Leaving the bay is hard to do when the water is glassy calm. There is something so profoundly magical about the stillness of the Alaskan ocean in the dead of winter. The snow capped peaks reflect in the smooth, shiny surface of the heart of Tutka Bay. Often times ripples emerge where an otter or seal surface, but this morning it’s the bustling wake of the Mojo, a dear friends boat we are using, that trembles the calm waters as we depart this heavenly experience.
(more…)Blog
-
Familiar Excavation
Bundled in warm layers and thick rain gear, I stay dry in the cab of the mini excavator. Scott has already prepped a large downed spruce tree from the mossy forest floor. I didn’t see it myself, but know that it was at the top of the hill deep into the forest, attached to a pulley that was attached to a tree which was attached to the mini excavator, which was kind of attached to me.
(more…) -
The most magical day
I write this sitting cozy in the cabin with the rain and wind pounding as the ocean churns outside, In a misty gray haze you can still see the light on this Solstice Day. It’s nearly 2:30 P.M., the sun will be setting soon, but not before I go for a stormy swim. I’ve committed to daily ocean submersion for some time, more on that later. Before the memories slip away, I’m eager to write about the most magical day in Tutka Bay, yesterday.
(more…) -
Stay Wild
(more…)
The sun is shining and finally above the mountains near 10 am. It only stays for a few hours before descending below the mountainous horizon across to the other side of the bay. It’s not a very large bay, maybe 0.25 miles wide where the cabin is nestled up. The cabin rests on a small peninsula about halfway up the bay. The view from where I sit writing this is of dramatic snow covered mountains, soft spruce filled coastline, and the blistery winter ocean. -
Is this real life?
Sometimes I look around and really ask myself with great sincerity, is this life real? I sit in a lounge chair in the living room of the cozy coastal cabin where our family lives, the ocean 100 yards below the cabin, window views expansive of water, contrasting mountains, and sky. Green grass, wild flowers and berries, endless tall, weathered spruce trees surround. The beach is made of billions of small pieces of rock, smoothed and shaped by the powers of the ocean.
My partner, Scott, sits in the chair near me reading the Heart of Awareness. He would say if I asked aloud, is this real life? – It’s all an illusion -. And in the scheme of things, it really is.
(more…) -
What do you even do over there?
Watching the crow perched on an elderberry tree in front of the window where I sit and contemplate, the all too familiar question arrises into my mind – “What do you even do over there?!”. It is a difficult thing to understand for most I can imagine. A successful, and let me emphasize the FUL(L), busy matrix life. Happy, healthy kids, a growing career, a nice home in a pretty little neighborhood – and you moved? What I don’t do over here is what I did do over there, but honestly, a lot of it is the same. And, much is different.
(more…) -
Salmon Harvest
I close my eyes and still see the schools of fish gliding through the clear waters. Their grey silhouettes glisten in the sunlit lagoon. The skies with high clouds and openings of blue, just enough to trickle a stream of light onto the waters surface. The tide is rising, and we still have a beach to snag on. In a few hours time the beaches will dissolve into salt water covered grasses, where landing a fish is difficult as they can easily disappear when unhooking like a snake in the grass.
(more…) -
Water
Water, we are literally surrounded by water. If we aren’t living on the water on our sailboat, we are near the water at our coastal cabin residence. We both grew up on or near the water, so for us, it is home. Water, in all of its majestic qualities, is more than just a mode of transportation, the home for tremendous natural resources, or a beautiful backdrop for a breathtaking sunset, it’s also a necessity. When it rains, we don’t wish for sunshine, we are grateful for the resource!
(more…) -
Nature’s Gifts
The quillwork cloud patterned sky dissolves into a white blanket, high enough to enjoy the views of the sharp, rugged peaks from my writing spot. The calm movements of the ocean glisten the surface into a mesmerizing silver display. The deep blue green waters near the shoreline closely match the depths of the abundant evergreen trees, with sprinkles of leafy green hovering over the coastline where the alders bloom abundantly until the sharp edge of the high tide line. Nothing survives the touch of the ocean, unless of course, it’s meant to be there.
(more…)