Image of the Day

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Marisa Berensen in Vogue, 1969 (not sure of the photographer – maybe Francesco Rubartelli?) from the recent book Marisa Berensen: A Life In Pictures, by Steven Meisel, with design by friend-of-the-blog Jason Duzansky.

Sunny and Cold

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More cold-weather crabbing with my brother and friend Josh.

These photos do not really capture how beautiful it was yesterday – the water was fairly calm, the North Cascades were covered with snow and the moon was gigantic in the sky when we headed back at the end of the day....

And this time we got our limit. The rules, in case you don't know: each person can have two crab pots and is allowed to take 5 Dungeness per day, but they have to be male and the shell at least 6.25" wide.

3 people x 5 each = 15 delicious crabbies

Image of the Day

Crabbing with my brother last week near Hat Island WA.
(We had two pots down for about an hour and just got three Dungeness, but it's always good times and I have high hopes for Winter crab season.)

Evolving

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Dennis Coffey & the Detroit Guitar Band "Scorpio" (45 version) from Evolution (1971, Sussex Records)

[Completely unrelated photo: my dad, my brother (with giant Shogun warrior locked and loaded) and me prepare to eat lobster under the grape arbor on our patio for my dad's birthday circa 1983? Photo by my mom]

Riding for the Feeling

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A couple pics from our weekend crabbing/boating excursion...

Emily reading Timothy Egan's op-ed to our friend Josh.

Bald Eagle guarding the Hat Island Marina.

Emily's traditional boat food, Chicken in a Biskit (sung to the tune of "This Is How We Do It").

First pull of the day... a couple keepers

We pulled this crab pot up to find a giant starfish hogging the bait. (We threw it back.)

Later on Emily and I motored a couple hours up to Coupeville.

We stayed overnight in the boat, docked up to the wharf.


Low tide the next morning

Delicious breakfast at the Knead & Feed, just down the street from the wharf.

"So... the blue parts must be land"

In short, one of the best weekends in recent memory and we can't wait to get out there again.

Crabby

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Today was the first day of crab season and a glorious one at that.

I got my license from good old Linc's (always full of semi-grumpy but appreciated advice, that one).

After a semi-late night at the Shabazz Palaces release show, I got up at the crack of dawn this morning and my old friends Josh, Jason and I took the boat out. We dropped three crab pots off the south end of Hat Island (aka Gedney Island but everyone calls it Hat).

We didn't get too much this first time out (3 Dungeness and 5 Red Rocks) but the boat is running great and I'm looking forward to many more trips this Summer.


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Nature Time

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A contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine recounts his surprising experiences with a Leopard Seal in Antarctica.
(via TBTL)

Image of the Day

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We went out for a quick trip on the boat Saturday afternoon and saw this Sea Lion hanging out on a buoy between Everett and Mukilteo.

He seemed kind of happy to see us and overall very content with his position.

Littlejeans of the Sea

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We recently acquired a boat (pics coming soon). Our friend Josh helped us deliver it to the marina and when we put it in its slip for the first time, these two harbor seals came up to see what we were doing.

Image of the Day

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Salmon swimming from saltwater to freshwater through the Ballard Locks fish ladder.

That's what I said, the fish ladder.
Check it out while you can, it's peak season.

Image of the Day

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There was an interesting interview on KUOW this morning with Vashon Islander Brad Matsen, author of The Sea King, a new book which explores the life of Jacques Cousteau. Among other interesting facts, I learned that Cousteau's ship Calypso (pictured above), built in Ballard as a WWII minesweeper and converted after the war for use as a ferry in Malta, was purchased in 1950 for Cousteau's use by Loel Guinness, heir to the beer fortune. Cousteau's wife and partner Simone sold her jewelry to finance the cost of fixing and fueling it up, and in 1952, they set out with their crew to explore the Red Sea. You can set out to listen to the podcast here.

While we're at it, here's a concept drawing for Calypso 2:

Pretty cool.

Someday the Waves

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Andrew Bird "Lull" (2008 version) via LineOut and Pitchfork.

I don't mind admitting that this video made my eye holes slightly watery this early Sunday morning. Probably just need some more coffee.