TEE HARBOR SURFING

Here is my neighbor Noah Jenkins surfing in my front yard... his
also. The Williwaws beach is in the background. It was a cold day
with a souteasterly blowing that diffracted around Stephens Point and
created enough surf for him to hang ten. It was Christmas 2003.

RARE MOMENT WITH NATURE

We've seen about a million photos of sunsets, but the one above, taken by Wayne Wilson and Susan Leader of the Ladysmith, British Columbia-based Selestra 50 Daydream, is unique. If you haven't been able to guess what was going on, we'll let them explain:

"We ended up spending several days at this alternate anchorage at Suwarrow while the wind blew from the south and southwest. While there, it was our good fortune to witness a near total eclipse of the sun. The end of the eclipse coincided with sunset, so we had the unique experience of watching the sun — which looked like a crescent moon on its back — descend into the sea. We were even able to snap a startling photograph of the two tips of the sun's 'crescent' setting simultaneously."

CALCULATING FOR THE DOCK

After we clear the point and enter the harbor, we can finally see the Williwaws dock.... its pilings standing tall with perhaps other sailboats on its railings. The challenge is to gauge the wind and sail up to a smooth landing without the engine.... this requires a careful calculation in the mind. The calculating starts with this view under the sheets from the cockpit when the wind is from the South.

FERN GLOW

At the end of a long day spreading crushed rock and making trails, the
setting sun found a path through the trees and struck this fern from
behind. This common woodland fern burst into a glowing marker along
the new trail.... but only for an instant. Soon the sun set and all
the understory plants resumed their shadowed lives.

A NATURAL PROFUSION

Columbines, primulas and poppies in the front garden.... and perhaps

a few weeds also.

NEW STONE ON THE STUDIO PATH

A little stone on the path might not seem like a big deal, but here it
is. For some reason the original approach to the door of my studio
was like a trekking to a mountain monastery... a narrow path along a
rocky ledge. It was safe enough in summer, but in the winter it was
treacherous. I cannot count the number of times I slipped into the
hole to the left the doorway in the dark. With fresh crushed rock
delivered for the pond work, I just had to take a load down to the
studio and build up its path. I even chucked the old anvil base into
the hole. Now perhaps I can be spared an "adventure" on a dark and
snowy night.

MEN AT WORK

Here I am working hard; that's not me with the shovel, but rather the
brains behind the wheel of the tractor. Cedar and Jeremiah handle the
shovels moving stone for the pond lining. I just move the stone to
the site and direct its placement. If I do my job well, their job is
kept to a minimum... and we get more done. As I always tell them,
"better brains than brawn".

A GUY THRILL... A NEW TOOL

We must have 4 or 5 dead gas trimmers about the place. Each one with
their short history... but all essentially the same story.... can't
start; then I stumbled across another option... a NEW ELECTRIC TOOL.
This one caught my eye at Home Depot when I had the $80 cash in my
pocket. It was an impulse buy... hand into the pocket for the cash
and out the door with the box. For the next week I carved away at the
land scape, swirling it on my fingers in 3 dimensions, transforming
wilderness into tamed though temporary obedience. It is light,
variable speed, strong, almost silent, and best of all.... an
outrageously stylish color! It made what otherwise would have been a
nasty, smelly and noisy job into a creative gardening task of artistic pleasure
and businesslike effectiveness. There is nothing like a new tool that works to
brighten the day and produce beauty.

WILL HE TAKE THE PLUNGE?

Steve was helping with the dock when the large socket driver broke
free from his grip and dove straight to the bottom. There it lay; so
close in the clear water. It would be just a short dive to the
bottom. He says, "But I will need a mask!" I say, "No problem...
that we have!" Geared up and ready for the dive, Steve thinks it
over. So Close. So cold. Can he do it?

Nope.... he waited for a real low tide and picked it up without
getting wet... 2 weeks later.

FINALLY A FRONT YARD

After years of trying to figure out how to do it... I finally hit
upon a solution to give me a front yard: a low railway tie retaining
wall, built on the natural grade and back filled, did the trick. We
can now stand and look out over the gardens and harbor without falling
through the bushes.

TASHA WAITING TO BE TAKEN

Every evening about 7PM there is a little ritual. Tasha, the old
Russian poodle, senses the time coming for Kriss's arrival. She
leaves the house and sits on the kitchen porch and waits. This
evening, the sun was setting on a clear day with light streaming
through the trees from the direction of her expected arrival. Tasha was
entranced... hoping to be soon "taken".

MY OWN FIREWORKS ON THE 4TH

I arrived home after a long trip from the other side of the world on
the 4th of July. I may have missed the official fireworks downtown,
but this little saxifrage made up for it! It was just a spray of
little pink blooms drifting into the yellow explosions of the nearby
sedum. It was a full celebration unto itself.

EARLY PRIMULA ON THE STONE WALL

It was a long hard winter with the trees delayed in leafing out till
well into June. But first it was the time for the Primula. Here is
part of our collection among the sedums along the stone wall on the
road to Dan's ceramic studio.

TIMBERFRAME FLOORPLAN

This is not my original drawing, but one made 15 years after the original construction to get a building permit.  It is pretty much the way it is today except there is a door to the bathroom from the bootroom.

RESURRECTION.... AGAIN

The dock was originally on the downtown waterfront serving the US
Coast Guard for 30 years. When it was declared "unworthy" 20 years
ago, it started it's next life, ultimately towed into Tee Harbor where
it washed up on the beach near what is now the Log Lodge. I acquired
it with the property and after much internal debate; destroy, rebuild,
destroy, rebuild.... I decided it was easier to rebuild. Though
fully waterlogged and awash, we pulled the rescued styrofoam from the
cold storage plant that burned downtown years ago underneath in one
"hail Mary" attempt to fix... it worked. We floated it into
position, drove piling to secure, and connected to another rescued
floating dock from Taku Harbor to create the Williwaws Dock. However,
it is still old wood and in need of constant attention to preserve.
This year it fell to Steve, the new dockmaster in my absence. He and
Cedar cleared the deck and spent a long day with a powerful pressure
sprayer to blast out all the grass, rot, worms and otter shit. The
result, a dock alive and ready again to serve the maritime inclined.
What a beauty she is.

LUMBER DELIVERED

It is most amazing the wonderful things that are sent to our beach by
fates unknown. Over the years we have had docks and buoys, lumber and
bumpers, logs and boats, left at the tide line for our discovery and
use. This time we had a wonderfully sound and clear rough cut 4x6
placed neatly in the dead beach grass waiting for some new productive
use around the property. I hoist it on my shoulder, wink to the sea
gods, and tramp back to the lumber pile where it will sit among
friends until its next moment of glory arrives.

OBJECTS ALL PRECIOUS

One's studio is a personal place. It collect objects to stimulate
the imagination. Here is my collection.

MY WARM KITCHEN STOVE

Even when the propane runs out, when the electricity fails, there is
always the possibility of a warm meal in the kitchen. It makes a time
of inconvenience and poverty seem like a special moment. Ours is a
turn-of-the-century Glenwood Gold Medal, the best of the farmhouse
stoves burning both wood and gas. Here it is now aflame with a full load
of dry split wood from the copper bucket to the left with my favorite
fry pan sitting in the hole directly above the fire with the circular
iron rings removed. It can cook up a perfect omelet in minutes like
this and I think it tastes different, though I can not figure out
why. The pets are also attracted here... food, water, warmth, and a
protected place to lie under the stove where they can see everything
and never risk a trample.

ARCTIC OWL LAUNCHED IN THE SNOW

The ARCTIC OWL was launched in a snow storm today... after spending the winter in the upper turnaround buried behind a high berm that took Steve 2 hrs to clear. With a small crew on hand, we jacked and prodded the trailer onto the Ford and headed down the driveway, slashing branches and dodging icy patches to the tide line. As the snow fell in large pussy paw flakes, Steve bought his first sailboat (finally!) from Pete with a check as Dan pushed it down the beach at the site of the indian village (now log lodge). By afternoon the weather calmed and the tide rose. The ARCTIC OWL floated free and Steve fires the small kicker for the first time to take her to the dock. Steve, now the dockmaster, fusses with lines as all new boat owners do. He has to do something till the wind rises.

OTTERS MAKE A TERRIBLE MESS... BUT WE LOVE THEM

The dock is an exceptional piece of habitat for the local otters....
not sea otters these, but our local river otters. We have seen as
many as 6 or more on the dock at one time... having a great party
with everyone bringing favors! After a long snowy winter, the signs of
their partying lies all about the dock and on all the gear. We plan for
a pressure spray this summer.... as every year, to keep ahead of
this rowdy crowd.

CLAM BED

At a minus 1 foot tide the clam beds are clearly evident. Thousands
of small butter and macoma clam shells about testify to the extent of
the beds running about 500' from the dock north into the harbor. As
you walk over them, thousands of little squirts sprinkle about telling
all they are alive and waiting for the pot.

FIRST PRIMULAE OF SPRING

The first flowering Primulae of spring! Tucked in under the mugo
pine, but looking directly south, this little plant beat all the rest
to bloom... even through the snow. The denticulatas were pressing
through all around but none out enough to demonstrate their color.

DAN'S FAVORITE CHAIR

A number of years ago some students stayed for the winter in the lodge
and when summer came, they left an old rocking chair... not much to
look at.... but comfortable with a waterproof covering. I moved it
to the point on a spot I had often stood admiring the sunsets with
whales and sea lions frequently about. The chair is a dark green, and
at sunset when the sun shines directly on it under the overhanging
branches that protect it from rain and snow.... it warms up.... and
even if the temperatures are low, the chair is warm to the touch...
solar heating at its best!

TASHA ON HER SPOT TEASING WITH BONE

Tasha the Russian poodle is on her spot at the end of the center hall
rug where she can see into all the rooms while warmed by the hottest
water flowing up into the floors. She has placed her bone at the
center of everything, at the foot of the circular staircase, at the
entrance the boot room and on all paths to the kitchen and dining
room... but if you want to touch or move this bone... she is on it in
a second to protect it.... it is her game for the day.

COLD CHICKEN COOP

After over 20 years of faithful service, the old chicken and rabbit
coops are still surviving the heavy winter snows. Lucky for the
animals, there are none this year.... except perhaps the local ermine
who have found a way in to the sheltered nesting boxes.

DAN'S DESK WITH HEAVY SNOW

I was working at my desk when the heavy snow fell. Around me were all my favorite tools and toys... but whenever I lifted my eyes, I was immediately moved into the woods knee deep in fluffy white powder.

CEDAR FIXES THE LODGE PIPES

The lodge propane ran out one cold night and the building froze. We sorted out the damage and found that the cast iron pressure pump body cracked and the pump needed to be replaced. Cedar dives into the project and upgrades the system with improved pumps and filters.... and we really did not like the old iron pump which we had been hoping to replace for years! In the photo you can see the clear inflow water pipe from the roof gutters into the large bladder behind the plywood wall.

THE SECOND SNOW FALL

When we have a heavy snow, it falls twice. The first fall lands in
the trees and sits until later, a light wind shuffles the branches,
and the snow falls again. Walking in the woods during a "second snow
fall" can be very exciting. In the photo above, I caught a second
snow fall on the move in front of the timberframe.

THE SURGE THAT BUILT THE BEACH

There was a strong northerly for a day with a heavy swell that
diffracted around the point to create a series of rollers that rolled
the cobble up and down the beach face and with every surge, all the
stones move ever so slowly to the north. It is this action that over
millenia built up the gravel bench that makes up the majority of the
Williwaws.