{ Category Archives: expedition }
I’ve always liked to use chalk when roughing things out on wood. Lately I’ve taken to scouring the beaches during negative low tides in search of seashells for making my marks. The Pacific Razor Clam is ideal, softer than the East Coast equivalent, but hard enough to make a clean scratch, and loaded with calcium carbonate to leave a crisp white line.
surfer/shaper Andy Lambrecht takes a break in Sayulita
I met surfboard maker Andy Lambrecht on our last day in Sayulita, Mexico. I noticed his handmade wooden board by the beached fishing boats as we were packing up and getting ready to catch a bus back to Puerto Vallarta. Based in British Columbia, Andy makes a variety of hollow surfboards using reclaimed woods from local sources, which he typically re-saws and book-matches in elegant patterns- imperfections like nail holes are artfully incorporated into each board’s unique composition.
Andy is on paternity leave and will be in Sayulita with his wife and their two young daughters for three months, surfing and hanging out (talk about a health care program!). He brought along his shaping tools and has already landed a commission- a surfboard in exchange for work on his ailing car after the arduous journey southward. I look forward to keeping in touch with Andy Lambrecht, and have invited him and his family for a visit on their way back up the coast.
Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico
Spending time in Sayulita always restores my faith in humanity. For whatever combination of reasons- its remoteness through jungle along the Pacific Coast, cut-off from major roads until relatively recently; its consistently overhead, left/right break; its laid back balance of bohemian surf culture and traditional fishing village- everyone is unabashedly happy in Sayulita. Like guests at a well-hosted party, everyone has a unique role to play, the machinery oiled by mutual trust and respect. When the ‘little things’ that comprise daily life take precedence over the ‘big things’ outside our control, everyone takes charge. When the inverse is the case, the opposite is true.
‘Le Corbusier meets Gilligan’s Island’ characterizes the playful architecture of Sayulita
Giant roots of mysterious origin have been washing ashore along the Sonoma Coast
Like B Movie aliens readying for invasion, a mysterious crop of giant ‘beach tubers’ have blown ashore after the last string of storms and unusually high tides. I’m tempted to plant one to see what grows, but have seen enough bad movies to be wary.
a sea lion briefly beached itself on Doran Beach this morning as we were walking by
During our morning walk along Doran Beach, Ene and I were greeted by a friendly sea lion, who watched us from the surf before proceeding to briefly beach himself within yards of us as if to say hello. We’ve made hundreds of trips to this beach over the past few years, but have never seen this kind of behavior. Of course, this would be the one time I forgot to pack my camera- luckily, I had my trusty cell phone. As a corollary to the Murphy’s Law adage, anything that can go wrong will go wrong, I would add, be equally prepared for when things go right.
As any crafts person can attest, there are occasions in the course of making that deliver uncanny coincidences, yet we most often do not prepare for success with the same ardent fervor that we do calamity. I’m not advocating unbridled risk-taking when it comes to safety or security, but suggest making room for the little successes that share equal probability with failure.
the sea lion returns to the sea after about ten minutes of staring us down
Note: After some thought, my theory about why the sea lion would behave this way is that he thought we might have food for him, mistaking me for a Bodega Bay fisherman, whose boats the sea lions are known to trail. Bundled up in my yellow slicker and ‘Sitka sneakers’ for a chilly morning hike, with a two week beard, I kind of resemble those ‘old sea captain’ carvings (see below). I’d love to hear if anyone has had a similar encounter.
I’m beginning to make an image archive of ‘old sea captain’ carvings
With enough rainfall, Estero Americano drains to the sea, becoming seasonally tidal
My favorite chair, by far, is an ocean kayak. To unwind after an intense week of new projects, I spent a quiet afternoon idly paddling down Estero Americano, my favorite local slough, now flooded to the coast. The marshy, seasonally tidal estuary is like a living almanac of coastal California birds, evidenced by my encounters with numerous cormorant, dowitcher, egret, snipe, willet, loon, night heron, bufflehead, black skimmer and, closer to the beach, a flock of white pelican.
It’s coming up on two years since I created this site, whose first post was inspired by a paddle down the same stream. This time around, my voyage taught me less about the material provenance of my chair design, and more about the simple pleasures of sitting with nature.
The white pelican takes flight over Estero Americano
a bounty of foraged hedgehog, pig’s ear, white prince* and cauliflower mushrooms
Earlier this week, my friend Josef Szuecs invited me to join him on a late season mushroom foraging expedition. Joe has been writing a seasonal Mushroom Report for DeepCraft, and is deeply steeped in mushroom culture, having collected, cooked and eaten wild mushrooms since he was a boy. Over the years, I have occasionally hunted mushrooms with friends who like to cook with foraged goods, but remain a novice in the field of mycology, and will be forever respectful of the risks inherent in eating wild fungi. I’m grateful for Joe’s expertise in the field, and have been carefully preparing my harvest, eating the hedgehogs straight up, drying the black chanterelles by the fire, and frying the rest for freezing.
*Note: The edibility of the White Prince is disputed, and Joe advises against eating it. Continue Reading »