Being the Continuing Adventures of a Woman and her Trusty Kayak in New York Harbor, the Hudson River, and Beyond.
(with occasional political rants just to keep things lively!)
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Sunny, sandy, surfy, shelly Saturday (plus, Frogma is HOW old?)
Gettin' all artsy-like at Jones Beach. Lots more pictures on Picasa. Oh, and btw, it seems that Frogma is 8. Happy Bloggiversary To Me! Hey, bear with me another year or two and I might even figure out what the heck I'm trying to do with this thing.
Tillerman, I feel like a lot of the boatblogs that sort of conglomerated around Proper Course have done awfully well, longevity-wise - just off the top of my head, I see that Capt. JP started in 2005,Horse's Mouth aquatic version archives start in'05, It's Five O'Clock Somewhere also kicked off in '05 (and I'm SO glad Carol Anne is back at it again after a long stretch in Blogger lockdown), Messing About in Boats, and Peconic Puffin all go back to 2006 (and the Puffin may be the oldest of us all, that started on paper back before blogging, I think). I could easily go on if I wasn't at work, but it seems like there's something about boaters that makes for older than average blogs. They say the lifespan of the average blog is that of a fruitfly - if that's true, what does that make us - the sequoias of the genre?
I think I'll take Keep Reaching's advice and stick with what I'm doing - if this blog ever gets an actual purpose in life, that would probably be the end of it. Random is good!
Good point bonnie. A lot of blogs are very personal and don't have a central topic. I think they often fizzle out quickly. But when someone has a passion for a topic - like sailing or kayaking or it could even be science or politics - it seems to me they often stick with the blog for a long time as a way to report on and discuss their passion, and to connect with others who share their interest.
The beauty is, as I think most of the bloggers you mention have discovered, is that you can still use your niche blog to discuss issues more related to your day-today personal life that are nothing to do directly with the central topic. Such as, in my case, food and beer and grandkids and man-colds and bike rides and all sorts of utter nonsense.
I have to admit that I have been tempted to give up the blog once or twice in the last 8 years. But I always find that a few weeks rest from blogging will refresh me and get me blogging again.
You're kidding! Now that's a stat of which I am very, very proud (although the comment was a little unispired, wasn't it? :D). Didn't you first turn up here recommending Sails for Sustenance? And I followed the link to your brand-new blog and said hello.
And it just got better and better.
It's funny, I really place a lot of blame on Tillerman for my relatively recent adventures in dinghy-sailing, and similarly, I think reading your food posts has really encouraged my own previously mostly latent foodie tendencies.
Mostly a good thing, although the Hasenpfeffer Episode did turn Tillerman into a vegetarian. Wondering about how that's going to hold out come summer though. Can Evelyn's stuffies be considered a vegetable?
Without you, I never would have started growing basil seriously. I actually planted seeds this year and, when after three months they were only a quarter-inch high, my faith did not waiver.
Ha...when I usually get frustrated and go to the store for seedlings after about a month of the sprouts being a quarter-inch high. Then everything usually goes nuts all at once and that's how I've ended up with the Basil Forest.
I think last year I tried skipping the seeds & just doing the seedlings to begin with. Had basil but not of the same density. Still have enough pesto in the freezer to see me through the winter though!
We'll see how things work out this year after Sandy put the garden under a foot of saltwater. It's had all winter, I'm hoping that the rain has washed the salt and other crap away, and I definitely plan to get some additional soil, manure, and peat. Dirt cheap? No, dirt expensive.
My wife took one look at my quarter-inch seedlings and scoffed - scoffed, I say!
She went out and bought some plants that saw us through the early season. But, as her store-bought instant basil began to fade, my hearty from scratch plants came on strong. And they still had a few usable leaves until the first windy storm got to them.
Which reminds me - time to get this season's seeds started - inside, in pots this time.
And yes, I am a little bit jealous that you're starting to think about gardening when we're deep in the deep freeze and months away from planting time here in 6B!
Like, wow, laulau, you older den Sweet Bluesette and Pacific Islander. Thank you for your comments on both over the years and the pure enjoyment you've given us from reading your blog.
16 comments:
Happy birthday. I guess that means that Proper Course will be 8 soon too.
Please don't figure it out - you are doing great as it is.
Tillerman, I feel like a lot of the boatblogs that sort of conglomerated around Proper Course have done awfully well, longevity-wise - just off the top of my head, I see that Capt. JP started in 2005,Horse's Mouth aquatic version archives start in'05, It's Five O'Clock Somewhere also kicked off in '05 (and I'm SO glad Carol Anne is back at it again after a long stretch in Blogger lockdown), Messing About in Boats, and Peconic Puffin all go back to 2006 (and the Puffin may be the oldest of us all, that started on paper back before blogging, I think). I could easily go on if I wasn't at work, but it seems like there's something about boaters that makes for older than average blogs. They say the lifespan of the average blog is that of a fruitfly - if that's true, what does that make us - the sequoias of the genre?
I think I'll take Keep Reaching's advice and stick with what I'm doing - if this blog ever gets an actual purpose in life, that would probably be the end of it. Random is good!
whoops - Messing About in Boats corrected link, and I'd meant to include my friend Tugster Will in the '06 starters.
Good point bonnie. A lot of blogs are very personal and don't have a central topic. I think they often fizzle out quickly. But when someone has a passion for a topic - like sailing or kayaking or it could even be science or politics - it seems to me they often stick with the blog for a long time as a way to report on and discuss their passion, and to connect with others who share their interest.
The beauty is, as I think most of the bloggers you mention have discovered, is that you can still use your niche blog to discuss issues more related to your day-today personal life that are nothing to do directly with the central topic. Such as, in my case, food and beer and grandkids and man-colds and bike rides and all sorts of utter nonsense.
I have to admit that I have been tempted to give up the blog once or twice in the last 8 years. But I always find that a few weeks rest from blogging will refresh me and get me blogging again.
Baydog was Johnny-come-lately in 2010, after finding inspiration from Tillerman and his small band of merrymakers. Happy anniversary Bonnie!
And Bonnie, you were the absolute first to comment on 829southdrive. Thanks for kicking things off.
You're kidding! Now that's a stat of which I am very, very proud (although the comment was a little unispired, wasn't it? :D). Didn't you first turn up here recommending Sails for Sustenance? And I followed the link to your brand-new blog and said hello.
And it just got better and better.
It's funny, I really place a lot of blame on Tillerman for my relatively recent adventures in dinghy-sailing, and similarly, I think reading your food posts has really encouraged my own previously mostly latent foodie tendencies.
Mostly a good thing, although the Hasenpfeffer Episode did turn Tillerman into a vegetarian. Wondering about how that's going to hold out come summer though. Can Evelyn's stuffies be considered a vegetable?
Your blog has added spice to my life.
Without you, I never would have started growing basil seriously. I actually planted seeds this year and, when after three months they were only a quarter-inch high, my faith did not waiver.
I kept asking myself, "What would Bonnie do?"
Ha...when I usually get frustrated and go to the store for seedlings after about a month of the sprouts being a quarter-inch high. Then everything usually goes nuts all at once and that's how I've ended up with the Basil Forest.
I think last year I tried skipping the seeds & just doing the seedlings to begin with. Had basil but not of the same density. Still have enough pesto in the freezer to see me through the winter though!
We'll see how things work out this year after Sandy put the garden under a foot of saltwater. It's had all winter, I'm hoping that the rain has washed the salt and other crap away, and I definitely plan to get some additional soil, manure, and peat. Dirt cheap? No, dirt expensive.
My wife took one look at my quarter-inch seedlings and scoffed - scoffed, I say!
She went out and bought some plants that saw us through the early season. But, as her store-bought instant basil began to fade, my hearty from scratch plants came on strong. And they still had a few usable leaves until the first windy storm got to them.
Which reminds me - time to get this season's seeds started - inside, in pots this time.
See, seeds AND storebought, that's the way to go!
And yes, I am a little bit jealous that you're starting to think about gardening when we're deep in the deep freeze and months away from planting time here in 6B!
maybe you can post some pictures when you start planting?
Happy Birthday, cousin.
Like, wow, laulau, you older den Sweet Bluesette and Pacific Islander.
Thank you for your comments on both over the years and the pure enjoyment you've given us from reading your blog.
Mālama, sistah. Aloha nui loa, PandaB and K.
Thanks! Still love that little song you and K sent me for the Origami Bunny Dance, and enjoying following the adventures of Japan's only Lido 14!
happy blog anniversary bonnie! 8 years is amazing!
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