the Portage · the carry between watersLA BAIE DES PUANTSthe Bay of Stinking WatersTHE LAKEsunrise waterTHE LEDGEPointe SableLe Mieux Chapelthe Bay of Whispering Wavesto the north country and the Hodagto the Manitowoc wall, a day's walk southup the bay to Escanaba, where the wagon restswestward to the mill cities · a five years' sojournsouth and west to the ruins of the MidwestThe Way Westwardthe leaving and the coming home, five years apart201320122011201020092013 · home to the Bayback across the water to teach the foundations2008 · out from the Baythe last showing struck, the road running westthe river valleythe walk kept hereHighpointthe printing housethe fallsthe ruin kept herethe Stone Archthe walk kept herethe chain of lakesthe walk kept hereLyndalethe walk kept hereBay SettlementWequiockRed BanksBendervilleDyckesvilleBrusselsNamurRosiereChampionLuxemburgCascoAlgomaKewauneeShoemaker PointDuvallBay ViewLincolnEurenThiry DaemsTonetFrog StationWalhainGreen Baythe Old Holdingthe still point · the cosmogonyNTongue of the Archivist · chamber I of sixIKnuckle Reliquary · chamber II of sixIILoam Gospel · chamber III of sixIIIMurk & Ember · chamber IV of sixIVMycelial Threadwork · chamber V of sixVThe Unknot · chamber VI of sixVIthe Wheel0510 milesTHE GROUNDSsurveyed in the naturalist's handWiddershins Project ArchiveThe Sounding-pod of Point au Sable · Pointe Sable, where the creek gives out into the bayaThe Ledge-Sleeper and the Rock's Own Time · the Ledge, where the creek runs cold off the rockbThe Crow Mage of the Ledge · past the Ledge and up, where a maple and a hemlock stand closecThe Skep-Goblin of the St. Anthony Shrine · the woods behind Le Mieux Chapel, Bay SettlementdThe Tidgetrotters of the Stinking Waters · the shallows of the Bay of Stinking WaterseFinnegan, the Tidgetrotter Cartographer · outbound over the Bay of Whispering WavesfThe Rimewrights of the Under-Ice · the frozen creek, at the under-icegThe Cap-folk of the Field-Margins · the hardwoods toward CascohLe Loup d'Eau · Algoma, where waters meetiwiddershinsthe holding goes deeperTHE OLD HOLDINGthe farmstead, as it was kept in mindplaceholder sheet · every shape a slot for the handNthe north woodsthe ponda few yearsthe NW hedgerowthe hedgerowthe corralthe gardenalways therea few yearsthe eastern fieldgarden, pasture, hay, and meadow by turnspasture, in its yearsVan Lanen Rdthe drivewaythe barnthe garagemachine shedpig pensmoke housethe granarychicken cooppump house (gone)the housethe climbing treehay mowmind the holes in the floorkitchen wingthe sidewalkred back stepsfalse doorpropane tankwood and junkthe little pondsBig Wheel hillthe ditchasparagustall grass, the open middlethorns · berries underneathlilacgrass up the middlewest to the creek, the bike path, and the poolfarther west, a tree fort in the big woodson through the woods, a tree fortsouth across the road, a tree fort in the woodsback up to the county sheetThe Cedar House · by the road, north of the ditch · a stand of close-grown cedars KITCHEN UPSTAIRS LIVING ROOM BEDROOMthe Cedar House KITCHEN UPSTAIRS LIVING ROOM BEDROOMOUR HOUSEthe Cedar Housevignette · placeholder KITCHEN UPSTAIRS LIVING ROOM BEDROOMOUR HOUSEthe Cedar Housefull drawing · placeholderThe Thresher · out in the eastern field · a wreck in the grass the Thresher A DERELICT SHIPthe Threshervignette · placeholder A DERELICT SHIPthe Thresherfull drawing · placeholderThe Fort · in the hedgerow's south tangle · under the thorns ?the Fort ?THE DOUBLE IS NOT YET RECORDEDthe Fortvignette · placeholder ?THE DOUBLE IS NOT YET RECORDEDthe Fortfull drawing · placeholder

Unearthed · mark g

The Rimewrights of the Under-Ice

the frozen creek, at the under-ice

The leaf lies where it was filed. What the ground held at this mark is recorded in the archive; the survey only fixes the where.

Cabinet · Mycelial Threadwork

The Rimewrights of the Under-Ice

Field Notes, Terra Incognita, Plate V

June 1, 2023 · “What touches one, touches all.”

Widdershins Project Archive · File 3A-9

bestiarysocietyiceescarpmentcensus
Grisaille ink plate in two registers: above, a dark skyline of totem-like machine forms; below, an under-ice cavern of fish-shaped vessels and a masked figure raised on posts.
Terra Incognita, Plate V · Watercolor, charcoal and India ink on Bristol · The frozen creek

This is the plate where I stopped keeping a bestiary and began keeping a census. The creek was frozen bank to bank, and the water had drawn back under its own lid and left a chasm, a room of ice with the roof still on. I got down into it. I had expected, at most, one more sleeper. I found a works.

They were building. A whole small people of them, at labor under the ice the way a town is at labor that you fly over at night, hauling and fitting and shoring up the very strata that hid them from me. It is the first of these creatures I could not draw as one animal. It has to be drawn as a place.

The ice was going even as I sat in it, dripping, ticking, complaining overhead. Whatever they were racing to finish, they were racing the thaw. Miss the week and you have missed the nation.

An earlier telling of this plate, recovered with it. Kept as found.

Amidst the crystalline expanse of the frozen creek, where an icy tapestry had woven itself over the once flowing waters, a revelation unfolded along the southern bank. The erosive touch of the water had carved a chasm, unveiling uncharted realms beneath the ethereal ice bridge. A clandestine microfauna society, engaged in industrious construction, toiled obliviously to my watchful gaze. Their delicate existence hung precariously, laid bare to capricious elements, covertly reinforcing the very strata that shielded them from anthropomorphic scrutiny.

In this secretive tableau, an urgent preparation unfolded, shrouded in mystery. The sun, refracted through hoarfrost suspended above, cast its luminous glow upon stratified communities nestled below. Droplets from the ice bridge resonated within the cave’s depths, their echoes reverberating through unseen chambers. Creaking protestations of the diminishing frozen slab served as a spectral warning—a harbinger that this frozen wonderland might be transient.

Undeterred, I traversed the icy thoroughfare to the opposite terminus, where an ascent awaited. As I prepared to bid adieu to my newfound companions, the guardians of this miniature realm, I knew their diligent custodianship would endure, at least for the present. The tiny architects of this clandestine world would persist, their secrets and fortifications secure, as I ventured beyond the confines of the enigmatic ice bridge.

the leaves lie in order; turn them back to the rock · drag to pan · scroll to zoom · past 3× the ground gives up small things · the ⊕ marks go down · the marks, listed below ·

the farmstead · drag to pan · scroll to zoom: a stamp far off, a drawing up close · lay the haunting and the doubles appear · zoom all the way out to surface · the ground, listed below