Neither snow nor rain will stay forester Elliott Menashe from heading out into the woods. Maybe gloom of night will keep him inside, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Elliott snapped this picture of some pretty impressive icicles hanging above a creek on South Whidbey Island during last week’s ice storm.
How many Northwesterners would like to be doing this right now? Raise your mittens!
Photo of boys playing in Maui surf by Mari Hotchkiss.
One of the categories for the new improved Tidal Life will be Tidal Life Afloat, lots more stuff about boats, boating, sails, sailing and getting places via the water. Above is a shot of where I’ll be writing from … though I hope she’ll be in the water at some point.
Which launch will come first? I’ve set the launch date for the new version of Tidal Life for March 13. I’m relatively sure that launch will beat the boat’s launch.
She needs a new name. She’s got a bad one.
What is it with boat names? Some are really gag worthy, and I’m not just talking about all the Judi – Lee’s and Cindy – Jo’s. Take a walk in your local marina some time, you’ll see what I mean. Throw those folks a Thesaurus.
Admittedly, this has not been my strong suit either. Poor Nameless continues unnamed to this day.
Perhaps I should hold a name that boat contest for both of them. I’ll consider that.
In the meantime, wallowing in blog design and content development as I am, writing and blogging puns come too easily to mind.
If I had to pick a name right this minute this boat would be christened one of these:
Christen me giddy.
In need of a refresher on pruning technique, I stopped in at my second home, the Freeland Library.
No sooner had I cast my eyes toward the garden section than a title jumped out at me: How to Cheat at Gardening and Yard Work. As I’d rather be a Cheater than a Dummy or an Idiot any day, I grabbed that book.
While How To Cheat is about tips and shortcuts — cheats — for making garden work easier and gardens lower maintenance, the author opens with a short manifesto about the cheating way of thinking. These 10 points are guiding principles to prepare the mind for a new way of looking at the topic of garden tasks.
I immediately saw the possibilities for adapting these concise points to my search for the environmentally sound coastal life. So here’s my
The natural world is always going to be there and will always support us. Far better if we also support it. We’re part of a vast system that can’t be eternally bent to our way without breaking down. Look for ways to work with nature rather than trying to remove it from the equation.
Whether you’re gardening, building or fishing, the air, the soil and the water were there first, and must be thought about first.
When deciding how to form your coastal life, remember that nature calls the shots. Ignoring natural forces will cost far more in the end. Understanding, embracing and working with nature will pay dividends you can’t even imagine now.
With all the variables at play in the coastal environment, nothing we do here is black and white. Scientists do the best they can to find out what’s what and share that information with us. In dealing with our impacts on the land and water, we need to use the information provided to us as best we can. Just like we do when choosing our food or raising our children. When you learn you’ve been making a mistake, admit it and take another tack.
From goat milk shampoo to riding a bike to work, new ideas come along every day. Give some that seem outlandish an honest try. As Helen Keller said, “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.”
Chemicals make our bodies sick. They’re no better for our land and water. Exercising outdoors is good for us. It’s also good for the earth, because we care for what we inhabit on a daily basis. Taking part in a beach cleanup or stream restoration benefits our hearts and minds while benefitting the land and sea.
Why did you come to the coast? Because it’s beautiful? For fresh air? To play on the beach? To raise a healthy family? Why are you here now? Are you here to watch life happen to other people on television? Or are you here to live your own great life? Keep answering this question. Keep acting on the answer.
Get rid of habits, products and processes that don’t benefit nature or anyone. We do a lot of things without thinking. Do the hard work of choosing between what you really want in your life, what’s worth spending time, energy and money on versus what’s simply been sold to you.
Some jobs need more than trial and error, or come with confusing instructions. Some technical problems are beyond our knowledge. Those times call for expert help. Get that help early. There’s a great network of scientists and professionals surrounding coastal issues. They really appreciate being called in before a situation turns into an emergency.
Instant gratification is nice, but it’s difficult to come by when working with nature. In this realm, you have to take the long view. When you’re seeking control, letting things be, letting the pieces fall where they may, can be the ultimate torture. If your biggest thrill is planting your petunias precisely 10 inches apart, on center, you’re in for some changes. But the rewards for learning to SAIL (Stand Aside, Interfere Little) will be great.
How to Cheat at Gardening and Yard Work, by Jeff Bredenberg, is available at most libraries and of course, on Amazon.com.
A version of this post was previously published in The South Whidbey Record September 9, 2010
But the winter beach is beautiful and interesting. The slope is steeper, the colors are different. The sharp wind wakes you up.
The high tides (King Tides, these days), crashing waves, and steady breezes of winter move more than grains of sand and your whipping hair around. They also move trash. So this is a great time of year to clean the beach.
Here on Whidbey, Beach Watchers are holding some Beach Litter Pickup Parties during January and February. This is a good excuse to get out there in the elements, get some fresh air, and do a world of good.
We’ve all seen the pictures of trash collecting on tropical beaches, in the center of the ocean and in the guts of sea birds and whales. More and more people want to do something to change that picture. Banning plastic bags and avoiding buying beverages in plastic bottles is one part of the equation. Removing the debris that’s already in the water is another. The simplest way for most folks to help with the latter is by cleaning the beach.
There are beach cleanup events going on all the time, around the world. Many beach communities have a party after the party on July 5th. Keepers of the Coast does beach cleanup events in Florida. And cleanup doesn’t have to take long. Every month Long Beach California holds a 30 Minute Beach Cleanup. I was in the other Long Beach, here in Washington, for 4th of July 2011 and the whole town was decked out for beach cleanup day on the 5th. In September Ocean Conservancy puts on the International Coastal Cleanup.
It doesn’t take a party of course, every walk on the beach can be a mini cleanup if you bring something (No, No, Not a plastic bag!) to put refuse in. Personally I find remembering to bring a carrier of some kind on my beach walks just as hard as remembering to bring my cloth bags to the grocery store, so I always return home with my pockets full and a couple of larger things tucked under my arm.
For more information contact Scott Chase schase@wsu.edu
Now we can all read the story of how the wetsuit got invented – if we can get our hands on the book!
Whidbey rumor has it that It’s Always Summer on the Inside, Drew Kampion’s biography of Jack O’Neil has become hard to get. It’s sold out on Amazon. Perhaps a second printing is in the works?
Meanwhile, Drew says there are still copies available from the O’Neill USA website.
The leafy neighborhood of Ballsbridge is just a few blocks from downtown Dublin, and a fifteen minute walk from Trinity College. It’s the perfect location for visitors who want to be close to everything, but would like to get some sleep.
I actually considered booking a room in Temple Bar, but this trip was not for partying and nightlife. This was a heritage visit with Mom, and I’m a writer and old building reuse fiend. The Schoolhouse, a restored parochial school, where the rooms are named for famous Irish writers was the only reasonable choice for us.
Opened in 1861, St. Stephen’s served the children of soldiers from a nearby base until it was closed in 1969. The heroic (at least as far as historic preservation goes) Sweeney Hotel Group bought the derelict building in 1997 and restored it for use as a charming and unique hotel.
A night in the Oscar Wilde room casts a witty light over the rest of the trip. Always a blessing for family travel.
The Schoolhouse Hotel
Dublin, Ireland
http://www.schoolhousehotel.com
Began the year immersed in my favorite subject. Hope yours is starting brilliantly too.
At noon tomorrow, Jan 1, 2012, Whidbey Islanders will join other polar bears around the world in welcoming the New Year by running shrieking into water that’s about 1/3 their body temperature.
I’ve never done it, but this year I’m considering, because I’ve been reading The Flinch, which is about facing things that make us recoil in horror. The Polar Bear Dive strikes me as the Mother-of-All-Flinches.
The 2012 dive goes down at Double Bluff beach, near Freeland.
Registration starts at 10:30.
What happens between signing the medical release at 10:30 and actually rushing into the near freezing water an hour and a half later? Sit in the car with the motor running? Head to the nearest bar to get buzzed on hot buttered rums?
Personally, I’d much prefer to sign one minute and plunge the next, before I have time to come to my senses.
Whidbey awoke this morning to ice coating everything and a white frosted beach. Tonight rain and snow are forecast. So the morning should be just about right for polar bears.
More info at the Whidbey PBD Facebook Page.
Photo of Polar Bear testing the water is from Nathan 2009‘s Photo Stream.
This is my last Water Photo of 2011. And it’s my first ever stolen Water Photo. The others have all been my own, or freely given, or from the Commons. This one I outright swiped.
It’s from my favorite science journalism critique site, Knight Science Journalism Tracker. They didn’t attribute it, so I can’t either.
PS: I have it on good authority that the world is not going to end in 2012.
