love... 

a morning's listening pleasures decided upon... vinyl forever... 

summer is near... 

i see angels and demons... 

kezar lake, retinted... 

i don't like, uhhh, being criticalized... 

the bus came by and i got on, that's when it all began...

through the eyes of children... Molly 1 

Molly 2 

Molly 3 

camera tag! daddy's it... 

my oldest daughter applying some fine body english to get the shot... she loves her camera... 

our returns department... in a word, gruff... 

bidding farewell to the winter of 2005, one with a lackage of lustre...

a lunch hour ski from snowier winters past... 

nothing finer... 

what do ya suppose lives in this perfect little place??? 

now what lives in there??? 

strong evidence of the Mossman of Maine... 

notes on the 3rd child and astral astrid surf projections...

IF CHILD 2 IS 180° FROM CHILD 1 IN BEHAVIOR,
HOW CAN CHILD 3 BE 180° FROM CHILD 2,
AND YET STILL BE NOWHERE NEAR CHILD 1...
DEGREES OF OPPOSITION... BEHAVORIAL ALGEBRA....
WHILST WASHING ASTRID'S HAIR THE OTHER MORNING,
WE HAD A FINE MOMENT...
THE FIRST TWO CHILDREN HATED GETTING WATER IN OR ON THEIR FACE...
WASHING OF HAIR WAS SURE TO BRING ON....
THE CONNIPTION... hmm, that's one of those words, that while typing it you realize you have no clue how to spell it, or if it's even a real word...
ANYHOW, PARENTS KNOW THE HYSTERICAL FITS OF WHICH I SPEAK...
SO, ASTI'S READING "MIMI'S TOES" IN HER LITTLE BLUE BABY TUB,
AND I TRY TO JUST EASE INTO THE HAIR WASHING, ALL SLY AND ALL...
NO NEED, IL DUCE DADDY...
SHE JUST GOES ON READING...
NON-EVENT IN HER BOOK...
CAN THIS BE...
I MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO KEEP WATER FROM HER FACE...
SHE MAKES NO ATTEMPT TO FEND IT OFF...
"GOOD GIRL" I MURMUR SOFTLY....
SHE TURNS AND LOOKS AT ME, SMILING...
A DROP OF WATER FALLS FROM BROW TO LASH TO CHEEK...
IN THAT DROP OF WATER I AM TRANSPORTED TO OUR FUTURE...
SHE'S JUST CAUGHT HER FIRST REAL WAVE...
THE ONE WHERE IT ALL COMES TOGETHER,
AND GETTING TO YOUR FEET BECOMES A MEMORY EXERCISE...
NOW SHE'S FREE TO NOTICE THAT WAVE WALLING UP IN FRONT OF HER, FEELING IT'S WAY DOWN THE REEF...
THAT LIQUID CANVAS OF THE HEART AND BODY....
SHE'S BEEN LET INTO THE PLAYGROUND OF PURE ENERGY...
GO AHEAD, SCREAM AT THE TOP OF YOUR SOUL...
ALL TRACES OF YOU ARE WASHED AWAY IN AN INSTANT...
WHAT A PERFECT LESSON IN THE MOMENT....
SHE WEIGHTS AND UNWEIGHTS, RISES AND FALLS, DRIVES AND STALLS...
SHE PAINTS THE LINES SHE SEES ON THE FACE OF THE WAVE,
AND KICKS OUT OVER THE SHOULDER AT THE END OF THE RIDE,
NOT IN CONTROL, BUT IN BALANCE... fights between these two will come later, but that doesn't matter now...
SHE PADDLES BACK TO WHERE WE LIKE TO SIT...
AND WAIT...
SITTING UP ON HER BOARD, SHE SMILES WORDLESSLY...
A DROP OF SUN DRENCHED SALTWATER FALLS,
FROM BROW TO LASH TO CHEEK...
THE THIRD CHILD IS THE WATER CHILD, METHINKS.....................
ALOHA,
ERIK

AND YES, MY KIDS ARE GONNA ROCK THE FUCKING SPELLING BEE, PEEPS!!!!
CONNIPTION IS A WORD, AND I SPELLED IT RIGHT!!!!
BOO-YAH DAWG...........
GEOGRAPHY 2 MOFOS!!!!
MUCH LOVE.........................................

maine spring

spring has sprung, and i for one, could not be happier...
even a nagging and wretched cold can't sway my buoyancy...
4 inches of heavy wet april snow???
bid deal, it'll melt in a day...
it did...
but what of the precious delicate tulips???
good lord, they lived in the frozen dirt all winter...
they're way tougher than me...
here's an alright naughty bit about horticulture...
...what's nicer than flowers on a piano???
drumroll.........................
tulips on my organ...
rimshot!!!
aye, a dad can still be a randy sort....
ah, where was i... oh yeah.............
nope, the sun's power is undeniable,
coaxing life back from the cycle of death...
a wonder to watch, every year...
and the birds are back, new ones each day...
soon, my phoebes will be back at their nest in my shed...
that's an honor for me...
some level of acceptance and tolerance...
been in the woods a lot this late winter and early spring,
cutting and hauling logs for next year's firewood...
as i check out the coyote, moose and deer tracks
crisscrossing the land i'm on,
i notice they're starting to use the trails i've been
carving through the woods for biking and skiing and snowshoeing...
walking the same trails as these awesome creatures
gives me this sense of natural harmony...
it's such a separate world, and i fear many have forgotten it...
an appreciation of nature,
it's the biggest thing i have to give my children...
i hope they'll take it...
aloha,
erik