Savings Time Haiku

Sodium lit Spring blossoms
Sap rising up now
Street light soon go out

Deja Vu

I went for a walk this morning with two purposes in mind, the first, to see what Daylight Savings Time had done to us. You might compare this photo, taken at 6:44 AM this morning with yesterday’s photo also taken at 6:44 AM.

The second reason is because the other day I was driving out Highway 20 and stopped to take some photos of Van Peer’s boatworks. I wanted to post the photos but I had not walked to that location. So, this morning I walked (4.5 miles round trip) and took this photo. The following two photos were taken a few days ago from my vehicle.

Here is what I found on the web about Van Peer’s boatyard and I include it here because a lot of us locals see it but never know any more than what we see:

Calif. yard makes a comeback (Published 2006)

Since it opened in 1973, Van Peer Boatworks was known for building quality steel boats for fishermen from California to Alaska, boats like the Spiky Lady, Reality, Spectra and Island Pride — 28 in all, with the last one being the 59-foot Stella. That was before Chris Van Peer closed down his boatyard on Highway 20 in Fort Bragg, Calif., five years ago.

Now Van Peer is back. Actually, the boatyard has been open for more than a year, and this past February, the Jes An, a 63' x 24' Dungeness crabber was launched for local fisherman Tim Estes. Asked why he started building steel boats again, Van Peer says he knew Estes, and Estes asked him to build him a new boat. He decided to go ahead with the project, and now he’s on his second crabber.

In early May, Van Peer was in his boatyard, waiting for a truckload of computer-cut steel to arrive so he could start the next boat. One reason work didn’t start as soon as the Jes An was completed is because of the slow process getting steel from the mill, Van Peer says.

The new boat will be identical to the Jes An. The boat’s owner, Dennis Sturgell of Hammond, Ore., and Estes are friends, and they fish in the same area. So when Estes starting thinking about having his boat built, he and Sturgell got together and figured it would be cheaper to build two identical boats.

Thus they got the same designer, Jensen Maritime Consultants in Seattle; the same engine, 640-hp Cummins KTA19-M3; the same generators, two 120-kW John Deeres; the same 5-inch shafting, and so on, down to stainless-steel plating.

Both boats will have two stainless-steel-lined insulated fish holds. The larger one is 2,120 cubic feet, and the smaller is 1,480 cubic feet. Behind the two fish holds is a 320-cubic-foot bait tank. The holds can be tanked down for crabbing, but for albacore fishing, they will use chilled seawater and spray brine.

The boats have stainless-steel guards and cap rails. The willingness to use stainless steel is one thing Van Peer notices after being out of the business for five years. “Anything that gets any wear at all is stainless steel,” he says.

Since Van Peer has been back in business, fishermen have been calling from as far away as Alaska to talk about having a boat built.

6:44 AM

6:44 AM Saturday, March 10th and the sun just breaks over the coastal hills.
Tomorrow at 6:44 AM it is going to be a whole different story. Spring Ahead!! Oh Boy!

Observations

My wife accuses me of being anthropomorphic but hey...

It looks like things are getting pretty cozy to me! (That's two birds on the pole. NOT one bird yawning!!

Meanwhile, down here in Fort Bragg, there were a lot of folks who kept their milk cow and chickens “out back” in the "good old days. Walking around I have spotted a few examples.

This summer I plan to walk the alleys of Fort Bragg where lots of little sheds and coops are still visible.

Musings

Spring starts in two weeks but already these Ravens are making amorous moves while standing on a High Voltage cross beam!! (Tricky business!!)

Just by looking at them you can tell what's going on! And isn't it amazing how "guy like" the guy looks and how indifferent the female seems!

If you can't tell by looking, it is the female that makes that “knocking on wood” sound.

I walked through the hospital grounds this morning and discovered this.

It is a very nice enclosed garden. If you are in need of rejuvenation and renewal, hopefully you have a key.
I know. I know. Patient only but…

And I couldn’t pass these without taking their photos!

Back on Track

Monday morning and I’m walking Fort Bragg again. I got a late start and wasn’t out the door until 6:15 AM. Gravity seemed especially strong!

After seeing quite a bit of Berkeley last week I have come to appreciate how easy I have it compared to Jen at Walking Berkeley. Boy oh boy are there some hills in Berkeley!

Another observation. How nice and light it is getting between 6:00 and 7:00 AM (my preferred walking time) and the realization I am going to be soon slammed back into darkness when Daylight Savings Time arrives less than a week from now.

I discovered another manhole cover “misalignment” (top photo) and my eighth “post transfer box”. I am told these transfer boxes are still used, occasionally.

As you have probably noticed, I prefer the simpler life!! The "city" was fun but...

I'm Back

As you can see by the above photo I have not been in Fort Bragg.

A friend was going to the “Bay Area” for some medical tests. He was going for a week and I offered to tag along as company. He and his wife have a second home in the Richmond Marina Bay area so we were all set for accommodations.

During this past week I got to ride the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system from the Richmond/Berkeley station to the San Francisco Embarcadero Area.

From there we used the MUNI bus system up to the hospital. And back.

The days we were not involved going to the hospital we paddled Richmond Bay in kayaks.

And, fellow readers, almost every morning I did walk the walking and biking path alongside Richmond Bay.

It was all very interesting but I am glad to be back
Walking Fort Bragg again.