Last week I went down to my secret beach in San Mateo county for the grunion run. These little fish come in at the highest of high tides to lay their eggs on the beaches, about twice a month in spring and summer. In between waves, you scoop them up with your hands — no nets allowed. It was a misty night, and there were two great herons down there for the feast. I followed the herons — they didn’t see me in the mist until I got very close, and they were invariably where the most grunion were.

I got 30-40 of the beautiful silvery little fish. I finally learned how to cook them. They’re so small they don’t need cleaning. Plus they don’t eat when spawning so there’s very little in their guts. I put them in a shallow bowl with olive oil, soy sauce and garlic, put them in a fish basket, and grilled on the Webber at high heat — delicious.

This time I made some little fillets and pickled them — haven’t eaten these yet — waiting a week or so.

“Before diving as deep as 230 feet under the sea, the Bajau people put on a pair of wooden goggles. They pick up a set of weights. Then, they take one very big breath.

And they hold it for five minutes or longer.

Commonly called Sea Nomads, the indigenous Bajau people have lived for thousands of years off the coast of Southeast Asia, near Malaysia and the Indonesia archipelago. They commonly live in houseboats, spending hours each day hunting fish or other sea creatures underwater. For centuries, these extraordinary free-diving abilities mystified scientists, as the source of the Sea Nomads’ intuitive breath-holding talents remained unknown.…”

A longer article in todays New York Times Science section:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/science/bajau-evolution-ocean-diving.html

From Chime Serra

Photo: Melissa Hardo

https://www.marinij.com/environment-and-nature/20180307/marin-waters-deadly-poison-found-in-shellfish

From Rick Gordon

I seem to be in a period of dicking around with extracurricular pursuits. I’ve been playing the jug and my box bass today along with a CD of The Memphis Jug Band, recorded in the 1920s. These guys preceded Robert Johnson. Jug, kazoo, harmonica, vocals. It’s all there, blues in rudimentary form; I play the jug with sliding notes, like Jab Jones does here:

Usually I play the jug like the Mills brothers did with their voices, with a plucking sound.…hey, listen to the next one, Blues in the Bottle by the Jim Kweskin Jug band.…My friend Louie got me started with a blowgun he made; I bought some darts and have been practicing with a target outside the office.…The little book we just did, Driftwood Shacks, opens up a whole new octave for me with books; I don’t think they’re very saleable, but they are fun to produce, and can be done at a reasonable cost. I love giving books away, not having to sweat marketing, etc. If we can keep the machinery rolling here, I think I can do a couple of these little books each year.…I am looking forward to doing one on my 12 years exploring Baja California Sur…

Been gathering seaweed, drying it, grinding it into powder/flakes, and putting it on just about everything…Am starting to go clamming seriously, both for littleneck clams (cockles), and the deep-in-the-mud horseneck clams; clam broth, steamed clams, clam pasta, and (with the white meat of horsenecks), clam cakes…I’m working on a garden chair made out of old split fence posts…Also fiddling around making abalone shell neck pendants; dust from the cutting, grinding, and polishing of abalone shell is a serious lung problem, so I’ve got a dust collector that attaches to my shop vac, and just got a grinding wheel with a water trough from Grizzly Tools…Our homestead is working pretty well; we’ve been on this half-acre for 47 years now; new batch of baby chicks coming in a couple of weeks; this time, Rhode Island Reds and Auracanas, both heavy layers; I’ve had enough of the beautiful, but not-so-productive birds. Will however probably keep the little Silver Seabrights, they are so beautiful…Taking off tomorrow for the Rebuild Green Expo in Santa Rosa Friday, Feb. 23rd., for people rebuilding after the fires…Over and out…

Big waves at beach yesterday, negative ion perfume in air. Gathered these bull kelp blades, which I dry, grind up, and sprinkle on omelette, meat, fish, potatoes, salads—just about anything. Homemade vitamin supplement, high in protein and minerals. I pickle the bull kelp bulbs. About to leave now for clamming and mussels. I have a 12′ Klamath aluminum boat, with 15 HP 2-stroke vintage Evinrude outboard motor, which I’m working the kinks out of.

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