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.