Glazing Days

This morning's renewed Katyusha attacks on Safed and the north [thank you,we're fine] meant postponing a planned adventurous trip up to Rehov Yerushalayim to pick up a parcel from the post office and visit the bank.Yesterday's kiln looks nice,and I might even have glimmerings of what's happening with the glaze; for instance- on the previous firing I dropped the top temperature by 3-4 degrees,and got more crystals/less background [not what I'm looking for]: so this time I raised the temperature just a leetle [remembering that it's not just temperature but 'heat work',which includes a time factor] and got this spread- fewer crystals,more background.I also changed the crystal growing cycle,leaving out the pronounced [and rather attractive] 'growth rings' in favour of more periods of growth at different temperatures,which is what I got- you can still see different bands of growth,indicated by gradual lightening of the crystal's colour as it spreads.
For the first time with this particularly runny glaze I managed to separate pot and catcher-base cleanly by deft blows alone,without resorting to the angle-grinder,which was only then needed to tidy up the base of the pot: this I attribute to switching from batt-wash [alumina & china clay] between pot and catcher to a mix of china clay and wood-glue,as mentioned in one of the crystal-glaze sites on the net.It really makes sense,since I have always known that the function of the alumina in batt-wash [the mixture potters brush on kiln-shelves] is to act as tiny ball-bearings under the pots,allowing them to contract freely during firing; in crystal firings,however,this leads to glaze leaking between pot and catcher;getting rid of the alumina seems to make a tighter bond,with less leak,and less work separating the two after firing.
Next to our house grows a pomegranate tree.Most years,children from the neighbourhood climb on the roof of the empty house next door and make off with the fruit,long before it gets a chance to ripen: this year,the tree is beautiful,full of pomegranates,so far undisturbed in their ripening.On the whole,I'd rather have the children back.