My family and I took a trip up to Arlington yesterday to visit Smoke Farm. The site is a former dairy farm owned by the Smoke Brothers that is now a nature preserve. I’ll be doing an installation there August 25th as part of the Lo-Fi Festival. Our trip was to locate a site for my installation.

Smoke Farm is a beautiful place with a river, meadows, and paths lined with big leaf maples and cedars. We have been experiencing what we call Juneuary here in Washington State. Yesterday was unusually warm to go along with the wet. It was very muddy out there on the paths. I was sure glad I wore my bog boots! On a colder day it could have been pretty miserable but yesterday it was fun squelching through the mud and sloshing through the puddles. We got soaked and were very happy that we all brought changes of clothes and shoes.

at "The Slew"

the River Tree

Once we got back and into dry clothes we hung out at the farm kitchen for a while. It was an enjoyable scene. A whole crew of visual artists, performers, organizers, and half-wild children steaming gently, drinking wine, and talking. Once I had my turn to talk to Anne Blackburn, one of the curators, it sounds as if both the spots I identified as possible sites are taken. Oh well. I think Anne will get me a good spot. I told her my wish list for a site: big leaf maple tree with accessible branches, on the path, near the water.

And, although I want the installation to be successful, I’m mostly looking forward to being a part of the event. I think it’s going to be really interesting and successful, given the conversations I had yesterday.

the Upper Meadow