And on the seventh day... god rested the power, the phone...

So I wake up on Sunday AM at the crack of dawn and I have no power, no gas, no phone, no internet, the fire is out, and I got this rash.... ok, I'm kidding about the rash. But the rest is all true. Tell me again why I live here? Oh yeah, amazing surf, beautiful people and limitless scenery. Ok, feeling better now. But seriously, my phone now sounds like I'm making long distance calls from mars and the internet has now given me a connection speed of 7kb not megs KILOBITES. Far out eh. No porn coming my way anytime soon. But hey, you put on a fire and life is good. So I have to eat smoked salmon for dinner. No big whoop. I just ate a $600 meal in LA, and I cooked it on an open fire. I'm definitely in the wrong business.

Surf was ok today. I borrowed a buddies board to check it out for him and it was a nice easy day. A malibu style 7'6" that was a dream to ride, but really slow dropping in. Good thing was it had rides long enough to cornrow my hair on. Met a couple more surfers in the waves and a tonne of people picking scallops. Hopefully they'll leave me a few for tommorrow.

Today's pic is my moat. This puddle goes anywhere from dry to 3 feet deep during rainstorms. And we had 70 knot wind (120KM/Hr) with as much rain as could fall, so you can guess what it looks like now. It's good to keep the tax collectors out. But, god bless them, the jehovah's found their way across last saturday. I'd like to see a new movie.... 'JW's meets terminator'. Who do you think will land as victor? Anyhoo, the moat makes thinks difficult for some, but I like it. Just remember to bring a flashlight if you visit and park on the road.

A mallard and two lucky ladies on a very still and reflective high slack tide

Big skies over north beach and the mouth of the Sangan River on the first snowfall of 2006.

Moon Jelly - North Beach

Indian winter

Well, we surfived the tsunami and the two days of phenominal swell that came after. What a classic couple of days of perfect overheads. I know that these things can kill you, but man what a hoot. I'm officially dead-dog tired from the paddling and I'm sure my amigos would concur. But, I just borrowed a new 7'6" er' so I'm hoping there is a little bit tomorrow for the longboard. It's actually looking like hurricane force winds out of the southeast which may be more disasterous than surfperpulous. Ok, sorry that last one was a bit too much.

Today's pic is how to survive on Haida Gwaii. You get a '68 bluebird bus, fit in a potbelly stove, land it in the middle of the rainforest, plant your potatoes and garlic around it. And sit. This bus is actually on the property and has been the home of several people over the years. It is currently my guest house should I need it, and the garden has been cleaned up, so I don't think there is much there to glean. Not even the damn stellar jays' have anything to pick out.
On a quiet saturday night, not too much to report. A good relaxing day today and some movies and a nice side of Sockeye (thanks Christine!) I'll try to get some more cool pics as the days progress. Have fun and stay warm.

Tsunami Warning

I get a call at 6:23 AM notifying me that there is a tsunami warning for our area and the wave is going to hit at 9:50 AM. What do I do? Go back to bed and set the alarm for 9? Pack up my cat and drive for tow hill? Hell no, SURF!!! True story...
Jeff shows up at 9:30 (tsunami warning get's called off so I'm home) to tell me that the wave is going to be here in 20 minutes - surf's up! Well, I'm not too sure about this idea, but he isn't called 'surfer jeff' for nothing. Sure as the sun will come up tomorrow I slapped on my suit and grabbed my board and took off blindly to the Sangan River to see what was up. And it was up!!! I looked at him, the surf and then cried like a little girl getting an easy bake oven. It was hawaii huge. It was tahiti with an ice cream headache. 10 - 12 foot rollers coming in one after the other, after the other, after the other. And sure as hell the bohemith hit at about 10AM which was absolutely stellar. Well that wasn't it, the swell lasted as long as I did, which was about 4 hours in the freezing surf. I was beaten, battered and bruised. For some reason, on an epic surf day I ended up forgetting how to paddle and surf. I got absolutely blasted at every point trying to hit the break, but the rides I did get were huge overheads and loooong rides. Jeff barrelled out a couple times and must have took 50 rides overhead. Forever remembered as the day we rode the tsunami. What did you do yesterday? Challenge yourself and others everyday.

Top 10 things you don't want to see on the beach

Well, I think I've found a replacement for my ex-girlfriend as far as things I don't want to see on the beach. This 8 foot shark rolled up today in the beauty of the sun. I must say putting on my wetsuit and entering the surf was a little more cerebral than I wanted, that's for sure. I hope all the other ones in the area don't have a head either. I'm guessing the Shotz boys found this one before me and took the head for the teeth. I'm not too sure of the species and out of the 3 guys I showed, we had 3 different answers. It's either a Salmon Shark, Blue or White. The only one it wasn't was a dog shark, coincidentally the only one you don't need to be afraid of. Ok... did you say Great white... or did I crap my pants for another reason.
That being said, the surf was really fun today at agate beach. First time I ever surfed there and the 4 - 6 footers were a blast because of the big southerly rolling up the swell. There is a big storm in the Alaskan Straight, and it looks like it's going to stick around for a couple days, so hopefully it'll pull up some big stuff here soon.
Other than that, pretty mellow day. Some good eats tonight and rehearsal for Godot, which is turning into a feat with all the line memorization. Should be good for sure!
A little shout out to any maritimers going home for Christmas. I'm in Halifax Dec 15 - 17th and then back in NB until the 29th, and would love to see anyone for a coffee or something stronger. Have a good rest of your week.

Paved paradise and put up a parking lot

Well, Joni Mitchell would have confirmed the thoughts that Niho has proven that you can buy and sell protected land again and again here in Naikoon. I actually live within the park boundries as well, so I guess I can't complain. I just get a kick out of the SOLD sign right behind the provincial park sign. Kinda cocky don't you think?

Well, despite corporate america invading the beauty of north beach, life is still grand. I'm sure these half million dollar postage stamps of acrage won't go anytime soon... nice thinking. They're getting lapped up like fresh milk in front of my gatto fatto. I really hope that I can find something reasonably affordable in the near future here.

Today was surfless again, but there is a huge front coming our way tonight with 12 footers at Langara right now, so with a nice wind switch we'll get to see those early tomorrow morning. I'm going out no matter what! I've been nursing a chest cold and need to get some blood pumping before I grow moss on my ass.

I had a nice present today from Denise and Thor who shot 4 deer yesterday (bag limit is 15/year!!!) They gave me a couple nice roasts, some back straps and a bunch of burger. I'm strongly considering bringing a rifle back with me from the Maritimes at Christmas to bag a few myself. It is actually amazing to see so many deer around here. They were introduced in the war times and damnit didn't they flourish. No predators, so they're everywhere. We have some fat black bears, but no wolves, coyotes or even foxes. I belive mum and I saw over 60 on the road in an hour drive from the airport. No kidding.

Anyhoo, another easy day, with hopes of some good surf tomorrow. Let's all pray to the east, and then to the west... First to the beast, and then for the best. Howa'a

Contemplation

Well, another day and another term of contemplation of life's existance. Do you know where you are and who you are? As a 30 something man with so much going on and so little going on, life seems to become more simple yet, more complex. The present is so satisfying and hectic; the future is so scary and inviting, and the past... well, we all know how the past works.

I have a theory that as you progress through life that time and space becomes much more relative to the time you've spent on this planet already. I know that that Einstein dude had a formula for it, but I just have to believe that there is a much more laymen understanding to the principle. Sure, he only used 3 letters, but isn't there something even more simple than that? A year to a child is nearly a lifetime, yet to an adult, another year closer to death. Perhaps it isn't so simple with some adults, but time can be both a blessing and a curse. Purposiveness is so important to us all. Life, love, the pursuit of happiness, jobs, children, volunteerism, sex. It all seems so important, yet what is the underlying theme to it all. What makes you-you and me... well, me. I'm happy with my life, but still see improvements to be made, mountains to conquer. At what point do you concede that you have failed at your attempts? At what point do you believe that you have succeeded? If you are happy in your environment, do you curl up and die happy? If you're not happy, how far do you have to go to make that life happy? I know this may sound mundane and cyclical, and no, I'm not high. I'm just having a contemplative Sunday. Man, those waves have got to pick up or I'm going to drive everyone around me crazy. If you've got any thoughts on how to gauge success and the steps necessary to gain it and perpetuate it to others, let me know.

That being said, today has a pic from a small wave day from a couple weeks ago. It's been really tough to give a true perspective to waves via photograph as you're generally a good 1/4 mile away from them in order to take a picture. These ones as you can see are about 2 foot in the front and about 4 foot in the back. A professional surf photographer/boobie boarder just moved into the community, so I'm hoping he'll get some good ones when the swell is right.

As for more happenings in the community, I just started reading "You're in Canada Now...." by Susan Musgrave. What a cool book and I recommend all my female friends and male friends alike, a truly great read. She happens to be a national best seller and also my neighbor. A cool and crazy lady with some absolutely outlandish stories, some of which are shared in this novel. She also has a huge collection of poetry and childrens books as part of her anthology, and I belive it would be good to share these with others.

Well, now that I've stimulated, bored, or perhaps pissed you off, read Susan's book. Take time in your life to reflect on your pursuit of happiness and what you've done this far. Live, love, reflect on nature, and make record of your visions.

So for those not in the know of the ways of the stackwall, it's pretty simple... you need a wall, you stack it. Today's pic is a view of my tub and shitter with the full view of the stack-wall. As you can see, beach wood is split and then stacked on top of concrete to form the foundation. The bottles in the back wall are solely for cosmetic purposes and on a sunny day can make for some beautiful color formations. My wetsuit is hanging on the shower nozzle as it does most days. Pam must have been a short lady because I keep banging my damn head on the driftwood mount she's got set up.
Today is this month's sick day. I've got a sniffle that would scare anyone. Despite that, CBC called me today to be their official 'weather watcher'. Does anybody still listen to the CBC? Apparently I'm closest to the situation, so they want to call me at 6:30 in the morning to tell them it's freaking dark out or something. The wind is howling right now, so I can imagine their interest in the situation. Tommorrow is definitely a kite day if I can shake the sniffle. Even if I can't that sucker is flying high! Take care all and get outside!!!

Sand, Surf and Snow?

Which one of these words is not like the other.... Man it was cold in the surf yesterday. First time I've ever surfed in snow I got to tell you. And it was crap surf too. Wind swells have really been off the last week, but I had to get some blood pumping and the paddle was good. After the paddle I decided to beach glean and had nearly no luck there either! Lots of butter clam shells, but no cockles or scallops washed up today. The weathervanes are starting to show up so that should be a good sign. I did manage to see quite a few moon snails which are the object of today's pic featured in front of a few resident mushrooms at my place.

These moon snails are pretty huge and eat clams and other sea creatures by burrowing a hole in the roof of the shell. I've never seen one up close, but these huge shells are all over the place. Between them and the banana slugs there seems to be no lack of the goo-factor.

I must sign off with a little Howa to the Masset Eagles Swim Club who pulled off the win in Terrace at the Developmental Swim Meet. The little guys managed to finish all their races and not get tooo many DQ's, so we won as a result of having the highest percentage of personal best times. It didn't hurt that half of these kids we pulled off the streets having never swum at a meet before, but they were all in to the game and stoked to be there. For those unaware, we are a day away from any major department store, so I'm guessing the hotsprings and shopping had some part to play in the fun as well. Nice job swimmers.

Ok, another CSI report to get to the bottom of this bottom fish. I'm guessing a huge skate or a ray. Any other guesses? None the less, not a cockle, so I'm in the least bit interested. Check out all that cartilage though. I bet that stinger would cut you good. Didn't one of these kill the crocodile hunter??

The beach has been surfless for days and no sight of surf anytime soon. The weather has been wonderful damnit and it looks like it's going to stay. Oh well, the thoughts of winter not coming again are wonderful to have but childishly naive.

The weekend was awesome, and I hope everyone had fun, dressed up and ate lots of candy. If you didn't, you should be ashamed of yourself. I was lucky enough to see a 6'6" 300lb man in a pink string bikini, and a host of other great friends doing it right on the wrong side of town. The day when the time between the spirit world and ours is so close, everyone should be part. Blessed be the bloody pagans.

Have a great weekend. I'll be in Terrace if you need anything. Howa'a

Ok kids, what do you think these animals are called? They kinda look like gummy worms to me, but I'm guessing they taste a lot different. They're completely covering a log that got washed in. Freaky Deeky.