I am always thankful for a sneak peek at summer, especially when I am on the coast. But, today I am a little concerned about our sea life.
You see, when you live inland and do not have a real relationship with the lives that thrive beneath the water or occasionally look at you as you pass by — or follow you for a bit of play as you enjoy the day on a boat — it is easy to think of animals, mammals, etc. as land animals. But, there is sea life that is equally intelligent or more intelligent than our dogs and cats and horses. There are animals like the porpoise or the dolphin that really communicate and respond.
And, don’t think I have lost my last marble. We have all heard those old ladies who say their dogs talk to them, then they try to get the dog to make some sound for us to hear. Now, here’s the thing about that. I have seen and heard many of those dogs. They make an “arrrg—rufffff” noise and the little old lady cannot understand why I didn’t get it.
But, with some sea life it is different. I’m not going to tell you that I have heard a porpoise or a dolphin say a word. I haven’t. I have heard them respond to sounds with sounds. But, I also know that sometimes a dolphin is as curious as a cat. Why else would the dolphin come out of the water to pose for the picture? Of course, he or it didn’t mean to pose, but it did come up three times to get a better look at what I was doing. “Snap!” Picture.
And, yeah, they are show-offs. My battery was dead by the time we got around to the dance, but about 5 dolphins became interested in our boat. We stopped casting lines because we did not want to entangle them. Anyway, we sat and watched the water in quiet. One by one, each would come up right next to the boat and take a look. After they had circled several times, it seems that they had lost interest in us and the boat. We started up to move away from where they were playing.
Maybe the boat movement was too good to miss. They swam alongside us for quite a distance. As we turned the boat back toward the cove and the boat dock, the five — yep, all five — raised upright in the water and held at least half their bodies out of the water, wiggling and dancing, as if waving goodbye.
That is a fine first peek at summer. And, it brings me to this point. I am now living in an area that can be affected by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico if the Loop Current catches it and pushes the oil slick around the tip of Florida and up the east coast.
Most of us are hoping for the best and waiting for the worst. We know that it is likely some of the spill will reach our area sooner or later. I’m not being negative, but facing the reality. I fear what it will do to our beach and our sea life. We have already seen the bodies of dolphins along the coast of Alabama, washed ashore. Of course, everyone is claiming there is no proof that the oil spill was the cause of the deaths. But, those of us who have tended to delicate marshes and shoreline for decades know.
We are getting ready to go back out into the ocean today. I have already heard that 5 dolphins are waiting at the mouth of the cove. Hopefully, today will be a good day for snokeling. Yeah! They let you touch them and play with them. You can hold on and they will pull you in the water — and really fast sometimes. And, if you let go, they will come back for you.
Okay, so I am talking about 5 animals that live in the ocean. There are millions of them, not all alike, but each as important to our earth as the next. I know that few will care as much about these sea creatures as they care about the slaughter of horses or a wildfire that displays deer or other wildlife or burns them alive. But, sea life is just as alive as anything on land. Some of the sea life — that I come in contact with — has as much personality as your cat or dog.
I don’t know if there is oil off our coast or not. It is irrelevant to me. I do know that greed, not need, has created a catastrophe in the Gulf and if the wind blows in the wrong direction, within a matter of days my five new friends will be in man made danger. They may lose their lives. That breaks my heart.
