whale talker

Buddhist symbol for Peace

Exciting morning. I woke up around 6:00 am after a good nights sleep and was enjoying the cool sea air under two light blankets; feeling very cozy so I thought I might stay in bed and read for a while.

I picked up Bryson’s wonderful book, “A Short History of Nearly Everything” (a gift from my dear friend Susan Janssen) and picked up where I had left off the night before. He was discussing Plate Tectonics and Continental Drift, fascinating subjects to say the least. As I began to read I heard an unexpected sound from Seaward, vaguely familiar but hard to imagine at this time of year. It was the sound of “trumpeting” by a Humpback Whale. Trumpeting is not “singing” it is an unusually strong blow often meant to attract attention. It is a bit early for Humpbacks here in my area so I continued reading but with the nagging feeling that I might be missing something. Two of my good friends had seen what they thought was a Humpback about 4 days ago while kayaking south of me.

I couldn’t stand it, I grabbed a poncho and my binoculars and headed for my bodega roof. The Sea was pretty flat this morning and the sun was just coming up so my chances were good of seeing anything if indeed there was a Whale out there. Then I heard the trumpet again and saw the blow as the unmistakable wake of a rising whale ruffled the surface. And then the Sea was cut by the dark flank of a Humpback preparing for a deep dive (arched back and flukes up). I was awed, honored and so glad that I had gotten out in time to see my first Humpback of the season. It was about ¼ mile out and leisurely heading south.

I rushed back in to get my computer so I could e-mail (no phones here) my friends Alan & Marilyn who live down the beach to get out and see it as it passed by them. I saw the whale (maybe two) come up once more but just for a short blow. I am delighted and inspired by the return of my Whale Friends! It was like seeing family again.