Joe's brother Charlie visited this weekend - his first chance to meet Petra.
We decided to head out to the coast, to a friend's house that we've borrowed repeatedly (it's become our home away from home). The weather was gorgeous - surprisingly warm and sunny -- for the Oregon coast that is. Saturday morning we bundled up to head out to the beach, warning Charlie that he might be cold, and ended up peeling layers off as soon as we got out there.
We saw all kinds of wildlife, although a lot of them were dead, including harbor (?) seals and common murres - probably babies or exhausted adults post-breeding. We did come across this 3-foot salmon shark that was very much alive and not very happy about being stuck up on the sand. Joe helped guide her back under the waves, and we watched her right herself and swim off, with the tell-tale dorsal fin breaking the surface.
I spoke with my coworker who has spent a lot of time studying sharks, and he said sometimes a great white will chase a baby like this into the surf. Salmon sharks are in the same family as great whites, but apparently all is fair in love and war... and dinner?
We also saw thousands upon thousands of shearwaters, which are these birds that you normally don't see unless you're on a boat miles from shore. They were streaming north just beyond the surf in a huge parade that just kept going. It's a mystery.
Oh and Pika had a great time too.
We also saw thousands upon thousands of shearwaters, which are these birds that you normally don't see unless you're on a boat miles from shore. They were streaming north just beyond the surf in a huge parade that just kept going. It's a mystery.
Oh and Pika had a great time too.
