Orcas!

Painting by one of the teachers, of the school mascot. Girls by my daughter Ashley.

Orcas are a big deal here in the Puget Sound area of Washington State.

I have shared many times, the pix my daughter gets when she is out looking from the shoreline on our "side" of the Sound. [western, Seattle is on the eastern side]

The subject is often drawn in her family.

As are the pictures she takes...or pictures of the camera the pix are on.

Our Governor, Jay Inslee, is even doing his part.

So the girls sent hand written letters to different 'powers that be' to enforce the plea, to 'open the snake'.  The Snake River on the Columbia River.  Salmon go back to the place of birth, spawn?  There are dams on the Snake that are in the way.  Honestly, I am not sure what that has to do with our waters here in the Sound, but I am all for saving the whales. 

The Southern Resident Orcas are down to 74, and it's possible you saw the news report this summer about the female who carried her dead baby for 17 days. Or the young one scientists were trying to save.  

Unfortunately, one of the biggest threats to the whales are the sea lions and seals. They eat salmon too. And there are thousands more seals than really should be, here in our waters. That balance needs to be restored too, to save the Orcas.

This picture is of Avery on top of a sculpture at a local waterfront park.

picture from May 30, 2016

 "In pursuit of migrating salmon,Southern Residents are known to forage farther south in Puget Sound during the fall and spend time near the Columbia River mouth in winter [1]. " 

Now I understand why the Snake. And yes, I should have looked it up in the first place.  

And this little guy is now 3 months old.

I have been creating too, again no pix.