The Whales are on a Roll

Posted on August 12, 2016August 12, 2016 by Dusty Roads

I’ve been doing a lot more whale watching this season because the whales seem to be especially active this year. They have been so active that I have skipped some of my other seaside activities to get some extra outings and I have not been disappointed.

A couple of weeks after the Great Puffin Adventure I decided to give the morning whale watch a try. I stayed on the upper deck this time. I wanted to try a different angle.

Sure enough, it was a very active trip. Right off the bat we spotted multiple humpbacks. At first we were getting backs showing as they cruised along and a few flukes.

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I have plenty of photos of backs and flukes so I wasn’t too interested in that.

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A bit deeper into Stellwagon bank we found ourselves surrounded by groups of humpbacks surface feeding.

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That’s always fun to watch. There lots of activity with the birds trying to steal the fish that manage to escape the huge mouths.

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Plus the whales swim along the surface with the water streaming out the sides of their mouths as they strain the water through their baleen.

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That alone would have been a successful trip but suddenly there was a mother and calf off the port side. “Mom” would flipper slap and then the little one one would do the same.

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This went on for quite awhile. In fact all of us with cameras had plenty of time to get pictures.

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Eventually, as if to say goodbye, mom rolled onto her back and gave a double wave, both flippers waving in the air and then both mom and calf disappeared beneath the surface. The show was over.

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We watched some more surface feeding before it was time to head back. I was just packing up the camera when a collective WOW! went up. I looked up in time to see a whale fully breaching. It was quite a distance away. It flew fully out of the water like a giant dolphin! The splash down was huge.

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That was the only full breach I saw but the feisty whale gave us a few other partial breaches. I managed to get the camera back out for the end of the show.

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I’m not too disappointed that I missed getting a shot of the full breach. It was amazing to see and I think I appreciated it more by being able to watch it without the little view finder. A breaching whale, at least in this area, is a rare sight.

I’ll keep looking for another opportunity for that awesome photo shot but if I never get it , I won’t be too sad. I’ll chalk it up to the one that got away.

Orca!

Posted on July 6, 2016July 6, 2016 by Dusty Roads

My neighbors and I were discussing my whale watch adventure and one of them kept asking if I saw any pretty black and white whales. I said not, Orca’s don’t come down to our coast.

That night on the news the headline was ORCA SIGHTING OFF CHATHAM, CAPE COD!

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Guess that will each me to say we don’t get killer whales around here!

Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

Posted on June 26, 2016June 26, 2016 by Dusty Roads

My Plantar Fasciitis has improved dramatically. My foot still feels a little bruised but I can walk without limping so it was time to see if it would hold up for a hike. I only have a couple of weeks before my Big Maine Adventure which will involve .5 – 1 mile hikes. It doesn’t sound like much but if you have ever experienced the pain of Plantar Fasciitis, you know it’s like walking on a golf ball! 10 feet is too far!

To improve my motivation I decided to head for Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick, MA. This is an Audubon property and I hadn’t been there before. It had the added benefit of being in Natick so I could include lunch at Kelly’s Roast beef.

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Before I left the house I dug around to find my Audubon membership card. I’ve never been asked for it but I’d never been to Broadmoor before either. Turns out it was a good thing I made the effort. They have a Welcome Center that is staffed and they do check memberships.

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When I pulled in I was surprised to see a full parking lot. I figured that I wouldn’t see much with that many people tramping around but it turns out there are more than 9 miles of trails.

No way was I going to try any of the longer trails today. So I settled on the Mill Pond/Marsh Trail. It’s a mile long but I only covered the Marsh section. I wandered a boardwalk, watched a swan groom itself and admired the sunning turtles.

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I met some nice people along the way but it wasn’t really as crowded as I expected.

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I will have to go back again as my foot gets stronger. I want to see the little waterfall at the ruins of the mill and there is supposed to be an active beaver pond with a dam and lodge.

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Now to head home and see how the foot feels. Fingers crossed!

Mermaid Kisses ~ Starfish Wishes

Posted on May 31, 2016May 31, 2016 by Dusty Roads

This was quite a weekend. Memorial day 2016 ranged from HOT HOT HOT to cool and rainy. Something for everyone.

Saturday was the best day and my original plan was to head to the beach. But after some thought I decided on a whale watch. I figured if it was 90 degrees and the first weekend of the summer that I would be one of many who would be heading to the beach. So Instead I headed to Plymouth and the Captain John Boats.

I stopped for lunch at Cabby Shack where I spotted the wall art quoted in the title.

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I just like the whimsy.

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Once I had lunch out of the way I headed over to the boat. I was very early but once again I was concerned about summer crowds. Turns out it wasn’t too bad.

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If it was 90 degrees on shore the temperature dropped like a stone once we left the harbor. I was glad I brought a warm hoodie. The trip took us the the same place we always seem to end up, the tip of Cape Cod just off Provincetown. There, with the Pilgrim Tower in the background, we spotted out first and only whale of the day.

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It was a juvenile humpback. Our Naturalist estimated it was the calves’s first year without its mother. A sighting of such a young animal is rare according to the naturalist. Once the more mature whales arrive you don’t see these “yearlings” so often.

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Our “little guy” was very active. He’d surface, cruise then we’d see him “hump” his back, the tail would start up and then there it was, the fluke indicating he was going into a dive. He’s be gone about 5-6 minutes then do it all again.

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He comes the tail

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And there’s the fluke.

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What a great day!

Can Spring Be Far Behind?

Posted on March 5, 2016March 5, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Last weekend I was up in the Revere/ Winthrop area for work. It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny with blue skies. It was the kind of day that hinted at the promise of spring. You could almost hear the buds popping out!

I was in the area to get an exterior photo of a home we’re about to put on the market.

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We wanted blue skies. With that mission accomplished I decided to go to Revere Beach to get a roast beef sandwich from Kelly’s.

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There was quite a wind off the ocean so I ended up eating my sandwich in the car instead of at one of the tables but the wind provided it’s own entertainment.

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