Replace Sea with Woods, and this is a good representation of my mind right now...
from Moby Dick:

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago--never mind how long precisely--having
little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on
shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of
the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating
the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth;
whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find
myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up
the rear of every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get
such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to
prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically
knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea
as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball. With a
philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword; I quietly
take to the ship.

A story of living rent-free... to the extreme. I am sure more details will emerge on this story.
Perhaps they tried a wikiup...

BERLIN (AP) — Berlin police are investigating the story of an English-speaking teenager who appeared in the German capital last week saying he had lived the previous five years in the woods with his father, a spokesman said Friday.
Michael Maass said the approximately 17-year-old boy appeared Sept. 5 at Berlin's city hall and was then taken in by a youth emergency center.
The boy told authorities that after his mother had died in a car accident about five years ago, his father had taken him to live in the forest, Maass said. The two lived in a tent, and in earthen dugouts according to his story.
"He said that he had lived for the last five years wandering around with his father," Maass said. "We don't know where."
The boy — who says he doesn't remember where the family came from — claims he followed his compass north after his father recently died following a fall in the woods, hitting Berlin after walking two weeks, Maass said.
The boy told authorities he only remembered the name his father called him by — Ray, according to media reports — and not his last name, Maass said. He speaks fluent English and only a few words of German, Maass said. He did not have any information about what accent the boy has.
The boy appears to be in good health and police have issued a Europe-wide appeal to try and determine his identity. However, police said they were not immediately releasing any photos of the boy.
"The missing persons bureau is investigating," Maass said, noting that at the moment, they only had the boy's story to go on.

I love that the national park service uses the term "backcountry camping" It's a phrase I may adapt more and more. On Fire Island you are able to camp out in the dunes (not between March and early Sept when it is Piping Plover breeding season) or the beach. Except for the cost of the ferry to Watch Hill, it is free. There are only 24 slots available though, so on busy weekends in summer they fill up fast. No pre-registering, it is first come first serve only. A link to the Fire Island National Seashore is below.
Fire Island
While we only hiked out about a mile or so, we were forced to carry 5 liters of water, since no potable water was on site. But hind site perhaps you set up camp and then hike back out the one or two miles and retrieve the water separate. Carrying around 35 pounds even for a little while was the most grueling part of the adventure.
Since there are four separate ecosystems in a very narrow space, the abundance of wildlife is amazing and easy to see. For the first time I think I saw almost every creature featured on the Fire Island brochure we were given. There is the salt water marshes on the bay side of  the island. There I saw a Great Egret, Mute Swans, an American Bittern, Cormorants, and I believe American Black Duck. Deer were everywhere, while walking to Davis Park on the boardwalk they ran out in front of use like squirrels. In the dunes area I spied a little fox on three occasions, twice running along the shoreline looking through clumps of seaweed searching for food. In the morning I saw a Harrier (or it could have been a Merlin, not sure) harassing and chasing a murder of crows. Eventually once the brave one had cleared the area of his enemy he took to hunting smaller birds near the marshes. Well off in the distance, there was a very large raptor with white underneath and black above, but I only saw him for a second. I think it was an Osprey. Of the smaller birds, I spent part of my time chattering with a Grey Catbird who was hanging out near some Mockingbirds and I got a bit confused if one species was mimicking the other at times. I brought out my Iphone app Audubon's Field Guide to the Mid-Atlantic and found several Catbird calls which I played. I believe I freaked out my little friend who kept coming closer to check out who was making these weird calls. Also in attendance was a very fancy Rose Breasted Grosbeak, a Northern Flicker and a yellow streaked variety of Warbler, which I really can't identify. On the beach their was a party of gulls, mechanical little Sanderlings and dive-bombing Terns. It was quite the spectacle of nature and am eager to come again when the only creature I wasn't eager to meet has finally left, the mosquito.
Here are some bird calls from the species I saw. Cornell University website has some really comprehensive information on Ornithology.
Northern Flicker
American Bittern
Rose Breasted Grosbeak

More images from backcountry camping trip Fire Island National Park....

Camping Site in the Dunes

 My Big Agnes Flycreek 2, home away from home ...

Sunset on Dunes

 A great future campsite

 Tree washed up on beach, perhaps from othe side of pond...

Fire Island Backpack Sept 10-11th at Fire Island National Park

Cormorants 

Entering Watch Hill Marina

Dunes affected by Hurricane Irene

Bent Trees 

Saltwater Marshes

Fawn in Reeds

Saltwater Marshes

The Legend of Boggy Creek depicts Bigfoot as a lonely, sad, sexually frustrated and eventually criminal trespassing creature tormenting the women of Arkansas. The one theme explored in the film is the social isolation that the Foukes monster must feel being the only one of his kind, and how periodically he is drawn to civilization like a moth to a flame... Since I was a child I have been terrified / fascinating with the concept of a Bigfoot. It's a weird hybrid of man and wild animal.. huge and strongly built. The prospect of meeting one alone in the woods, despite very few stories of direct attacks, sends a primal shiver through the nerves. Whether you believe the myth or not, it feeds into this sense of chaos of nature, that we could be prey instead of predator, and that there are "creatures" out there who live according to different more feral laws than our rather civilized ones. We have a hard enough time coping with other humans in our world, stepping into another realm where we are more less foreign gives us quite the disadvantage. In a recent documentary on the Learning Channel, one suggestion of what the Bigfoot could be relates to the shamanistic traditions of certain first nation peoples of the Pacific Northeast. According to the commentator, the process of becoming a shaman meant going out into the wilderness and leaving your tribe for years, and learning the ways of nature on it's term. Some went feral and tribe members who stumbled upon them in the woods started to think of them as wild people or human animal hybrids. I put a link to the video clip below. I have not been able to find out much information via the web on this practice, but it is intriguing. But back to Boggy Creek, which is the only song I know of that seems sympathetic to the plight of Bigfoot. But beware to women who step into Boggy Creek for he is looking for love. Enjoy this song to Swamp Stalker

Learning Channel video

Woke up this morning to a wonderful autumn day ! Cloudy, a little rain, a sharp cold breeze and pleasant 60 degree temps. My mind is wandering toward upcoming camping trips... so what better way to get in the mood then watch movies on BigFoot, the ultimate backwoods man. I was watching "The Legend of Boggy Creek".. and if you have watched this movie before you know the great soundtrack. Here is a segment on canoe camping... cheesy lyrics, a guy making dinner, and some great images of vintage camping. What this has to do with Big Foot or the Swamp Stalker I don't know. But enjoy.

I finished 3 new panels a few weeks ago, and beginning another two.. This new technique and style harkens back to 3 panels I did for a the Erph Gallery show in 2009. But I wanted to push the style even further, incorporating more found objects, including twigs, leaves, flowers, roots, insects, and other organic and inorganic material from nature. The photographs are from the series Bodies of Dirt..
I also posted them on my website. Still have to write a better statement.
Bodies of Dirt Phase 2

Last week on Friday, before Hurricane Irene came to my little town of Brooklyn, I called on my friend who was in a park nearby his apartment in Washington Heights. He suddenly exclaimed " What the hell there is a snail crawling on me ! Holy shit I am covered in snails ! They are everywhere !" I thought he was  evoking his rather gross sense of humor, but by his insistence, I realized he wasn't exaggerating. According to him, the ground was covered with snails, like some bad horror film. A few days later on Sunday afternoon, I was out in Red Hook and looked down on the ground to see what looked like a worm massacre. I wondered if God's smallest creatures had a special sensitivity that could feel the storm coming on. Was their reaction to escape from places they felt would flood? Seek higher ground somehow and escape the wrath? Or was it just mass confusion leading to suicide. Something to look up.