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…)Category: Human Interest
Story telling from the Alaskan coast.
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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.
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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.
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Stay Wild
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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.
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