A whale of a tale

^ Orca! I finally saw them!


^ Stormy skies make for great sunsets


^ Katherine and Jessica feeding the big kids


^ Some more fishies from me


^ Kat and I preparing for butchery


^ A fox!


^ "PUT YOUR BUTTS HERE"


^ Kat, Janel, me, and Katherine out on the town


I forgot to mention that about two weeks ago two of the other interns and I went to the outdoor theater here. There is a professional theater troupe that puts on free productions that are entirely sponsor funded. Every summer they put on Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', and it was really good! We sat on blankets right in front of the stage, and there were people all around having picnics and sipping wine. I'm going to have to steal my friend Kevyn's comment...it was "very artsy", that's the only way to describe it.

Last Friday the storm let up just enough for me to go whale watching! I only got one decent picture, everyone else had intense telephoto lenses, so needless to say I was ill equipped. It was so amazing seeing them jumping and playing around, there were even newborn calves! We boated around the entire island, and of course we found them in the exact same spot were I had been kayaking previously. It would have been awesome to be up close on a kayak, although I probably would have peed myself! Legally we had to keep some distance from the shore although not all the boats did so. Our captain got on the radio and called them out on it...so they eventually backed off. Everyone on the boat was really nice and I chatted with them a bit, and pointed out harbor seals on the rocks. I even practiced a little Spanish by saying hello to the Colombian family that was on the tour. I rehearsed in my mind what I was going to say and they understood me, but then it got a little awkward because I got flustered and couldn't respond to what they were saying. I just giggled and kind of walked away. On the way back the sunset was amazing! There was just enough light out were it was possible for me to ride my bike back, but before I did a really nice couple offered to take me home! They somehow managed to fit my bike in the back of their tiny rental car, and I was so thankful for the ride, because on the way back it started raining!

We have so many seals now but they are growing up so fast and starting to eat on their own. The best news is that none of them are on midnight feeds anymore! woohoo! We are just hoping this will last a while until we get more!

Monday night we had a bonfire at the beach! Nothing says summer like a good bonfire, so I was loving it! We got to hear the ocean, see the stars, and make smores...it was sooo good! The "beach" was more drift wood than sand, and there were so many huge pieces, that people had used some to build little shelters around the fire pits. The staff conveniently forgot to mention until now that we could use the truck after 9 when the late shift is over! Now we are making plans for more nighttime adventures, like watching the meteor shower next Monday night! Driving that truck is so much fun...my favorite part is the little squad car light on top. At the beach I flipped that on and scared all the hoodlums! hehehe
*Of course I have to mention yet another brainless thing I did! While on the beach I could have sworn I heard a whale spouting out water. So I ran down to the shore and after hearing it again, jumped out onto a rock outcropping and slipped right into the water. I didn't get too wet...my shin absorbed most of the fall and I got a nice goose egg to show for it!

D - Double E - Double R - U - N....DEER RUN!
Kat and I went on a deer run the other day to pick up a carcass off the side of the road. We were both a little too excited about it, hence the pictures. It was kind of sad seeing the poor dead deer but we had to lighten the mood. We moved the carcass onto our property so all the vultures wouldn't get hurt trying to eat it. But before we let them fill their bellies, we cut off the hind legs and "back strap" to feed to our raptors. I was fine doing it(I guess my Meat Science course came in handy after all!) but I think the staff gave us "the honor" in order to toughen up Kat, because she's super squeamish.

I released another bird this week (don't worry this one was planned), a little 'killdeer'. Penny, the rehabber, said "Ya, go take it over to the horse ranch on the Ring's property". I was thinking that Ring was the name of the family or something, but come to find out she was talking about the movie! The really creepy, scary movie! Apparently the story was based on the woman who owned this horse ranch and kept her daughter in a well so she could spend more time with her horses! That was a spooky journey out there! I saw two foxes while I was out there which made the release a little tricky, but I didn't need to worry about the little bird... he was up and flying in no time!

Sad day! Katherine left on Wednesday! We went into town to have dinner at a nice little Italian place, in honor of her. It was expensive but worth it, even the out-of-place taco salad looked like a culinary masterpiece! Then we got some yummy icecream...if there's one thing Friday Harbor doesn't have in short supply it's ice cream shops! (and bookstores, and coffeshops, and restaurants!) They also have a lot of quirky signs, like the "place your butts here" over the cigarette canister. It just screamed photo op!
Now there's an empty bed in the house because one of the interns decided not to come! About eighty people applied and only ten were accepted in the spring. Just a few weeks ago she e-mailed to say she was going somewhere else and hoped it wasn't an inconvenience! I couldn't image turning this opportunity down! It has been so amazing, and I'll be very sad when it comes time to leave (two weeks!). Until then I'm the go-to-girl who should know everything by now, but I'm still working on that. ahh, but the best part is that I have first dibs on the special assignments, it's funny how things like going to the dump somehow become glamorous just because it's a change of pace!
Now that I'm the next to go I feel like the clock is ticking! Hopefully I'll be able to savor and make the most of these last two weeks!