cramming day II

Another watercolour painting I'm working on. Just putting down base colors now, then I'll darken / brighten by adding more washes. A wash of cadmium yellow over the green will really make it glow. My main way to make colours vibrant is by putting them alongside contrasting colours. I love the challenge of placing colours. It puts my mind in a good place.

Swimming in deep, cold water is downright scary at the moment. I'm only staying in for 4-5 minutes now, which isn't long enough to swim any distance or tire myself out. I think fear is making me think I'm less capable than I actually am.

It's a whole new ballgame, because it's harder to breathe at first, my skin tingles and my fingers go numb after only a few minutes. Is that safe? A friend sent me a great article on hyprothermia that says you have at least 2 hours before you go hypothermic, which eased my mind somewhat... but, like I said before, I've saved three people who suddenly "couldn't swim" any more, and all three times the swimmers said they stopped swimming because they got too cold. I can't get that out of my head.

I usually jump in the ocean a few times every winter, and this already feels close to winter temperatures.

I keep telling myself that next time I'll use a wetsuit, but I still can't bring myself to do it. What's the fun in separating yourself and that beautiful water by a thick layer of stinky plastic? That would be like listening to an IPod while praying at a church. The wilderness is my temple, and when I'm givin' my respect I want to be right in there, feeling it as fully as I can, dealing with it using my animal-body and nothing else.