It's a-blowin'

What a storm today! To enhance the nervous feeling we all shared as a result of our neighbor on the hill being murdered and the guy on the loose, we had a huge storm blow in down the Straight. My house is whistling and thumping in the wind that seems to be a constant 45 mph with higher gusts. I wish our gutters were securely attached. The waves have calmed down from six footers in the morning down to three feet this afternoon with the easing wind.

The cormorants are braving the pilings and staying above the surf. To stay perched on top, the cormorant faces into the wind, hangs its toes over the edge and sticks out its head as if flying. Seagulls are also attempting amazing aerobatics that would make Jonathan Livingston Seagull very proud.

I will be very impressed if the seven surviving Nereocystis make it through this storm. These bull-kelp are usually annuals and get ripped off their tenuous holdfast during winter storms like this one. So far, though, they've been very tenacious.

There are reports of some aquaculture floats found at the coast from Japan. I'd be surprised if these waves don't carry some more plastic further into the Strait to us. Get your trash bags ready, and let Curtis Ebbsmeyer know if you find anything interesting.