Sometimes, the work of the weekend is complex enough, with writing, drawing and research — prepping and creating projects — that there’s no time for anything else.

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But, being on the island this weekend, I’d found that a remarkably balanced cairn — one that lasted literally for years, amidst the rain, storms and wild winds had fallen. This cairn was the Wanderer cairn — but in celebration of that; and as an opening memorial to my youngest brother, Matt Girvin. That morning that my father called with the news of his loss — I was standing outside, next to that standing stone. The later installation, the balanced arrangement shown above, I made with Dawn Clark.

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Sometime during the storms of the last week that exquisitely balanced stone fell. And split. Shown, above…

So we wandered again to the beach below, looking for the right stone, to array yet again. There were other arrangements:

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We did find one, hauling it from the beach in a canvas bag, climbing the cliffs to get back to the foundation stone, and balancing it, cleft to cleft, found home and true.

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And the new installation, set — perhaps —

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for more years of guarding the Wanderer spirit…

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Wander on, Wanderer…

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Tim Girvin | Decatur Island