Of Days Long Gone

This summer ended on a rather crazy note. Shortly after orcalab, I headed off for an amazing voyage around the northwest coast of Vancouver Island on the Pacific Swift, a 111' wooden topsail schooner. It was a great time of fellowship and reconnection with the crew, who have had such a positive influence on me during the past seven years. By the third morning I was out on the deck in the rain, fully immersed in gutting fresh lingcod and snapper (aka rockfish). Being curious about all things biologically related, I was fascinated to find a whole, undigested, mini octopus in one of the large fish's stomach! It never ceases to amaze me how at home I feel on the rolling waves. My mom sometimes says she thinks I'm a "silkie" and that I belong by the ocean.





The highlight of the trip was Boat Sunday, and the amazing service under the stars in a place called Pretty Girl Cove. Afterwards, protected from open ocean, we watched the moon set and the stars fly across the heavens. The skipper was playing music; he is one of the best guitarists I have heard and makes instruments as well. It was a trip to remember, and I am so grateful for the friends and memories made while sailing the high seas.





Summer passed into fall, and fall into winter. Here I am in the middle of another semester. I've got great news! I'm volunteering again at the end of the summer on SALTS. I'm also going to Hawaii for a travel study in May so hopefully this blog will be updated on a regular basis in the future. I want to thank you all your prayers. These last few years have been full of learning, adventures, and awesome times. Yes, they have had their challenges, but these have been made small in the face of all the good things that have occurred.





Fair winds

The 18 Hour Shift

As many of you know, I have been upgraded from tent to shack for a little while. At the moment I am living at Orcalab’s CP observation station. Here there are underwater cameras to be set up, a beautiful view of Johnstone Strait all the way down to Robson Bight, and places where cetaceans pass meters from shore. Only a few days ago a humpback came up around 5 ft from the rocks about 20m up the coast from us (this was possible because the land drops off into the sea in a cliff-like manner). The small hut I’m staying in was built well and retains heat better than any place I’ve been to up here. It’s nice to be able to watch the orcas and listen to them at the same time!

CP is a decision point for the orcas as they chose either to head up Blackney Pass into Blackfish Sound or keep going down the Strait. Thus, I have had many close encounters with cetaceans even though I have only been here for just over a week. One of my favourites was early on in my stay with A46 (Kiakash). We were observing him and his brother along with A12 foraging around CP when he decided to take some interest in the strange humans watching him. Like a submarine he rose, pointed west, eye patch fully above the water to expose his eye beneath. Then slowly he turned about 90 degrees so he could see us and gave us a good long stare. Being satisfied after a while, he once again sank beneath the waves.

I have seen members of all the A and B pods now plus the odd transient. The Bs are a quirky group with both males having extremely wonky fins. Slingsby (B10) had a fin bent at a 45 degree angle which has since straightened into a very bubbly fin that wobbles significantly when he rises and disappears into the waves. B13 is my favourite from the group. His fin has collapsed entirely, giving him a slight hump. In fact, every time the Bs are around there are reports from fishermen in the area of a small, fast humpback playing with them! B13 looks very much like a humpback, part of the reason this pod is so easy to identify.

At CP there are 18 hours shifts! I start watch as it begins to get light enough to see (around 5am) and don’t stop until it is too dark to see anything well (at 11pm). They are long days, but I get the nights off :P

The other day I got the opportunity to go to the rubbing beaches inside the Robson Bight Ecological Reserve to switch batteries on a hydrophone. It is here that the orcas enjoy swimming along the bottom of smooth, worn stones. There are three beaches near the Bight, one a bit further north, and one that is 20m underwater! It was interesting because the beaches don’t look very large above the tide line, but are quite extensive underneath. One of OL’s hydrophones is positioned so that the rubs can be heard as they swim past the rock wall it is placed on.

I hear orcas on the CP hydrophone so it is time to go scan for them.

Fair Winds

The Assistant Killers

Just under a month here till I’m off sailing the Pacific Northwest, and the orcas still haven’t arrived. Well.... not really. We did have a grand tour sweep past the area on the eighth of July when matrilines from four different pods swam in from the north, spent the day at local hangouts, and swam back into the night. Two of them came right past the lab, and the audio recorded when the subpods woke up from their afternoon siesta was amazing. Unfortunately, each pod encountered had at least one missing member, showing signs of a hard winter. After that we heard nothing from the Northern Residents until today. Reports came in that they are fishing off Port Hardy and could be down as soon as tonight (just in time for the full moon and, coincidentally, my nightshift). I get two nights on and two nights off because I have spent more time here than many off the others, all except Momoko.

The transients, on the contrary, seem to be running ramped through the area. Just a few days ago there was a kill near Robson Bight with the transient orca leaping full on out of the water, Dall’s porpoise in mouth. In comparison to the residents, they are extremely silent as this is their hunting technique. We have heard the odd call, but they are few and far in between. In reality, they are nothing like the symphony of acoustics that announce a resident pod’s arrival.

It has been extremely wet and rainy here, typical west coast weather. My tent has held up and kept me dry, but everything else seems soggy. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is nothing a good Tim Tam Slam won’t fix :). I am the only Canadian intern here, so I have become immersed in many different cultures and traditions. I am learning to bow in greeting according to the Chinese and Japanese styles, discussing Spanish marine species from the Canary Islands, brushing up on my French, learning more about British tea traditions, and trying to understand why Germans think it is so weird to have potatoes, even in the form of hashbrowns, for breakfast. Unfortunately, no one had ever heard of Tim Tams (they all love them now).

I’ve been catching fresh fish for dinner and watching in envy as the sea lions swim past with large salmon in their mouths. I don’t have the gear for going after salmon at the moment, but will try for halibut soon. The salmonoids can wait till August. Many kayakers have stopped by, most to visit the Grandmother cedar out back. It has been dated at over 1000 years old and is absolutely massive. Some wait out the strong currents of Blackney in the eddy out front, while others seem to hang around simply for the whales.

Yesterday we had a pancake party out in the camp kitchen. Like the Tim Tams, many had never tried North American style pancakes. The people here enjoy music, but don’t have instruments besides a didgeridoo (which no one can play). I have attempted, but it takes a while to get the circular breathing right. Kelp horns are in good supply and easy to make. Since I brought a guitar along, we’ve been having singing gatherings at night. Thanks to several of my friends, I have a large book of chords and lyrics for many campfire, country, old time, sea shanty, and worship songs. On that note, I must add that I am playing with a crippled guitar since a string broke (G). However, that cannot stop the music!

By now you’re probably wondering why I should chose to mention “assistant killers” in the title of this post. Simply put, it is because one of the pods that is lingering around Port Hardy is the A30’s which claim this infamous title. They will keep you up recording all night with simply one call per hour or so. The night shift is eight hours long (10pm – 6am) so one can imagine how torturous it can be when these orcas decided to vocally tease us. The resources at this lab are innumerable. They have many interesting papers on the acoustic traditions of the Northern Residents as well as other subjects concerning the seas. In some ways I feel very much as if I am at school, learning to distinguish the basic calls and their variations between each pod that comes into the area. One of my favourite is the resting call made by some G pods which sound like a strange instrument being played. You have to hear it to appreciate it! Here’s a quick lesson on the orcas’ social structure.

Community (eg. Northern Residents (NR))

Clan (eg. A or G for NR)

Pod (eg. A1, A4, A5, B1, C1, D1, H1, I1, I2, I18 are pods in the A Clan)

Subpod (eg. A36’s, A30’s, and A12’s are matrilines in the A1 pod)

Individual (1-23 whales in each matriline)

Anyways, it is time to go on shift. There is a long night ahead and the tide is flooding! That means orcas :P

Fair Winds

Summer in Blackney Pass

It’s been another few days without our black and white friends out here on the water. The first day of summer had me in short sleeves with temperatures at near twenty degrees Celsius. Though there were no orcas around, just about every humpback frequenting the area came through at some point before dark and I got lots of practice taking pictures of their flukes as they sounded in order to id them. The people who run orcalab came back yesterday, and so my week of solitude ended. It’s nice to have some company again, even though it was fun to be alone in the middle of nowhere for a while.

Not too long ago I acquired a shadow. There is this pesky, but very adorable, blue jay that follows me wherever I go. When I’m inside it chases me around through the windows and I have a video of us playing hide and seek in the kitchen. The squirrels, on the other hand, don’t seem to enjoy my company. They constantly chatter in an angry manner and love throwing pinecones at any building I’m in.

Since there are no showers or baths here until one gets set up later this month, the ocean becomes a great big tub (and a rather cold one). There I am one day, lying flat on a few rocks, head dangling into the sea at low tide amidst the giant gumboot chiton, feeding barnacles, and curious seals, trying to wash my hair. It would’ve have been a comical sight for anyone watching. During this process I made a very strange observation. I had chosen a spot where the rocks dropped off to show clear water a few meters deep so that the current would carry rinse water away. At the beginning there were no creatures aside from a few crabs, some seaweed, and a couple of dog whelks visible at this location, but when I was finished I noticed that there were five moon jellies the size of dessert plates hovering and pulsating just below the surface of the water. Could there be a chance they had been attracted to the shampoo? I looked around but could not see any others in the surrounding ocean. Another example of the mysteries of the sea!

On Thursday evening there was a torrential downpour. It was one of those storms in which a person gets soaked standing outside for a few seconds. I think all the plants were grateful for it as the summer has been rather dry thus far.

Only five days until my birthday! Time is passing way too fast for my liking. However, it will be awesome to see family again and spend the day at the cabin. Perhaps I will even be able to make ice cream (there is nothing cold here at orcalab so it would be sweet to have something like ice cream while I have the chance). Well, I probably won’t write for a while as there is a lot to do in the next few days before the orcas arrive. The dolphins continue to keep me awake at night with their chatter over the hydrophones. I don’t mind though because it is extremely cute and always makes me smile.

Fair Winds

Of Transients and Dolphins

A week has passed and the orcas have remained quiet. Yesterday the first ones passed through, a group of transients chasing around a thousand dolphins up Johnstone Strait (that would have been a site to see). Unfortunately I was on the wrong side of Hanson Island and had to be content with reports I recieved by phone and radio. Since they use silence as an element of surprise while hunting their prey, it is common for them to come through without vocalizing. Yesterday we had many marine creatures swim by including Dall’s and harbour porpoises, seals, and humpbacks.



The squirrels have constantly been throwing pinecones at the roof of a cabin that I spend a fair portion of the day in. It took me a while to realize what it was, especially since their first target was the door and I thought it was someone knocking. As I write they continue to bombard the skylights above.

It’s a somewhat lazy, slightly overcast day here and there is lots of work to be done before other people arrive later this month. The good news is that I found out that I get my birthday off so I can spend it with family! That was a nice surprise I wasn’t expecting when I came up.



Settling into the routine of waking up at all times during night is interesting to say the least. It makes naps a lot more appealing later in the afternoon. When the tug boats and cruise ships come through the noise is so loud that it makes it hard to get back to sleep. The humpbacks Chunky and Stripe were foraging off the front of the lab all day yesterday and they attracted the attention of the local whale watching boats in the late afternoon. There is not much more to write about today, but hopefully soon I`ll have a whale of a story to share!

Fair Winds

Kelp Creature!

The days are now rolling by, seeming to pass more quickly which each new dawn. This morning the waters in front of the lab were shrouded in a blanket of mist, so thick that the far shore was visible only for fleeting moments ever now and then. Around noon Blackney Pass cleared, but the sun has been shy and came out only for a few minutes before hiding once again. The rain is perpetual. Welcome to another typical day up north!

The tension around here is rising as the orcas draw nearer and nearer with each hour. When will they arrive? It could be today, tomorrow, or even weeks, depending on their moment. Around 9:50 am this morning there were a few calls over the hydrophones. However, it was only a small pod of PWD’s foraging about two-hundred meters off the lab.

The past few days have been quite quiet in terms of marine mammal action. Perhaps this is the calm before the storm. Positively, it has allowed for some time to rest and reflect on the beautiful creation around here. Not even a humpback has travelled through the pass in the last 48 hours, which is unusual as they often seem to be a constant presence on the horizon. A well known humpback in the area, "KC", which is short for Kelp Creature, was spotted by the locals around the corner from us several hours ago. Perhaps he will pass by sometime soon.



Last night, however, was a different story. I sleep with a speaker by my ear, ready to descend the stairs to the lab if the cetaceans decide to become vocal during the early morning hours. Yesterday evening, trying to get some rest was quite challenging as the boat noise never seemed to quiet down and there were strange dragging noises coming from one of the hydrophones. Apparently this is caused by either kelp rubbing or small animals crawling across it.

The intertidal community on the beach out front is amazingly diverse. Taking advantage of the extremely low tides of the last few days, I had ventured down to test my knowledge from the Salt Spring courses. Much to my delight, I found gumboot chiton amongst the boulders near the low tide mark. Quite inconspicuous except for their pinkish colouring, the members of this massive chiton species are very close to the size of my rubber boots and have a sort of furry appearance.

Unlike the marine mammals, the terrestrial life here has been quite active and entertaining to watch. The trees around the lab are a favourite roosting place for many bald eagles who often decide to hop onto the beach in search of a tasty meal of crabs and other invertebrates. The small brown mink, a daily visitor, has been taking advantage of the low tides to gather sea urchins for snacks, though his cache is often confiscated by the resident eagles.

So here I sit, transferring DAT recordings to a hard drive, listening to the lovely boat noise provided by local fishermen, and intently watching the horizon for some sign of life coming up from the depths. Things are bound to get interesting in the next few days considering the circumstances... I just have a feeling. :)

Fair Winds

The First 24 Hours...

So... I have officially survived my first day. In some ways, it feels like I’ve been here forever. I’ve already learned how to run the battery systems around the place and we went to a hydrophone today to check the levels there. Within the next 48 hours I will have learned everything needed to function here for a few days alone. Right now I am listening to some calls from 2008 that are downloading from DAT tapes onto a hard drive.

I must mention the events that took place yesterday as it was a perfect beginning to the next two months. We were on our way over to the lab from the cabin when all of a sudden I saw fins milling about around fifty meters from the boat. We turned off the power not a moment too soon as half a dozen pacific whitesided dolphins (PWD's) raced away from the much larger pod to check us out. They spent about fifteen minutes gracefully gliding under and beside the vessel, jumping in the air and surfacing so close that I could feel their breath below me as I stood on the bow. Such curious creatures these dolphins are.

The lab itself is a creation beyond words. You have to see it to appreciate it! Since I am the only intern for a while, I don’t have to camp by myself. That can wait till the other interns get here. Rather, I sleep near the lab, ready hop into it if anything comes over the speakers. In every building there is a setup broadcasting the sound from the hydrophones so that we can hear it wherever we are. In the next few days I am training myself to wake at every dolphin or orca call heard during the night. Once summer starts and we have set watches (when more people arrive) that won’t be necessary, but with so few around now, it is an essential skill.

Last night I slept on the deck out front of the lab and watched the luminescence crash against the shore with each wave. Twister, the humpback (HB), swam by into the sunset along with a few Dall`s porpoises. We were hoping that he would swim by during the night. The dolphins were chatting around 02:30 and the moon beautifully illuminated the bay. Unfortunately today was rainy with little action on the hydrophones. Even Twister didn`t show up. I got acquainted with `the car`, the aptly-named little boat that feels like driving a car on the water when you`re in it. Well... that`s all for now. Hoping for more action tomorrow and a nice day!

Life is uncharted territory. It reveals its story one moment at a time...

The last week on Salt Spring was amazing! Though slightly less adventurous then the rest of the trip, it was a time of focus and course work. Even so, in the midst of the busy schedule there was time for fun. The last Saturday morning a group of us busked at the market before the final exam. That was a great experience, especially since we had an extremely musical group! One of the guys on the trip even managed to make a fiberglass violin. An epic pillow fight took place through the entire house on the last evening. Luckily nothing was broken, and after a bit of pranking everyone enjoyed a peaceful night before the journey home. It was a bitter-sweet end to the trip. The friendships formed and strengthened made it seem painful to say goodbye. It works out nicely that none of us graduated this year, so hopefully we will see each other around campus in the coming semester. Many of us had more adventures to continue on to, some flying to Haiti, others getting ready to join camp staff, and even some returning to Salt Spring after a week of rest.

The past week has flown by as I prepare to head up north. On Monday dawns the sunrise of another grand adventure. It seems that I have little time to finish up a research paper and pack before then, but I know that somehow everything will get done... For those of you who have never ventured past Campbell River, the northern part of the Vancouver Island contains some amazing ocean and wilderness. I just found out that my favorite bay on the Northwest coast is accessible through a trail from a small settlement, which means that it's on the list of things to do next summer (I've been to the beaches several times with the tall ships from SALTS, but never via land). Most of my work in the next two months will be on the inside of Vancouver Island. If anyone plans on taking a kayaking trip from Telegraph Cove, feel free to stop in and visit!

So on to a world of orcas and rain I go, hoping my tent will hold up for two months and that the grizzlies don't chose to swim over to the camp while I'm there. It is such an amazing opportunity to go out and study God's beautiful creation! I'm sure many adventures and stories will come out of the weeks to come, and I am excited to pursue my passion for the ocean and its creatures, and to learn more about them. Prayer over the next few months would be appreciated as I won't have much access to church or a Christian community during my stay at orcalab.

I will try to write every once and a while, but be forwarned that internet access I will have is unpredictable at best!

~ Fair Winds

From sunrise to sunset...

So... the last two weeks have been composed of some of the most crazy times ever! The first Saturday of the trip I got to explore the Salt Spring Island market and watch an epic water bottle chase through the harbour. Then, after church the next day we went climbing on Mount Maxwell. It was pretty sweet. I had never been climbing before, but soon discovered that it was an amazing way to spend Sunday afternoon, even though the rocks were pretty cold.



The weekend that followed was truly the definition of craziness. We kicked of Friday night by watching Avatar since the prof had decided that it would make an awesome transition from the marine course to botany. The next morning we went to town, most to the market and a few of us to play Frisbee golf. After lunch, we headed up Mount Maxwell again to climb. We were going to try a 25m rock face near the end of the trip, but it started to rain pretty hard so we headed down into Ganges to have dinner. Sunday was yet another crazy extension of the weekend. After church I picked up my sister and a friend and had a great three hours with them catching up on all I had missed back home. It was really nice to see them again since I had missed them a lot (and still do). The rainy day gave way to milder weather soon after they left and after supper the class made a sauna (or, as the guys would rather call it, the "man sauna/ mauna"). Everything that they deem epic seems to have that prefix attached to it. It is actually rather hilarious.




On Monday we got to explore the Crow's Nest and on the way back the car in which I was in ended up spontaneously swimming in a lake on the side of the road. It started out just testing the water temperature for another day, progressed to the TA daring one of the guys to swim out to the dock, then ended up with the TA and I jumping in before the guys (perhaps to prove a point :P). The water was a little chilly, but it was definitely worth it in the end! We went swimming in the same lake yesterday when it was nice and sunny.



Tuesday involved a hike up a mountain with little gnome homes randomly set along the trail. The view from the top over the Gulf Islands was breath taking, and we walked along several cliff faces before trekking back down the mountain.



I saw the Pacific Swift sail by the house we are staying at, which reminded me again just what an amazing summer is to come. Thursday we went on a field trip to Pacific Rim National Park. Though we were mostly in the rainforest and looking at bogs, we did hike to Long Beach for lunch. I love the sound of the pounding surf on the beach and the weather was perfect. I hadn't been there for a few years so it was nice to once again be able to soak in this part of God's beautiful creation.



The last few nights I have tried slack-lining a few times (which is a very addicting pastime). I think it will take a bit of practice before I can walk all the way across, since this line is about three times as long as the ones I have seen set up at TWU (or perhaps even longer). Now it is Saturday, and I am sitting in a local coffee shop with a multitude of other working on journals and studying. It seems crazy that three weeks have gone by so fast! Monday is midterm day so there is a lot to do before then. Thanks for all the prayers! Hopefully I will be able to get a picture or two up soon.



~ Fair Winds

Bioluminescent Jellyfish and Puget Sound King Crab!

Yes... I am two days into the trip and already I have seen some amazing things. Tonight, some of the class took a journey down to the docks to watch all the crazy bioluminescent creatures in the water! It was crazy :) There were no big fish to disturb large patches of the water and make them glow, but the jellies were out in force and there were hundreds of small shrimp mixed among them. Last night we saw some massive polychaete worms swimming around in the water by the transient docks.

There have been many other great surprises on this trip. Today we met a research team from the University of New Brunswick who were diving to collect seaweed samples and logging the diversity of species found in B.C. waters. They collected some neat organisms for us on their second dive including Puget Sound King Crab, many beautiful subtidal nudibranch, a blood star, and a plethora of other species. These we took back with us to study in the wet lab.



The roads on this island are pretty crazy :) Pictures of species will follow soon, but it is time to catch some sleep before being woken up by the prof running around shouting the random Latin species name of the day to wake us up. I would write more, but unfortunately time will not allow for that at the moment. We have our first paper due tomorrow and are going to try and net some different fish species to study!

Fair Winds

Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean...

Even though exams finished yesterday, there seems no time stop and catch up on missed sleep as new courses are already underway. To be honest, I am utterly exhausted and looking forwards to the weekend for a bit of a break before travelling to the Gulf Islands. The last few days have been pretty intense in terms of the volume of things I am trying to check off my list before Monday. However, I know the adventure is just beginning...

A few nights ago I was looking through some of the quotes and stories I've collected over the years, when I stumbled upon the poem called The Ragman. The story takes me back several years to memories of eating breakfast early one morning in the hold of the Pacific Swift sheltered just behind Rugged Point (that was the first time I heard the story of The Ragman). One thing I love about being in the wilderness is that often coincides with a time of reflection. Life is so busy during the school year that it is all too easy to get caught up in the swirling rapids and completely forget how amazing God is and how powerful His love for us. Sometimes it takes an escape from reality to remember! Had I read this poem without having the time to properly reflect on it I may have missed the point. Perhaps it simply would have been a retelling of the Easter story... but in that moment, it was so powerful.

Here I am, two years of university behind me and a world of adventure unfolding before my eyes. Time to raise sail and catch the tide :)

Fair Winds!

Another end, another beginning...

It seems odd that a week from today I will be studying for my last exam of the semester. The past two years have raced by insanely fast, yet as I look back on them I find that they hold so many awesome memories. As I was thinking about the adventures to come, I remembered a quote that seems relevant to the challenges this summer may bring:

"Men go back to the mountains, as they go back to sailing ships at sea, because in the mountains and on the sea they must face up, as did men of another age, to the challenge of nature. Modern man lives in a highly synthetic kind of existence. He specializes in this and that. Rarely does he test all his powers or find himself whole. But in the hills and on the water the character of a man comes out."

~Henry David Thoreau

I have not spent nearly as much time climbing mountains as I have out at sea. Even so, I have done enough to know that the feeling one gets as they reach the peak is akin to the emotions that course through a sailor making a glorious run under full sail. The shear beauty of being surrounded by nothing but wilderness is an experience never to be forgotten. Personally, it is often out in nature that I feel the closest to God.

I would like to ask for prayer over the summer: for my time at orcalab, for my interactions with the youth on SALTS, and for the strength to do what I hear God calling me to do.

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth."

~ Psalm 121:1-2

Fair Winds!

I feel the winds of God today, today my sails I lift...

So... in the midst of all His crazy plans for me, God has given me the opportunity to volunteer on with SALTS this summer on the Pacific Swift. I have sailed as a trainee with the SALTS vessels for six years, and it's super exciting to finally be able to give back a little of what I have been blessed with during my time on the ships. SALTS is essentially like a Christian camp held on tall ships. Just thought I'd share that exciting news :)

School is almost over for the semester, and things are getting busy once again. My goal is to go snowing shoeing at least once during exam week, maybe to Baker. I am very excited for my courses in May and the opportunity to meet some new people and strengthen some old friendships during the travel study.

Alas, my final organic chemistry lab write-up is calling now, and I should try to finish it so I can get a good nights sleep tonight.

Fair Winds!

Off to New Oceans...

Well, reading break has come and gone and the snow has arrived once again. Over the holiday I enjoyed some beautiful weather in Southern California. Hiking in Palm Canyon along the Santa Rosa Mountains was amazing and a refreshing break from sitting in desks all day long.

So.... I am off to intern at Orcalab this summer and getting rather excited to go on this adventure. From around the middle of June until sometime in August, I will be camping. Two whole months :)I have never had to stay in a tent for that long before, but I know it shall be an awesome experience! Anyways, this was just a quick note and I really must be getting down to homework now.

Fair Winds!

Summer by the Ocean

This semester of university is now in full swing. The first midterms begin this week and, already, papers are beginning to loom on the horizon. However, despite the crazy business of a second year biology major, there have been some relaxing breaks from academics. Two weeks ago I was up in Blackfish Sound for a few hours, only to see 17 transient orcas pass by on their way through Blackney Pass. The sound of their misty blows amid the calm waters was so peaceful and refreshing.Unfortunately, I only had a few minutes to spend with them before heading off to the cabin to do some work. That evening I was back in the mainland again, with a bucket full of soft shell clams and blue mussels for Monday night's dinner.

This summer promises to be full of adventure! I am taking courses in the Gulf Islands in May. Through them I hope to learn a lot more about local botany and marine ecology. Then the plan is to intern at Orcalab for a while. God seems to be opening so many doors for me this year, and I am excited to pursue these opportunities.

I hope to keep friends and family updated on my adventures this summer through this blog (how stereo typical of me :P), because I will have very limited internet time and may people to keep in touch with.

Fair Winds!