happy bday to our family

With all dogs having bdays within a two week window, we have proclaimed 4/1 dog birthday.

HAPPY BDAY

happy happy

joy joy

an incident aka wounded knee

pop goes the knee, MJR nails the money shot a millisecond before I blow out my MCL and crawl to the beach sans board and ego. Tail spins to beach, cant seem to unstick booty from wax, back leg getting twisted and pinned closer to nose, closer, closer, cant fight the gravity, closer, POP...

As alway Neptune wins, the surf has turned on, the days are getting longer, and I am drydocked for 6 weeks.

what happened

What happened to us?

Sorry for lagging.

We are moving.

Dude scoping early season flounder in our new backyard

Dude agrees this really is a great room

more from ecuador, eh why not

some bs fun from new years day before the swell actually arrived in Ecuador. Riding the 5'2 concave deck stringerless Dick Van Straalen Fish Snagglefin got me for christmas, it worked great in Ecuador when I barebacked in tropical water. Yesterday with overhead sets and 6/5/4 wetsuit and all the 5 mil boots and gloves i could barely feel the board under me, I suck and so does the cold winter thus far.

On a warmer note, Snaggle and I got invited to a private preseason garden shindig, woohoo, lectures about tropical plants, tips on perennials and creating butterfly gardens amongst other interesting topics. Came home from ecuador with a mailbox full of seed catalogues, time to start planning, days are getting longer, soon it will be time to turn the soil.

16 day christmas

Sometimes you just have to sit back and let the world unfold in front of you. Whatever happens, just say thankyou and hope it all happened for the best. Hmmm, the trip ended unreal, scored epic surf courtesy of quickly arranged surf tour courtesy of Sebastian, I will post his info for everyone when I get a chance. Keith and Marilyn and the grommest of gremmies their boy Tyler, at La Buena Vida Hosteleria stoked us out daily with great hospitality, perfect breakfast served all day (as it should be), and a great Aloha spirit.

www.surflabuenavida.com

The last week was greeted with building swell, epic right points, solo sessions or just with friends , the purchasing of a half acre of land a football field from the beach and the adoption of two beautiful vizsla puppies.

epic "empty" right

Stoked Crew after 3 hours at "empty" right

courtesy of SeaBass

&

http://www.surflatitudezero.com/

epic food

epic beer

Tom Parrish "Empty" Right Quiver

the puppies

the souvenir 100'x100'

Its still flat in NY, somethings never change and its snowed about 10" inches which after 28" in december this no longer constitutes a snow day. Sorry groms no snow day for you.

greetings from ecuador

Almost Flat in Ayampe

Snaggle asked why I would bring all the small wave toys?

This was the biggest wave we saw the 1st week

nanny nanny we still got in the water

Snaggle got really good at her Mat that Santa got her for christmas

Snaggle owning it on her Fourth Gear Flyer by Paul Gross

apparently we are here for a bodysurf trip but have to squeezed in a couple surfs. Waiting on three huge swells, here for 11 days but may turn into two and a half weeks.

A moment with Nature

Updated, in Ecuador you burn your idols, heroes and villains, its a New Years Eve tradition. Translation, a surf sacrifice was in order...

the last supper

burn your idols

burn

scary new years leprechaun

Burn Idols Burn

Party Animals, we stayed up until 12:15 AM rage til dawn

New Year, no more getting skunked on surf trips, bring on an epic 2011!!!!

1/2/2011 Sacrifice Worked

stupid winter

Scenes from winter's past. Waiting on a Nor'Easter b4 we head off to Ecuador for warm waves and a tasty buzz, Ahhhh, the equator about as far as you can get from a waveless 14 degree december. Oh sure NJ was good for a day but than it was freezing cold and flat for the rest of the time, one bomb swell in 6 weeks just leads to god awful paddle outs and a lack of comfort in your 6/5/4. Winter pretty much sucks, but it sure makes for some pretty pictures.

Dirty Jersey

Aint no joke, 6 weeks of shitness greeted by a massive punch in the head. No its not the Situation getting ready to paddle out but its sure as shit the Jersey Shore. Snooki Dont Surf.

summer and fall salads

that sums it up, the big yellow tomato's were feral, by far the biggest fruit of all the tomatoes we grew. Being I wasnt lucky enough to pick them all before the rotted from the vine I am sure we will have several more giant yellow tomato plants next year. The cherry tomatoes went bonkers, I think at one point the garden alley was an in passable forest of cherry tomatoes.

Earlier this year I learned I am now allergic to bees while trying to take fotos of my parents honey beehives, no bueno. Brought flashbacks of a close friend who passed away a year prior from being stung by a wasp. My arm inflated like a balloon from the tip of my finger to the top of my shoulder, four days of misery.

good critters

I think, therefore I blog??? something like that. Great garden season, even though it was crazy hot with little rain. I cant believe its December 3 and we still have roses blossoming, still have carrots in the ground that are about 14" long, and still getting herbs for pasta sauce. Oh, we still have peppers also, spicy ones, bell ones, green ones, red ones, orange ones, yellow ones. The past two summers Snaggle and I have unleashed Praying Mantis ?Eggs/sack/thing? to combat aphids and other bad critters. You wonder, did it work, am I going to get Mantis? Than one day you see one the size of your pinky nail and your stoked. Maybe late in the summer or early fall, you go to look out the window and check the tomatoes. BAMMMMM, mother fucking dinosaur sized Mantis staring right back at you, holy shit did we hatch that thing? Holy shit does that thing want to eat me? So cool.

quivers

Snagglefins Functioning Quiver 2010

Flower Power

Not much surf to speak of lately, like nothing, lake atlantic, flat as a pancake. Today was the first day I surfed in god knows how long, it was all of knee high a not so epic, little slides on the right board. Pretty craptacular spring and now start the summer doldrums, least we have pretty flowers to stare at.