Some days start out sunny and then turn cloudy and we've yet to have a day that's shirt-sleeve weather. My camellia , which usually blooms in February, just bloomed about a week ago. Spring bulbs were late too. Denver has 2 feet of snow, Phoenix is 94 F. If I were in Phoenix I could believe in global warming, but in Denver? I can believe in climate change as a natural phenomenon (perhaps nudged by greenhouse gases), but I certainly can't believe all this can be caused by man.Gray whales have been spotted in the sound right near us on their way from California to Alaska. They feed on ghost shrimp close to the shore. So unless you're on the beach or are standing at the edge of the bluff you usually can't see them. I was lucky one day because I happened to glance out the window and saw a sightseeing ship stopped dead in the water. This usually means the ship has spotted a whale and is just waiting to see where it's going to come up again. Sometimes they're lucky and the whale will breach, but most of the time gray whales are reclusive and swim in a sort of wave, rising out of the water only slightly for air, then submerging again to swim away. I grabbed some binoculars we keep in the kitchen and was lucky enough to see it rise out of the water once, but then it disappeared and the ship apparently lost track too, for it left.
Orca whales behave a bit differently. They are naturally inquisitive and will frequently approach a ship, rise out of the water and gape at the people watching it. This is really a thrill.
