Monday, April 21, 2008

The Air That They Breathe

So finally I saw gray whales from First Beach at La Push. Saw a spyhop, a really good look at a barnacle covered rostrum hovering there looking around; this guy was pretty close, also got a good look at his much-barnacled back. And several noses sticking up, many bits of back, and lots of blows. I decided that seeing blows is indeed seeing a whale : even if all you see is the air they breathe, you are experiencing that they are present. At one point I was seeing two blows very close together, side by side and almost simultaneous. Though I didn't see more than maybe-flashes of them, a mother and baby were there.

Plus the weather was gorgeous.

First Beach, La Push. Just after the best sighting...

Late in the afteernoon there was one quite close in at the far end of the beach. When I walked down there he had disappeared, but before I moved took a picture: and he actually flashed into view as I pushed the button on the camera...

Dark speck towards bottom right is a bit of whale... Click for full view.

Driving back, immediately into changable spring. Sleet, sun, snow; snowbanks still remaining along Lake Crescent; beautiful warm evening back in Port Angeles.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, I wonder -- yes -- I hope and think that you have been seeing some of the whales I met down south.
You may not be able to imagine how happy that makes me!

Anonymous said...

And I've been meaning to tell you that I completley enjoy your blog; the only problem may be that I do develop some wiggles of envy from time to time.
Must come visit come Fall...
Say hello to M for me. I'm glad that she is helping you in the grey whale department. (I still recall with pleasure the meal she cooked for me, ages ago, in her uphill green environment.)