Dense, the sound.
I was so tired, this morning.
I’d arisen at 3.30am –NYC. That, after 3 hours of sleep; I’d worked till midnight. Past then, I suppose, half past. Then I’d boarded in Newark, flying away before 7am, EST. I got into Seattle 5.5 hours later, taxied to Queen Anne, then bolted northbound.
Island bound.
When I arrived on the island, getting organized, setting myself up, there was a rough, dense, scratching sound — a scruffing, roughing, scuffing sound. It was like there was something stuck, ruffled, somewhere locked in, ruffling.
And what was it?
I’d searched, around the house, looking.
And then, finally, found it.
Ravens scratching. And what again the call? What again, what a gain — pay attention, foolish one. Look, listen, and you might find some thing out — some thing…
new.
tsg | decatur island.
inspissate verb : to make thick or thicker
“Inspissate” is ultimately derived from Latin “spissus” (“slow, dense”) and is related to Greek “spidnos” (“compact”) and Lithuanian “spisti” (“to form a swarm”). When it appeared in English in the 17th century, “inspissate” suggested a literal thickening. There is also an adjective “inspissate,” meaning “thickened in consistency” or “made thick, heavy, or intense,” but that word is used even less frequently than the somewhat rare verb.