Category Archives: life as found by the roadside

100 Posts & Thank You

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Shark | Leave a comment

Inevitably, we would be wandering typically rainy downtown Portland, and run into someone we knew. Usually, it was someone impossible, someone we hadn’t seen in years, or was a little famou-ish. My father coined the phenomenon as “big town, small city”, meaning we had all the marks of a city but with the feel of a small town, where you might stop and talk in the middle of the road outside the feed store.

For Eddie and I, this is our 100th collective post on Bear and Shark. We started in May 2011 with no solid plans, only the need to share projects, drawings,ideas and stories over a vast distance. Along the way our projects grew as we; furnished houses with recycled things, we reclaimed newspaper boxes, ate weird fruit and tried to bring analogue back.

By far the best part of the whole experience has been the ability to share our “art and travel” on global scale. Each time I see the certain portions of the map light up, I think of all the amazing people we know and how lucky we are to share our project with them. The internet is amazing.In Norway- I see Ina and Nat, Canada-Brenda and Greg/my countless relatives, Belgium-Alex, Australia- the Manly crew and cousin, Spain- family, UK & South America- old friends, Singapore-Brendon and everyone in the US. As for Bulgaria…well, we’re still trying to figure that one out.

Knowing that you are reading became the reason to write. The reason to get up at 6 or 7am (way too often). The end result is a project that is so much bigger than we could have imagined.

Over the last year and a half the world becomes so much smaller, it no longer seems like a grey metropolitan of strangers staring at the ground, but a patchwork of friends.So I guess its all a round about way of saying “Thank you”.

Below is a map of who has checked out Bear&Shark in the last 90 days.

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Upcoming projects; a new layout to the site, no more silly ads, Eddies taking out christmas consumerism and I’m opening up a New Zealand home distillery.

Feel free to email us with feedback, Shark-seabarnhart@gmail.com, Bear- barnheart@gmail.com

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Posted in adventure stories, analog asia, analog travel, art, Australia, Bear, Experimental living, Food and Beverages, fruit lab, life as found by the roadside, living in Australia, Lomography, Music Monday, New Zealand, Portland Art, Shark, singapore streets, Snowboarding New Zealand, Street Art, surfing new zealand, sustainable fun, travel manifesto, traveling, traveling blog, traveling Malaysia, traveling New Zealand, traveling thailand, Uncategorized, wicked adventure

Tagged 100 posts, blogging, thank you

The Midnight Gardner

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Shark | Leave a comment

She isn’t a thief. She just takes things that aren’t hers.

Call it reclaiming, urban renewal of the plant variety, or adoption. She looks at plants like a junky looks at unlocked bikes. From 50 paces, She can spot a lonely plant growing from mangy sidewalk. Her eyes light up when we stumble upon an unguarded poppy, sitting on an ambiguous property line. Gold Mine.

Her fever increases with each day of spring. Shes got dirty hands, a piece of cardboard and a hook. The mysterious immigrant plants appear in our little yard, the little frankenstein mob grows overnight. Each little cluster serve their cause, some to look beautiful and some for our food. A few more dont make it, they die post operation, mid transplant. These are the ones she mourns. “I dont think the little guys going to make it,” she says, referring to the wilting green cluster in the back row. Maybe it was the lack of sunlight, maybe it was the soil or the trama of relocation, whatever the reason it doenst make it.

But there are more. There are always more, along the road, in the cracks or by the wayside. Those little discarded treasures, waiting to be scooped up, even if it has to be at midnight.

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Posted in Experimental living, life as found by the roadside, New Zealand, sustainable fun, traveling

Tagged almost organic food, beer and flowers, DIY food, flower beer box, midnight gardner, stolen flowers

The Keeper

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Shark | Leave a comment

As far as time goes, I have no idea. This early, my brain struggles to gather the usual information. I stumble half blind around the tent, tripping over the boot prints, which are hard and frozen into the sand.With an unrationalized urgency we pack our camp, fearing an imaginary band of wrathful locals, coming in the early hours of light, to lynch us as beach squatters. More than fear, its an attitude of conjured respect for those who live here, in the middle of nowhere. Out before first light.

I am beyond disoriented, still fighting off body tremors from last nights sleep in inadequate equipment. Early in the winter, I would have hated it, by now I welcome it, so much so it almost warms me up. Almost.

The boys make a run down the sandy road to the car.I manage a few steps, followed by a pair more. As my momentum builds, I enter the clearing and stop dead in the icy track. At that moment, as the first rays of light broke over jagged mountains, I saw one of the most majestic creatures known to man. The filtered light radiated its golden mane, its very presence warmed my rebellious bones. I started to laugh, like I never had before.

Miniature. Pony.

Blocking my exit. The gardian of the wave. The keeper of the shred.

(None of the pictures are touched up or messed with, other than converting to digital from print. The “red effect” was managed with a variable ISO film.)

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Posted in adventure stories, analog travel, life as found by the roadside, Lomography, New Zealand, surfing new zealand, traveling, traveling blog, traveling New Zealand

Tagged 50mm lens, balls cold, belgium surf, camp vibes, film camera, frozen waves, holga, miniature pony's, scottish surfer, variable ISO, west coast new zealand

Just Past Paradise

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Shark | Leave a comment

We packed up our things and headed to Paradise, New Zealand.

Like us, the road was lazy, taking its time to bend around emerald water and deserted stone lakefront. We took our time, stopping for each cloud-break and captivating peak. We held no itinerary and no initiate, just a few general ideas and a need to be alone. Thankfully, New Zealand is full of places to be alone.

We headed to the Routeburn Track, which is better associated with multi day trekking over rugged mountains, than for casual strolls. We walked until we where tired and turned around, taking more time examining the moss than our pace.

I have a tendency to take hiking, and sometimes camping for that matter, too seriously. It was refreshing for us to simply throw the lucky wolf blanket in the car and drive until we felt like walking, then walk until we felt like eating and eat until we felt like sleeping. No Gore-tex needed, and sometimes thats just fine.