Why, there’s a change in the weather, there’s a change in the sea… We had a week of hot weather, and then yesterday afternoon, clouds moved in and the temperature dropped about 25° and we even had a few drops of rain, but not enough to matter. I tell you, if we get some real rain, I’m going to be out dancing in it. A local surfer/fisherman said to me the other day, “Everything I do involves water.”

Work, work… I’m actually out here working seven days a week, or at least every day that I’m not traveling somewhere. I love it all, really — e-mail, blogging, feedback, working on this new book — but I’m looking forward to taking some time off to do other things next year. Fishing, hiking, a trip to some warm water, probably Hawaii; gardening, foraging. One of my goals for the next few years is to greatly increase the amount of food I bring home from fishing, hunting, and foraging. It’s doable, it just takes getting away from the keyboard.

Rock ‘n roll in Mill Valley Sweetwater was a great nightclub in Mill Valley for many years. For example, I walked by it one afternoon maybe 10 years ago, and the chalkboard outside said “Tonight: Pinetop Perkins.” Holy shit! I went, and was he great. 83 years old, immaculate purple suit, lavender tie, sparkling piano, flirting with young women. (Oops, I think I’ve written this before — whatever.) Sweetwater was then closed for a number of years, but now it’s reopened in a larger venue, and is maybe even better than ever. Good food, good stage visibility, good vibes.

Friday night I got a pass from a friend who works there, had a couple of really good sliders, a very dark beer on tap and, along with packed house saw the band Zepparella, a 4-woman band channeling Led Zeppelin; it was a good show.

Confession  I suspect I repeat myself, not too infrequently, these days. Here’s the reason: memory is not infinite. You can’t recall everything you’ve ever done (or written) in the past (unless you’re one of those geniuses portrayed on 60 minutes a few years ago). So as daily experiences, and the years, accumulate, the memory part of your brain has to dump something out to take in the new stuff. Right?

   (I have a feeling I’ve written this before.)

Dear Lloyd,

Your blog is one of my very favorites, inspirational and informational. I won’t even go into the fact that I still have my original copy of SHELTER, purchased in 1975 at a bookstore in Cleveland, Ohio.

   I thought you might enjoy these photos of a bobcat I surprised on an early morning hike at Sonoma Mountain outside Petaluma. He/She was hunting gophers when I came along (luckily with a telephoto lens!). I went to post these on Instagram and was dismayed to find that the bobcat hashtag was overrun with photos of hunters proudly holding up their beautiful dead bobcats (one hunter even referred to his kill as “nigga”). Sad, to me, anyway.

   So, please enjoy!

   Sincerely,
Stefan (Gutermuth)

Rainy morning, from Cafe Roma, North Beach, latte, brioche, MacAir. I asked the barista for wi-fi password, she said “I don’t know.” Meaning password is “idontknow.” Like “Who’s on first?”

Turns out I need shoulder surgery. After all these years of intense usage, I finally tore the rotator cuff muscles in my right shoulder. Skateboard fall. (Yes, yes.)  I’ve put off this type operation (in both shoulders) for years, since there’s a long recovery period. But this time it’s beyond a shot of cortisone and rehab, so biting bullet. One step back, two steps-forward. I want upper body function over the next 20 years. “Fall seven times, get up eight.” – Japanese Proverb.

Scattershot of stuff going on around here:

Tiny Homes on the Move: Wheels & Water I’ve probably got 60 pages roughed out. A lot of homes on water. 72-year-old Swedish sailor who is building a 10-foot sailboat and plans to circumnavigate the globe. He’s already sailed around the world solo. Young woman living (and sailing) on own sailboat. Further adventures of Swedish welder Henrik Linstrom (in Tiny Homes), sailing with his girlfriend from Baja California to the South Seas and then (now) in New Zealand.

   On wheels: a family of four who sold their home (no more mortgage payments) and now live in a very spiffy self-remodelled school bus. A French circus wagon home on the road. Two ski bums (a couple) and their winter camper/home.A bunch of custom housetrucks. Surfer van/home. I’m getting a few pages done each day.

Travel I’m kind of travelled out for a while. Long periods of sitting in order to get somewhere great no longer seem as tolerable. More time at home means getting deeper into surrounding natural world. No longer having to train for running races leaves more time for pure exploration. What can I find out there, going on own power (no gasoline) from home?

Tiny Homes, the book Still selling well, people love it. Hopefully sales will keep us afloat while we craft the new book into existence.

Feedback From Our Building Books is phenomenal these days, seems to be increasing. I think it’s that we now have a suite, or critical mass, of building books, connected in a very real way. People were inspired to build by Shelter, and their work appears in Home Work. Inspired by Home Work, appears in Builders of the Pacific Coast or Tiny Homes, and so on. Especially great are the 20-30-year-olds discovering Shelter (40 years after its publication).

Gun Control. Jesus, Mr. Pres, will you please kick some ass? Come out in warrior mode about controlling assault weapons and hand guns. Jesus!

Rolling Stones in NYC. They sound and look amazingly good. How about this duet Mick does with Mary J. on one of my favorite (for more reasons than one) songs?:

Hi Lloyd,

I know you have an interest in handmade boats.

   A friend passed this video along about pirouge making in South Louisiana, my homeland. The video was created around 1948-49 and depicts local craftsmen carving a local pirouge from a felled cypress with hand tools. The actual boat making starts at around minute 4:15.

https://www.folkstreams.net/film,188

   Pirouges were used by the trappers and fishermen in South Louisiana to travel through the shallow inland bayous. I’m sure there is a study somewhere that will describe how they were derived, in some way shape or form, from the dugout canoe but their shape and draft and size are much different. Current varieties are built of fiberglass but there was a transition between the dugout and the fiberglass versions that were built of marine grade plywood. Those are still being made by hand and are collectors items.

Read More …

Great website for food foraging. Preparing and eating plantain, primitive breads, salting fish, curing olives… https://www.urbanoutdoorskills.com/