Surf's up!

What a whirlwind it's been since I last posted! In a nutshell, we went down south for the holidays, and I hopped on a plane to surprise my family in Michigan on New Year's Eve! Two weeks and two days of visiting, skiing, purging, and dog-walking (hello, Klaus!) ensued. It was an excellent time, and before I knew it I was back on the plane and returning to Cali, where I was welcomed home with a beautiful torrential downpour. Excellent. I flew into Medford, the idea being that we could take advantage of the big box stores there, although I don't think we really did aside from Jack buying a few salads for us at Trader Joe's and maybe a couple snack things for himself. We were both eager to get home. The rain had brought up the water levels quite a bit, there were waterfalls all over the Smith River Gorge, not to mention it'd drenched everything in vibrancy - my favorite part of the north coast, I think.

Rough and Ready Creek

Madrone tree, happy from the rain.

Miniature fungus growth (note pine needles for size reference) in a broken porcelain bottle at an old dump site.

Now back in Crescent City for half a week, I think I can say that I've gotten back into the swing of things - and perhaps even better than I was last year. Daily exercise, riding my bike for the first time since I moved up here, working on my novel instead of chasing a bunch of short story stuff willy-nilly... all of these have helped me to feel a bit more stable and on-track since I've gotten back. There's the usual, as well, of going to church and reconnecting post-trip, unpacking (more or less complete as of this morning), and the usual housekeeping that seems to be a never-ending part of my life now. But there was one very exciting thing that took place yesterday afternoon, for which I am very, very excited:

I went surfing.

Yes, that wetsuit ninja is me. The cold water requires lots of extra stuff...

... which makes movement a little bit cumbersome, but hopefully I'll get used to it.

The tide has been way out lately.

Surveying the waves before entry.

Hanging out between the breaks.

These guys flew past while I was out, and Jack apparently got to get some close-ups of them. Beautiful black sea birds!

Granted, I wiped out a few times and only rode one wave (on my belly - I didn't even bother trying to stand up) and was only out for probably 30 minutes before my arms felt super tired (which I blame partly on my puny arm strength and partly on the resistance offered by the thick wetsuit). But I had a blast, and I hope it was the first of many surf outings to come. We walked down to the beach twice so far this week, apart from the surfing trip. I'm trying to spend more of my day outside, especially since it's sunny right now. Not to mention I'm airing out the house! Light breezes are drifting through, carrying the sounds of birds and the persistent snip snip of the bay leaf trimmers hard at work across the street, mingling with the near and distant sounds of passing traffic and NPR on the radio in the next room. It's good to be home.

Until next time!