10 Jan, 10 - 23:24


Chickadees take flight on Christmas day

Happy New Year!! *<=^)

2010 is going to be pretty amazing! Plenty of new opportunities...and continuity on maturing projects...are making for some hectic times of sweeeet goodness. B^)


Saint Gina and Phill enjoy the piles of snow and sunshine of Kanadia

I spent the Holidazzzze with my Mom. Good men honour their mothers. Bill Frick reminded me of that...so many years ago...while we took a break from crushing grapes. I remind myself of that...every...single...day.


Badges of Honour...Bill Frick and Phill Michael sport the purple hands of Syrah production during the 2003 harvest

rain drops
poof
on the dust

Another "Bill-ism". A glass of 2003 Frick Syrah clears the fog that envelops the memory banks...and promotes clarity. Strange but true. I remember harvesting those Syrah grapes with Bill in the summer of 2003. Kindly check out the following video...and you will see what I mean...

 

Download | Duration: 00:01:55

A video from the 2003 Frick Syrah harvest

If you liked that...wheel(wing?!) on over to Sonoma County, California, USA for Winter Wineland in 2 weeks. Frick winery is a part of it all. You won't regret it. Tempus Fugit.


Bill and Lucia the Love Dog in September of 2003

I JUST read that Lucia the Love Dog of Frick Winery passed in December. My heart wept...but from death comes life...always. Bill and I both know that. We need to rejoice about boldly heading into the future and offer warm smiles to the past.

Speaking of the past, I managed to re-connect with quite a few folks who have been on their own journey for a while. A thing of beauty...and a great way to shine through the Holidazzzze. B^)


Phill Michael reflects opon the past and future on the 2008 Secret Spot Tilman Trek

Most of my waking (and sleeping!) hours were spent reflecting upon the past and the future...while Caroline, Dana, Dawa and I re-traced some of Tilman's steps during a perfect Autumn in Nepal in 2008. It's a bit of a sickness...this constant reflection...but healthy. Another duality that warms the heart and stirs the soul...so I gleefully and willingly march fo(u)rth...B^]

Don't we all wish we had a Time Machine?! What would it be like to truly see into the future. I suspect it would be a blessing and a curse...all at once.


The Time Machine enjoys some holiday hibernation

Communication technology continues to blow my mind. This year, you'll see us using some cutting edge devices that have been developed by Tom and Tina and the crew at HumanEdgeTech.com . You will also be able to communicate with us in real time from some fairly outrageous places. That's thanks to the BGAN that is on the Inmarsat system and Eric at the SatellitePhoneStore.com ! Subscribe to the blog and you'll be virtually tripping through space and time. Don't procrastinate...just do it now! It's as easy as putting your email address in the subscribe field on the top left hand side of the blog!

What does 2010 hold for each of us?! Who is to say?! The tireless search for Inspiration continues...though it's as easy as pie for me to feel inspired each time I look at the astonishing artwork of Louise Buss    .


'The Storytellers' by Louise Buss

You'll see more of that...soon...exclusively at the SecretSpotStore.com !

Now...where were we?! Ah yes...climbing Mera(6476m/21241ft) in Nepal. I've got a bit of unreleased video to post...later this week (or so)...along with the next 2008 Secret Spot Tilman Trek Reloaded dispatch. A quick jaunt up a Himalayan peak is good for one's cardiovascular system. As a subscriber to this blog (www.phillmichael.com) , you can virtually climb to places that might otherwise seem rather inaccessible.


Ang Dawa Sherpa beams while resting at Mera La (17500ft/5335m) on the 2008 Secret Spot Tilman Trek

I don't want to belabour the point...but..."It is the Wilderness that we find our true Hearts."

Until Soon
Phill =^)

PHILL MICHAEL
Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition/Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
PhillMichael.COM
SherpaSchool.ORG
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