Posted on by Cathy Edgett

Nature

The summer issue of Orion magazine is all about whales.  Reading about how we were born in the sea, came to land, and then, some chose to return to the sea is thrilling in showing our need for exploration, adaptation, community, and diversity.  

Reading the news today, I contrast killing and greed with the Southern Resident orca named Tahlequah. In 2018, she mourned the death of her newborn calf by carrying it on her head and pushing it through the Salish Sea for 17 days.  She covered 1,000 miles.

Each day, we’re exposed to a need to grieve.  Each day we read of more people hurt by the policies of the Trump administration and other leaders around the world.  We share one planet. Can we learn from what surrounds us, our ancestors, our kin, the birds, the sea, the whales?

A Screech Owl comes to live in a friend’s garden, invited by an Owl House.

Posted on by Cathy Edgett · 2 Comments

Whale Spouts!

Yesterday at Baker Beach I sat and leaned against a log as I looked out at the ocean.  Immediately I saw whale spouts and breeching and felt my heart rise and fall in sync with something more than a little self.

My friend Elaine Chan-Scherer planned part of her 60th birthday celebration as a gathering of friends to clean up the beach.

The beach looked immaculate but we set out with bags in a group that soon settled into units of two or three for deeper conversation and intimacy. Doing so, we began to look more closely at the sand.  Yes, there were little pieces of plastic and cigarette butts.

With each bending down to pick something up was a realization and satisfaction that here was something that would not go into the digestive system of sea life.  Up and down I went like a sandpiper on the beach pecking not for goodies but for the joy of being part of an ecosystem shared. Try it. It’s fun!!