Artful Dead

There was something hauntingly beautiful about this decaying fish washed up onshore. I'm not sure exactly what my mind likes so much. but then I suppose it doesn't really matter. After all, don't they say art is in the eye of the beholder?

100 Year Old Mermaid Found

This 1919 photo of my grandmother, a self-anointed mermaid, was recently found in her photo album filled with images of she and my grandfather in Rockaway, Oregon in the early 1900's.

She appears to be emerging from the surf and considering life on land.  Our family has never lasted very long on land without the song of the sea luring us back.  The rhythmic sound of the ocean and the salt air blowing through our hair are as vital as breathing.

Proudly, I come from a long line of mermaids.

There's No Place Like Home

When this is the place you call home, there is no reason to leave. None.  Even though the winter storms are getting a little old and I long for the day when I can sit in my favorite chair with the sun on my face, it is still heaven.


I found this aerial photo of Netarts Bay looking toward Oceanside online.   When we look really closely, we can see home on the right.  It is hard to tell if I am outside in my chair or not.  Thanks to the photographer who would get credit if I only knew. 

Safe

With grateful heart, I found my soul

tossed out of the sea,

vulnerable to the world.

I picked it up, this fragile pearl,

with a mother's love and said,

"You are safe with me."

Monday's Moment of Zen

I came along at the right moment to capture nature's spectacular artistry.

Wild Beauty

The symmetrical elegance of a wild salmon's scales. 

Splash!

Credit: This refreshing pause in a long, hot summer brought to you by the Pacific Ocean.

Ahhhhhhhh...

That's just what I needed to replenish my soul.

Fast Food

Up for a big breakfast, load the boat and off to the bay less than one mile away.

A couple of hours wrangling crab pots.

Back to dry land to start the water boiling filling the air with the delicious smell of bay leaves and herbs.

Just a few moments later....

  

Lunch is served!  

From the bottom of Netarts Bay to table in less than an hour.  The crab meat is incredibly sweet and doesn't even make it to a salad before being devoured.  I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Facing the Storm

You may have read my blog a few weeks ago about a crazy storm we had at the coast.  Turns out it was the remnants of Typhoon Padbuk that had come ashore with over 80 mph winds and torrents of rain.  We weren't the only ones riding out the storm.  The pelicans had decided flying was not an option and had landed on Netarts Bay literally riding out the storm facing into the wind.

Several days later when the typhoon blew over, the pelicans ousted the seagull population from their favorite breakwater to rest up on dry land.  A little preening and drying of feathers and they were as good as new.

Everyone lived happily ever after except the seagulls who wanted their land back.  They screeched and hollered about it but their complaints fell on deaf ears.  Is that why they call it a "pecking order?"

Find Yourself

For whatever we lose,

It is always ourselves we find in the sea.

--e.e. cummings

Why I am Grateful for Friends

"The sea is so large and my boat is so small."

I See a Dragon

As we strolled the beach, my good friend Colleen, told me Twin Rocks looks like a dragon or a sea monster.  With it's head in the water, neck arched and serpent hump following along, the creature heads south down the Pacific Coast just beyond the breakers.

Now I see the dragon each and every time walk along the shore and the two rocks have ceased to exist.

Bouquet of Barnacles

A mermaid must have dropped her bouquet 

on the shore for me to find.

The Spell Has Been Cast

The sea,

once it casts its spell,

holds one in its net of wonder forever.

--Jacques Yves Cousteau

Deceptive Beauty

Crossing the bar into Tillamook Bay is one of the most treacherous journeys on the Oregon Coast.   Sadly, many people have lost their lives over the years most of whom were going to sea to earn a living.

As I stand here on the jetty with the sun shining on the water, it is easy to diminish the destructive power of the huge, rolling waves.

Easy to Believe

“It is easy to believe we are each waves 

and forget we are also the ocean.” 

- Jon Muth