land ho

this is my first share from the captain’s log :). the idea was born in grad school, when I was assigned to write climate-related blog posts for a class — and I said omg captain’s log is sooo cute. post-grad, i’m trying to figure out how to keep my brain turned on.

this idea of looking for land. the tale of the endurance. the idea of keeping the feet on land and craving the smell of the ocean. land locked. lost at sea. it’s all a metaphor for living.

it was yesterday when jess sent me the submission form for her dog’s cookbook (absolutely) — that I submitted my grandpa mick’s challah french toast recipe — and thought, we are so back.

nearly two years ago, I was walking the beach at home, talking to my grandpa — who’s no longer with us — about the ocean. it’s safe to say all of his descendants carry his love for the ocean, as well as his big heart, through everything we do. text exchanges in our family often go “I love you to infinity and beyond — when’s striped bass season?” anyway — walking the beach — I gazed down at the shoreline and spotted a penny, heads up, slightly corroded with sand now part of its aesthetic.

I took it as a sign that he was talking to me, too. I said alright fine I’ll do whatever you want — and that was commune with the divine as often as possible.

anything ocean-related makes me stand up straighter. I went to a talk at pioneer works a few months ago, where the speaker gushed that people love whales. she was sooo right for that! if we need to make something personal, bring up a whale. orcas are flipping yachts, and now we hate yachts, too.

I had a dream the other night that I was — naturally — at a whale conference. the floor moved with the rhythm of the ocean, kind of like a fun house but more calming.

I hope to use captain’s log to write more about the natural world, keep my brain turned on, and hopefully bring some joy via sea creatures and land babies. some could say — a nature-based solution?

xxx