(About 30″ long)

Made by a disabled fisherman, this is in the little museum by the train tracks in Mallaig, Scotland.

Just looked it up.

1. California Dept. of Fish & Wildlife News:

https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/commercial-and-recreational-rock-crab-and-recreational-dungeness-crab-fisheries-open-in-southern-portion-of-the-state/

Professor’s explanation of the toxin, demoic acid: https://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_29399456/uscs-professor-explains-neurotoxins-effect-dungeness-crab

Saw this beautiful painting by Bill Holm* last week at Fort Ross. The Russians brought the hunters, most of them from the Kodiak Islands, to hunt sea otters at Fort Ross in the early 1800s. The kayaks were made of sea lion skins, the parkas (said to be waterproof) of sea lion intestines, the hats resembling birds.

“…The Kashaya Pomo called the Alaskans Underwater People because their boats sat so low in the water it seemed as if they were coming out of the sea. The iqyan (kayak) they developed is still studied today and its design is incorporated into modern shipbuilding. The Russians called these skin boats baidarkas.

The Alaskans were expert sea hunters. They honed their skill over thousands of years while living on isolated islands and waterways. RAC sent Alaska Natives along the coast to hunt for otter and fur seal pelts. They traveled great distances by kayak, including the Farallon Islands 35 miles southwest of Fort Ross across the rough open ocean, where the Alaskans stayed for months at a time. Alaska Natives used a spear with a detachable point tied with sinew to an air bladder made from a sea mammal’s stomach. After the animal is speared, hunters track the floating bladder, waiting for the animal to come up for air.…”

–https://www.fortross.org/native-alaskans.htm

*Represented by the Stonington Gallery; Also see his book, Northwest Coast Indian Art: An Analysis of Form

It’s been a good week for food from close by. I went out Friday in my (12′ Scrambler) kayak and spent almost 5 hours between paddling and digging (and raking) for cockles and horseneck clams, resulting in clam fritters and tonight, clam linguine. Got 4 rock crabs that were scooting around in the shallows.(Also ended up pretty exhausted.)

Bought a small halibut from a neighbor fisherman, was given 4 rock fish by a friend, and got a bunch of smelt at night.

On Tuesday I was going to hike along the coast and noticed that the cattails were pollinating and got the pollen shown in the photo (you bend the stalks over and shake into a paper bag) — took maybe a half hour to get this much. I added it to oat pancakes this morning. All our vegetables are coming from the garden this time of year.

(Two weeks earlier I burned up my Evinrude 2-stroke outboard motor (seaweed clogged water intake) AND on same day got truck stuck in the bay and was pulled out by tow truck just as the water got up to the floorboards — close call! — but that’s all another story…)

Listening to Mojo Nixon’s “Loon in the Afternoon” program on Sirius Outlaw Country station right now.