by escher1.

I went down to the River Lune today with no pre-conceived ideas on what I was going to make. I walked along the bank , through the woods and up to the viewing point on the side of the hill where the bench is. Here a very large tree had come down and had created a lot of debris. I saw a wonderfully curved branch, I couldn't tell if it had grown like that or whether the force of the falling tree and bent it like that. I cut it from the tree along with three other branches and then racked my brains for some inspiration. Nothing seemed to come.

I decided to look for another place to build something so I shouldered my pack, camera, camera bag, tripod and the three sturdy branches and set off back down the hill. I was really glad that I didn't encounter anyone as I must have looked like a madman!

Eventually I settled on a spot right next to the Crook itself and the steep bank soon grabbed my imagination.

This was constructed by inserting the branch into the ground and smearing it with mud to make it more symmetrical. I then placed the flattened river stones, to trace the bottom of the circle, into the bank. Then I worked more mud into the bank around and inside the circle to make the area more smooth and to hide the grass roots stickign out of the mud.

It was very windy today and my hands have still not thawed out while I am typing this. Wet muddy hands in strong winds does not promote dexterity. I had to stop for 20 minutes at one point as I couldn't feel my fingers and couldn't place the stones. I can't wear gloves though as I need to feel the materials. Roll on summer!