My Life

Stream-of-conscious musings, memories, and snippets of life ~ the boats photographed and fishing stories told over the years, a memorial to a lifestyle that is fast eroding ~ and vignettes of our current life, as we strive to live sustainably with sharply reduced carbon footprint.

Fish Tales

The Great Abalone Plants

I learned to dive to do research on the sea otter vs abalone conflict. Those simple words evoke strong memories. I was the only female in the NAUI dive class, and the instructor was a Navy seal who delighted in challenging (picking on) me. I was a relatively good...

Fish Tales

Sea Otter Politics: A Split-Screen Controversy

“The ‘truth’ about this marine mammal …and the future of West Coast shellfishing…” was the subheading of an article that I wrote about Sea Otters in 1984 –the “fish of the month” in Pacific Fishing magazine. The article began with a quote from abalone diver Rudy...

Fish Tales

In the Beginning, the Word was Abalone

“I’ll show you sea otters,” the abalone diver exclaimed. Those five words changed my life! Looking back now, the series of “what if’s” that led to this crossroad continue to amaze me. What if I hadn’t pursued the internship at KCRA TV in Sacramento, where my job...