Valentine’s Day 2026

Another trip around the sun since V-Day ‘25 and here we are. It’s been weeks locked into sub-freezing Arctic cold, thanks to global warming and a wobbly polar vortex. Today the high of 37º felt so hot compared to 6º I had to crack my windows on my drive to work! I’ve become so acclimatized to the below-freezing temperatures that all I need to wear of late is a long sleeve tee, a fleece, and a jacket and I’m fine. No gloves, no hat! Ridiculous, no surfer should be that comfortable in freezing cold weather.

At the beginning of this endless cold snap, the ocean was still in the 40ºs but now it’s down to 34º yowch! That, combined with the sub-freezing air temps has definitely turned me off to the idea of surfing for the past few weeks. Some of my mates have been having fun out there nonetheless in the slushy waves, but still, not my cup of tea. Iced tea I suppose, just not my thing. So, I’ve been focusing on work, home exercises, and meditating, whilst enjoying the beautiful view of snow and bright blue skies outside my window from the comfort of my warm house. My blood might have thickened up enough to be comfortable in the cold on land, but not enough to want to freeze my nuts off in the biting arctic winds, and just barely above-freezing ocean temps, no thanks.

Meanwhile the news has been a parade of awful regarding the Epstein insanities, wars, genocides, political chaos, you name it. So once again trying to focus on doing good works, Dharma practice, and staying tight with my loved ones and family members, be they close to home or far afield. In a few weeks’ time I am scheduled to be back in the Caribbean; spring training for surf season ‘26. Hopefully it will be a better surf season for me this year, free of stupid injuries. Definitely looking forward to surfing more with my mates this spring, summer, and fall. Also looking to make more art, and push more print and t-shirt sales but we shall see.

So yes it’s V-Day and love is in the air for some, so let’s try to enjoy the end of the multi-week long arctic blast and start thinking about the coming spring and brighter days, and hopefully less turmoil and evil throughout the world. Hopefully the year of the horse will bring better vibes and happiness for all. (Hope is the key word.) What is nice so far this year of ‘26 is that the local sandbars have shaped up nicely. Hopefully this summer will be extra fun and grand being able to surf locally, not having to drive for 45-minutes to an hour just to score some halfway decent surf, but we shall see…

Today as I write this, the sea is flat, with Lake Atlantic conditions and chilly 34º ocean temps. It’s a great day to be together with your other, staying warm inside together making love the priority. There’s too much evil and hate out there, so let’s make hearts the golden rule and love everyone you know the best you can, and make our friends happy and make the world a better place. (Or something like that.) Soon enough we’ll be sharing waves and having fun once the winter breaks, so why not make the most of winter’s tail end before it’s gone and disappeared.