Pink Snow

Remember the Prince song Purple Rain?  

Although officially spring in Canada, the eastern half of the country is buried in snow... again! 

Roads, schools and businesses are closed.

But in the 'Banana Belt', as this part of the country is referred to by the locals, it's pleasant and mild.

So I did my own sort of 'snow shovelling' today. 
I raked and shoveled the fallen Camelia blossoms from the tree and bush.

They were heavy, wet from the rain last night. 

Camelia are early bloomers, some started blooming in January. 

They come in varying shades of brilliant red and pink and white. 

 Although magnificent to look at they don't have any scent. 

Orca Wisdom

I attended a talk given by a young graduate student named Kristen Kanes at the University of Victoria on Orcas, whales of the northern Pacific coast, commonly known as Killer Whales. 

She filled the hour with many interesting findings from hers and others research on these huge, spectacular but threatened sea mammals. She described the whales as intelligent, extremely social and emotional animals. There was standing room only and at the end of her presentation hands shot up all over the audience, including mine, to ask her questions. 

One of the pieces of information I found particularly interesting was that there is a Southern Resident female Orca who is about 105 years old.  Not only is it amazing that this whale is still alive and active but as Kristen pointed out, whales go through menopause at around 35 years of age.  In most of the animal kingdom, once females stop being productive they die as they've served their purpose.

I couldn’t help but think that is not that different in humans.  After age 40, women increasingly become less influential. In our society, as (external) beauty fades, women become invisible, marginalised and devalued.   

When the speaker was asked why this Orca is still alive she told us that she is not the only one. There are other females approaching this age that are still healthy and active.  Due to the high percentage of PCBs and other chemicals in their fat stores, male Orcas rarely live past 60 years. Yet because the females express milk through nursing their young, they have reduced the levels of these chemicals in their bodies, helping them to live longer.

But even more importantly the Orca community values theses older females for their wisdom. They are honoured by all pod members. Apparently some adult sons and even other males stay with the older females to receive support and mentoring.  And, grandmother Orcas act as midwives to the young. (see my earlier blog).  

There is still a great deal to be learned about these amazing creatures. 

 

So today, International Women's Day, let's celebrate the Orcas and their wisdom and hope our society can return to a time where females were respected Oracles,  Wise Women and Sages.

© Kelley Balcomb-Bartok

 

On the surface

Cozumel and the Yucatan peninsula has lots to offer - beauty, beaches, history and adventure.



A church in old town of El Cedral


One of many spectacular, yet empty beaches on the wild, east side of the island
 

Learning about, making and tasting chocolate - a Yucatan staple 

Leaving Cozumel for the mainland

The Castillo in the ancient Mayan city of Tulum 

Tulum is a breathtaking location overlooking the ocean

Mayan Acrobats Performing

Fountain in Tulum

Native Mayan Dress
 

The region has kilometres of underground rivers called Cenotes

We snorkelled in a Cenote call Dos Ejos meaning Two Eyes






Underwater Beauty

We've just returned from a diving trip to Cozumel, Mexico. This is our second time visiting this Island in the Caribbean. We became certified scuba divers there 7 years ago, by the same fellow who now works in Victoria and led this trip.

Cozumel was named as the second best place to dive after the Great Barrier Reef by Jacques Cousteau when he visited in 1961. We agree! Fortunately the reefs are protected by the marine park so you can't touch or remove anything.

I didn't have an underwater case for my camera last visit but thanks to Keith I now do and can share with you the wonders of the quiet yet stunning underwater world.

Fan Coral

Colourful coral, sponges and damsel fish

French Angelfish

Four Eyed Butterfly Fish

Lobster

King Crab

Keith and his favourite fish - Black Grouper

Brain Coral

Barrel Sponge

Sea Anemone

Green Turtle

Yellow Tube Sponge

File Fish

Reef Squirrel Fish

Coral Head

Black Trigger Fish

Lizard Fish

Parrot Fish

Tragedy, Midwifery and Hope

A baby killer whale born in late December is a female and “looking good,” says a relieved Shari Tarantino of the Washington-based Orca Conservancy.

The baby orca reappeared Wednesday with her mother and grandmother in the northern Strait of Georgia after not being seen since the first sighting on Dec. 30.

The baby will be called J-50 but “everybody wants to call it Hope,” Tarantino said, because the calf represents hope for the recovery of the declining J, K and L pods in the Salish Sea, the coastal waters between the southwestern tip of B.C. and the north-western tip of Washington state.  J-50 brings the total in the three southern resident orca pods to 78, but that won’t be official until the baby survives until next winter, said Tarantino, board president of the volunteer group working to protect orcas and their habitat.

Only 16 of the 78 are females of reproductive age, so the birth of a female is especially welcome, Tarantino added. All three pods are classed as endangered under Canada’s Species at Risk Act. Reproductive age begins around 14 — a long time to wait for desperately needed new members for the pod.

“This baby is one of the last little hopes we have for this population to survive,” said Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research in Washington state.

Researchers believe that J-50’s mother is J-36. J-36 is swimming with her mother, J-16, who is 43 years of age — normally considered beyond reproductive age.

Because the newborn has bite marks on it — a sign of whale midwifery — researchers believe that J-16 assisted her daughter at what may be her first birth.

“We suspect what happens sometimes in these troubled deliveries, is that another whale sort of gently bites the little baby and pulls it out, and leaves teeth marks,” Balcomb said. “We can definitely see the teeth marks and we surmise that it’s an assisted delivery.”

J-16 has given birth at least five times and would be unlikely to require assistance, but babysitting is not unusual for grandmother orcas, he added. Three of J-16’s offspring continue to swim by her side.
“There just aren’t many reproductive females left in the population and that’s a tragedy that we’ve allowed to happen,” Balcomb said.

The conservancy has carefully catalogued presumed maternities for 40 years using photo-identification verified by genetic studies.

The birth of J-50 is especially good news in light of the recent deaths of two other orcas,

Researchers are trying to persuade both the Canadian and U.S. governments that the whale diet of salmon needs to be protected.

“We have to have abundant food supplies in order for them to meet the nutritional needs of reproduction and they just haven’t done it,” Balcomb said. “You’ve got to have fish, got to have salmon, got to have chinook salmon, and you’ve got to have lots of it.”

A female baby orca, called J-50, swims alongside its mother in the Gulf Islands on Dec. 30. The newborn whale reappeared this week.   Photograph By Ken Balcomb, The Associated Press 

kdedyna@timescolonist.com

The last day of the year!

Keith and I have returned home to the coast following a week of visits with family and friends that warmed our hearts despite the snow and cold in Edmonton.

In the lull between Christmas festivities and gearing up to return to work in the new year we have time to ponder the gifts we receive.

All the children together for Xmas Dinner 

Keith and Cynthia's girls and partners 

Our gifts include our family and their health and happiness.

Keith's Mom, Dad and Great Granddaughter 

And living among plants that bloom during this dark and cool season and tiny, sweet hummingbirds flitting around our garden and pausing for a few seconds at our feeder.

Pyracantha

Flowering Rosemary 

Our first Rhododendron bud

Male Rufus Hummingbird with its ruby jeweled head

   That's all we need!  Happy New Year! 

Reflections on 2014!

It is the end of another year and time to count my blessings and take stock of what 2014 has brought to me, to Keith, our family and those around us.

It was another year filled with many blessings for which I am grateful and humbled.
When Keith got a job in Victoria this summer I felt guilty as there has been so much suffering in the world at that time. We felt like we had hit the jackpot!

Sadly so much pain and loss continues to be in the news.

My personal accomplishment this year was finishing my doctorate. So many people helped me along the way, not least of all my family who supported me to go to Australia in 2012 and put up with me as I focused on my writing on my return.
As a graduation gift Keith bought me my Flinders University graduation robe and bonnet.  Very festive with a tinge of Harry Potter!

Of course we never know what the next year brings, but I go into the new year hopeful and optimistic and finding ways to make a difference in this sometimes troubled planet we all call home.

And our tiny granddaughter gives us hope for a better world for her to grow up in!