Do I miss California? Only a little bit...

In my notes for the book I'm writing I have a list of all the pros and cons I've experienced living in SoCal as well as up here in Minnesota. Over the next few days I'm going to share some of them here.

Many people move to California in pursuit of big dreams and end up staying long after their initial enthusiasm dies, simply because it's incredibly difficult to leave. You become complacent and adapt, and the rest of the world starts to feel like another planet entirely. SoCal is it's own little world - a dirty rat race where people pretend they're important but are actually hollow inside, just going through the motions. Beautiful zombies walk the streets in high heels and tailored suits, while the mentally ill sleep on park benches and hold signs hoping for handouts. Ignorance is bliss.

California is a huge state, and my experiences involve such a small part of the big picture. I never spent a night on a gritty south L.A. street where crime is common and store windows have steel bars. I never spent a night in an extravagant penthouse overlooking the ocean, either. I lived somewhere in the middle, but I made many observations.

I've lived in California for four years, total. Two were spent in a big house in the hills of Encino, and two were spent in a small apartment in downtown Burbank, with a few years back home in Minnesota separating them. Each California experience was very different, but I'm grateful for them both. 

The list of things I miss about Southern California is pretty short, but there were definitely perks. 

1. The food is incredible. You can find flavors from around the world on the street outside our front door, and the produce selection is beyond anything I've seen elsewhere thanks to the long (non-stop?) growing season. Looking back I wish I had planted more food plants on our balcony.

2. A distinct lack of flying, biting bugs. In the winter a few mosquitoes might sneak in, but they're few and far between. 

3. Museums and educational places. Griffith Observatory, the Getty, the La Brea Tar Pits, the Natural History Museum - so many interesting things to see!

4. Very cool national parks, namely Joshua Tree and Sequoia/Kings's Canyon, and all the different wildlife. 

5. Our apartment's balcony. While living in the city sucked in many ways, our balcony was my happy place. I could sit outside and watch birds fly around the trees or watch people walking on the sidewalk. Some of my favorite times were spent hanging out on the balcony with Jordan, just chatting and enjoying each other's company.

I think that pretty much sums it up. I don't think California is terrible, but it pales in comparison to the north woods. More coming soon!

Live to Fish, Fish to Live

Life is stressful.

There are a huge number of ways to relieve stress. Doctors recommend exercise, yoga, meditation, and even masturbation. Stress relief is important for our overall health. You have to find your happy place.

My happy place involves holding a stiff rod in my hand and waiting for a little action. 

I love innuendo.

It was my dad who taught me how to fish and ignited this lifelong passion. He took me fishing a lot growing up. We used to have a nice boat with a live well and I have many fond memories of trolling and still fishing on Devil Track, Trout, Cascade, Flour and Two Island lakes. I never wanted to leave the lake even as it was getting dark. I always thought there might be one more fish lurking around the bend. Maybe if I moved my rod a certain way, I could entice a big one to grab my lure. 

Catching fish is only part of it, though. I don't have to catch anything to enjoy fishing. The act of casting, patiently waiting, reeling, and casting again has a rhythm, a heartbeat. I feel a primal connection to nature similar to the one I feel while hunting. At the heart of it, fishing is hunting. My goal is to catch fish and put a meal on the table, but going hours without a nibble is certainly not a waste of time. There is much to enjoy and appreciate.

This entry was inspired by tonight's fishing trip. I left home around 6:30 and headed to Cascade River hoping to catch a few nice brook trout. If you've never had brook trout, you're missing out on what might be the most delicious fish there is (walleye is a close second).

The river was beautiful, as always.

I wore my Vibram Five-Fingers (toe shoes) because they work great in the water. I waded into the river and was surprised at how warm it was in some places and cooler in others. I put a worm on a basic bait-holder hook and started fishing. If I stood still, minnows would nibble at my legs and shoes. I tossed them a worm from the container in my pocket and watched them swarm and attack it like tiny, adorable piranhas. 

I caught two big chubs that I threw back, but no tasty brook trout. After losing worm after worm to the hungry fish and getting annoyed by the deer flies buzzing around my head, I decided it was time to move on to my next destination just down the road - Devil Track Lake. 

As I waded back to shore I looked around the rocks and weeds for my old friend - a mink frog I see literally every time I fish here. Sure enough, there he was!

Okay, so it's probably not the same frog every time. Still, it's always fun to see them there. Mink frogs are so named because they give off an odor when rubbed that apparently smells like mink. I've never actually rubbed or smelled one. 

I changed out of my wet toe shoes and into my sneakers and drove to Devil Track. There's an old seaplane dock at the public boat landing that juts out into the lake and it's the perfect spot to night fish. The sun was already behind the trees so I got my camp chair set up quickly and slapped a leech on a beaver flick (that's a fishing lure) and tossed my bobber into the lake. Only a minute passed before I had a bite. After a good fight, I pulled in a big smallmouth bass around the same size as one I caught in the same place a few nights ago. I was hoping for walleyes, but a big smallmouth has enough meat on it to be worth filleting. I put it on my grandpa's old stringer and tied it to the dock. I caught a second one not long after. 

Several people brought their boats in from the lake and a small party joined me in my shore fishing pursuits, though they left empty handed. I watched a beaver swim by and listened to a loon calling from across the lake. I can understand why early settlers thought they were hearing ghosts when they first heard the loons. 

My lighted bobber's light went kaput, and as the stars started twinkling into view I could no longer see it. It was time to head home.

I didn't see any other notable wildlife on this trip, but the other day when I made the drive down the Devil Track Lake Road I saw a young snowshoe hare, a red fox, and a whitetail deer. 

Fishing is so much more than fishing. It's living. 

The good, the bad, and the plan

The good:

- Grand Marais is wonderful and it feels so good to be back.
- My new job is going well and I enjoy it.
- I'm finally starting to feel creative again after a long slump.
- Fishing! Hiking! Nature! Friends!
- I'm exercising more and feeling good.
- My mom is keeping a positive attitude, despite all that's going on.

The bad:

- Mom is away M-F in Duluth for radiation and chemo treatments. She may get very, very sick.
- Jordan was recently diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension.
- Jordan is still stuck in California and fighting the system to get health insurance and pay rent after being laid off. 

The plan:

- Help my folks with cooking and general housekeeping while Mom is in Duluth.
- Be there for Jordan, help as much as I can from afar.
- Sell things, work hard, make money.
- Start creating things again; most importantly this blog, my book, and my commission backlog.
- Get healthy.
- Enjoy summer in northern Minnesota as much as possible!

Writing every day

I've been busy in a way I haven't known since I moved to California, but it feels good. It's especially nice to have a job that has a specific start and end time. Now I just need to focus on my other priorities, like writing this book and doing a lot of art. As part of that effort, I'm going to be writing a blog post every day from here on out with life updates and whatever else I feel like writing about. It's exercise for my brain, and my fingers.

For now I will be updating this blog, but I will soon be moving to my new website http://www.auroraswoods.com and blogging there. I'm going to get it updated this weekend and get some new content written for a separate website just for my boa constrictor hobby.

More general updates to come over the next few days. Time to make up for this month of silence! Lots going on, lots to do, lots to write about. :)