Another day in the year of my life has finally completed its slow burn. Gazing upon the memories had takes the feeling of tiresome beauty. Breathe deep, reflect, and prepare. For the road is long and the journey remains ahead.

Often I feel just like this little gnome. Surrounded by a mess of plants, my world in a blur, and I'm just trying to keep my damn hat on. He seems to be in good humor about it though. That's what I like about gnomes, always holding it down with goofy effortlessness. They may look small and ridiculous, but those little buggers can garden like no other. Straight business. Which is exactly why I have no less than three in my employ at all times. Gnomes are the ish, give one a try, you'll not be disappointed.

I can't express to you how hard it is not to inundate my blog with sunset photo after sunset photo, that's just how beautiful it is out here. One of the other things I find attractive is how the ocean is met by cliffs on the shoreline creating these wonderfully hidden beaches. Waves come rolling in at angles and surfers line up to ride the ebb and flow of the water. I'm still in the honeymoon stage of my new environment so you'll have to excuse me. One of these days I'll get back to portraiture.

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Water is often associated with higher creative thought processes. For me this makes sense in that it openly distorts what we come to accept as clear. It is the distortion itself that becomes so familiar. A memory on the tip of the tongue, a dream transitioning towards consciousness, the painters brush interpreting an idea, clouds in the sky, flames from the fire, or leafs in the wind. So much of what we experience exhibits the properties of distortion that clarity and firm permanence seem the real illusion. Might as well take a moment and gaze into the ether, never know what connections are there to be made.

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I've waited to post this photograph until it was more appropriate for my friends on the east coast, Spring is finally around the corner! The truth is that the last two weeks have been fantastic here in California, warm and beautiful. Which made our excursion up to Tahoe right before this gorgeous streak all the more significant as an ode to the end of a season. Admittedly I do miss the transformative qualities of snow, just having cold rain and grey skies is not very fun, but having Winter more condensed I certainly don't mind. Where ever you are reading this I hope your days are melting into sunshine too!

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As the season worsens in terms of weather the outdoor activity in our area actually increases. With helicopters buzzing overhead nearly every other day, hardcore surfers head out to Maverick's and spectators line the cliffs overlooking the monster waves. I went out at sunset the other day during a low tide to get a glimpse from down below. It's not the welcoming sunny surf days in Cali that the world has come to know through television, but rather it is cold, dark, and harrowing. Overcast skies with only a few small cloud breaks, as well as a light fog that had settled later in the day, made visibility terribly poor. Surf smashed against the rocks up to 25ft high gushing water through the reef I was walking on, feeling as if I'd wandered into the heart of a gigantic monster. And yet, at the peak, right as the darkness of evening loomed and others packed up to leave, this lone surfer heads out into the chaos to chase the largest waves of the day. Truly insane stuff.

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My favorite part about living in California is that even in the dead of winter, when all is grey, there is still so much life and vibrancy to be found. Biking on my way to the post office I came across this cluster of ridiculously vibrant flowers that completely took me for surprise, almost fell off my bike gawking at them. I wasn't able to find out exactly what they are through a quick search on the Googles, but perhaps some sort of Lilac? Never the less, a beautiful sight I had to share.

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El Nino has finally hit our sleepy town after months of menacing warnings. It has been a week of gusting winds, pummeling rain, creaking hull boards, and leak repairs, but today we finally got our break in the clouds. While the rain and wind can be epic in its intensity it is the dark that bears the most weight on the psyche. In a place that has so much brightness to be deprived of that light for so long can be a truly depressing feeling. So without further ado I will be heading outside before the next week brings more of the little boy's tantrum.

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Greetings and happy holidays! It's that time of year where polar bears break out from the closet of our collective thoughts to bring us tidings of sugary soft drinks. What? They're drowning you say? Shhh, you're killing the merry mood! Let us all just enjoy the 70 degree weather, tornados, and blizzards shuffled randomly throughout the country while we argue with relatives on the merits of banning people different than us. Wait. Don't think about that. Look at the shiny lights, what new widget did you receive this year, and isn't this bear in lederhosen just the cutest?!

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