winter is certainly more than a visitor now, the last heroes of the fall have succumb (even the stubborn ones), so many familiar things, I’m noticing, more these days, paying attention to the details (always the details), wading through piles of leaves, kicking up my feet, much like traipsing through the surf as I churn, that distinct sound – of the dry death in dry leaves, the sweet breath of decay suspended in the cold air, such a unique scent, like the blooming of flowers in spring, this is the signature of the fall, held so still around my ghostly breath, the flashes of red and yellow now turning into brown, and then near nothingness, dormant stars to hide in the earth, burying luminescence, life is retreating into a cocoon, we, the overseers, as it were, pursue – the vast importance of our daily lives, but at least the coming of the cranberry holiday can give us pause, to say thanks, and pause to look on the world’s comings and goings as a lesson, to hold on to the remains of a dying year, to remain to hold those we hold dear, and to remember above all, love is life – and we are alive, give thanks.
Literally first light, around 6:45am this morning in Scientist Cliffs, Maryland, of course my last day on vacay has the quintessential sunrise I am used to @ the cliffs, getting me up that early is a miracle on most days but I must admit I was energized seeing the sun rise up over the bay, I have video as well of the literal rising sun, post that tomorrow most likely, even in the burgeoning cold this was a sight to behold, and it sums up why I trek here year after year, not to sun worship on a beach, to see scenes like these, it reminds me of why life is worth living, even if alone (for now), how can such a site not make you know.
Part of being on the eastern coastal region of the US is the abundance of oysters, they were so populous back in the early days of our country that they were the street food of the day (check out this article about oysters and new york city), so I happen to love raw seafood, top necks (clams), oysters etc etc, I have been known to house a few dozen no problem (just ask Awful Arthurs, I think they got sick of me while I was in town), but in all my travels (OK, limited I have basically just gone up and down the east coast of the US) I have not seen the ritual of eating them with crackers (saltine type)… so, the bartender was rather amused with the idea of me trying oysters the southern maryland way, there is some disagreement though, there are two methods (so I was told – maybe they were messing with me which would be hilarious).
a) make a sandwich of sorts, oyster on cracker topped with raw horseradish and cocktail sauce
b) cracker crumbled on top of said oyster and horseradish/cocktail sauce
Both are anathema to how I enjoy my bivalves.. but heck, I’m game, so I ordered a 1/2 dozen (I was @ Stoney’s in Prince Frederick if you ever are here – GO, or order online, the crab cakes are divine), so…
a) made the sandwich, while being ogled by the bartender and her endless amusement at my proclaimed predicament, I guess I had to do this in one bite? so I did. artful ? probably not, graceful ? surely not. the cracker kind of soaked up the liqueur (which I want to taste) but also too much, it made my mouth a desert and kind of robbed the oyster of it’s full natural flavor, it kind of was like really good paper towels had sapped away all the moisture and I was only getting everything BUT the oyster, thumbs down, well, at least the bartender was amused by all my expressive facial expressions…
b) the crumble method… so I carefully selected one of the remaining oysters (I had cleansed my palette in between with a combination of oysters the way I like and some Goose IPA), I popped some raw horseradish on there, a quick squeeze of lemon, and a dollop of cocktail sauce… on that (blasphemy) I crumbled a full cracker’s worth of cracker on top… and popped it in the ole blow hole in the front of my face, OK, not bad, did not totally sap the oyster of what makes them great (IMO), it added a little texture to the mix, I could live with this version (IF I didn’t know any better)
Verdict? I still like to just scoop the suckers up, put a little cocktail sauce/horseradish on and chew ’em… I like to taste where they are from, word is that there was a good deal of rain this year in the bay (that might actually hurt the harvest) but that also decreases the salinity… I definitely noticed, these were super mild (and sweet). So, that is what my blog is today, no poetry, just a dissertation on local oysters and customs. Tomorrow I venture back to home, the murderer of dozens upon dozens of bivalves over the course of the week… if the mollusks ever take over, I am surely in trouble…
This song really gets me, great art can often be simple, the premise of this song is just that, but it is not something we might always think about, or maybe you do, I can only speak for this pile of genetic material typing this post at the moment, perhaps it is the memory burned into my cinema screen of memory that I can not erase, that day, I am blessed or cursed with an exceptional memory, so every detail, even the feel… I remember, it all, whether it be guilt or regret, or the lens of time distilling away the non essential elements and leaving just one, love.
and lest I forget, I do appreciate all comments, thoughts, follows or re-posts (as long as ya’ credit me, c’mon!), or turkey sandwiches, man I love turkey…
I consider myself good with the written word, but sometimes nature just makes it impossible for me to speak on paper like she reveals to my eyes, maybe that is why I do not write much (at all) when I am here, I am overwhelmed by what I see so I use that lens thing to share it with you, I am by no means a photographer, or even a pretend one, I can only point and hope it captures what I am seeing for sharing here, so I will post something I wrote previously but have not gotten around to posting immediately (from my last vacation apparently)…
this is one of those songs that transports me to a certain time, I had my ipod mini (remember those? lol) and I sat nights looking out at the atlantic in islamorada (FL Keys), I remember watching thunderstorms coming in off the ocean in little castles on the horizon, I could see the lightning on the stark aqua tone as the waves lapped at my toes, all in paradise, late at night, cradling a drink, with this song as the soundtrack. sometimes a song just does that, this is that, for me.
I have been uploading plenty of vids to my youtube channel, I ain’t saying they are great but hopefully they do reveal the feel of where I am at.
I am on vacation in a non vacation location (say that 10 times fast), but for me this is perfect, the stars are really wonderful tonight, none of my cameras can capture the low light shots though (it is great to see all the constellations so bright – even if the light that I see is beyond the age of all civilization). But anyway the rain stopped about 3pm so I was able to get out onto the beach, I wandered about in awe like I usually do, this place floors me, it grounds me, I hope it allows me bring this feeling to the world, I mean, isn’t that what it is all about ? I was able to find some cool fossils but also just these views, I am thankful for just that, and I need to remember that… and then there is the great food (sushi tonight: baltimore roll: lump crab, avocado, reverse roll (rice on the outside), rolled in old bay seasoning… oh man, total food buzz. (I also got baby octopuses as an app – they were way bigger than other times I have had them, very chewy, but damn delicious)
please pepper me with questions about this area. I love it here and have been coming here for years now. I think this is an absolute hidden gem of the east coast of the US. Plus if you think there is somewhere like this I should know about .. I want to know!!! (Virginia, Delaware etc etc !!!)
I am off for the week, thrilled to be in one of my favorite places on the east coast, Scientist Cliffs, MD… Sure, the weather is not being cooperative (rainy) and driving down I got stuck behind an accident on 95 that had the highway shut down to one lane, but there is something about this place that speaks to me, this is not some resort/tourist area (unlike Solomons just south of here, plus this is not far from Washington DC), in fact all the locals think I am nuts when I tell them I am on vacation, some even recognize me as that guy who they see every year around this time (if you read any of my blog you can tell I am a different bird so no news there), I am not near any major city which for someone who lives in the shadow of NYC is a treat (to actually see the stars and even cosmic dust/galaxies @ night).
This area is known for Miocene era fossils, you literally just walk the beach and find shark teeth half the size of your hand (see some I have found here), man, in Jersey I have to dig and sift for hours to get teeth half as impressive, also this is a completely private area populated originally by scientists (um, hence the name) and one of their requirements was that the homes are log cabins (literally), now these days that requirement has relaxed a bit (the people I rent from call the house next door a McMansion – it is more modern and they only come here on the weekends), but for the most part 80% of the homes are log cabins or at least very rustic, the particular place I rent (the only rental actually, everyone else lives here) is about 100 years old and was built by hand by the patriarch of the family I rent from… they left the cabin as is (they raised their kids here), so it is like renting from family, all the old photos, kid’s art etc are all here on the walls including a deer head mounted on the wall, which creeps me out late at night honestly, there are these gnarly paths down to the beach as well (I am 100ft plus feet above the bay – which makes for amazing sunrises – my photos here), so last night was my first night here and I just had to go greet the bay, to hear the sound of the waves crashing up against the cliffs, I love the sound, it really just calms me, as violent as it actually is, such a natural rhythm plus the wind, it doesn’t need to be a summer or warm, just the tide is alright by me, so as I was saying earlier there are these totally crazy paths down to the beach carved out of the ravines hiding in the spaces of the cliffs, so last night I filmed my walk back and posted it on Youtube… someone should film a horror flick here, all I need is some creepy breathing or music.
I usually do not write creatively when I am here, although I have been reborn as of last april (I don’t mean religiously, I just felt different after an event in my life, that’s all). I keep journals on me all the time, my car, my backpack etc. So I kind of expect I will write some stuff, but I am not going to force it, well… that is my goal, all we can do is go forward ya know ?
So anyway, I had a rockfish gyro tonight, I don’t especially like Feta cheese, this had Feta, which, to be honest I could have asked before I ordered it (the dish turned out to be very good), but I wanted to get something different than I usually order @ Stoney’s (seriously the crab cakes are just heavenly), but I will go back and order what I usually do, the neptune platter (an assortment of broiled seafood), of course I racked out first with a 6 pack of raw oysters, and I learned something, they serve raw oysters with:
cocktail sauce
horseradish (diced up separate)
lemon
lots of crackers
So… I love raw oysters (actually I prefer clams) but the crackers threw me… what the hell are they for in this application ? So I asked the bar maiden who told me people eat the oysters on the crackers (I thought maybe they crumbled the crackers over them?)! So strange to me, I have had oysters up and down the east coast from New Hampshire to the Carolinas… I have not seen this particular application, ever, I guess I never paid attention here as I have been coming for years but kind of cast off the crackers… did I try it their way? no… I like to taste the oysters, the brine, the grit, I chew them, I like to know the flavor of the water in which they grew, and in this case they are so mild growing in a bay, I was just recently in Cape May and of course the best oyster there is the Cape May Salts, and they taste of the ocean, which I dig, but these were also great, so clean and light, a little smaller than some but a little Tabasco, lemon, and cocktail sauce on the quick dip, and let them melt in your mouth, that is where it is at… well, at least for me, and well, this is my blog after all… will I try the oysters “their” way.. hmmm maybe, I have to be open but I know what I like, maybe just one out of a dozen I might sacrifice to these heathens…
I post some less complicated thoughts or poems on the weekend, it’s my trend, my thing, my jam, my (insert overused cliche of your choice here), so without further bent…
edit 1:33am, just noticed that if you look at the content I went from love, to sex, to jelly… that is all I am going to say… figure out the rest yourself if you get my drift. It was totally not on purpose, that is the crazy thing, maybe it was sub-conscious?
Did some work on my collections/series page (trying to make this all easier to navigate by interest/topic now that things have been going for 6 months or so). Any suggestions are cool… I actually just wanted to post this to my page and not broadcast it… how do you do that here?
I have a thing for the Kiwi nation, I find it fascinating from a biological perspective as well as culturally (specifically the Maori people). I have a collection of poems dedicated to this subject (with links and explanations as there are specific aspects of Maori culture/mythology I am directly talking about here)… here is one I wrote more semi-recently however (man time flies)…
“the spirit shore” 6.1.18
a journey starts one completes
diving off from upon the peak
to the homeland
in the sea
glancing back to those alive
“Thrive! Thrive! Thrive!
I will see you again
my brothers –
in due time”
music ? (as if I would forget to proselytize with my musical vibes)
not many people have the balls to attempt this… and too be honest Eric is technically a better player than Jimi (much cleaner note for note) but Jimi was instinct, he was fire (and pure inspire), so to say one is better or not is a bit unfair to both, two different things, I can admire both for different reasons and different feelings.
