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Posted By: Argon Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/23/14 05:09 PM
I was on a Birding trip to Virginia Beach this past weekend. For a fee, you can gain access to the man made islands on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. You have a police escort and just before entering the tunnel, you turn out and there is a fairly large area at each tunnel entrance. You park and get out and Birdwatch. When we got out at Island #3 - which is the furtherest out in the bay, we immediately saw something - several somethings out in the swells. Harbor Seals. They were bobbing around watching us as much as we were watching them. Helped to make the trip a big success......Rob
Posted By: exlabdriver Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/23/14 05:33 PM
We have them in spades across the street in our harbour. They gather here in our estuary to catch the salmon yearlings that the taxpayer has spent copious amount of dollars raising in the hatchery just up the river! Rest assured, they are not too popular with much of the public here.

What is most unique is when the herd of Sea Lions come in for a visit a couple of times per year. They are huge, aggressive (with each other), loud & smelly, but are a wonderful sight to see. They bark all night & of course that bothers some people.

I like them better than most humans that I've met, ha!

TAM
Posted By: nickbuol Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/23/14 05:58 PM
Posted By: Murph Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/24/14 02:30 PM
Lots of them around here as well, depending on the time of year. Right now, I keep an eye out to see if they show up on the ice off of my place if it opens in spots. I'm on the opposite side of the bay though relative to the ocean so it's not common unless we go for a quick drive to walk the ocean side

When I was in my early teens, we had a younger seal who seemed to have broken away from the herd and took to sunning himself on the raft we swam off of. He became very curious and playful with us, often swimming loops around us as we swam underwater. Next summer, we didn't see him again.

I don't recommend that you just walk up to seals though. They normally can be very cranky creatures.
Posted By: Argon Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/24/14 05:56 PM
There was a video around here - maybe around everywhere of a seal climbing into a boat with some duck hunters.
Posted By: Argon Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/24/14 05:56 PM
Living in the middle of North Carolina, we don't see too many seals.....
Posted By: exlabdriver Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/24/14 06:49 PM
Murph:

What's ice?, ha!

Strange winter out here on the west coast. It has been uncommonly dry & warm, but often foggy at lower levels for the past 4 months. Vancouver Island's mountain snow pack is virtually nil & our local ski resort that normally has +10' of snow by now, just barely opened last week with minimal snow. Unfortunately, it is rapidly losing snow as the persistent inversion & sunshine keeps temps well above freezing higher up.

Some web cams - let me assure you, the snow on Mt Washington is nothing:

http://cvmtb.com/index.php/about/weather-webcams/

Seems that we've had High Pressure Systems dominating just off the coast that are blocking the Pacific Disturbances & diverting them way to the north.

Nice for us but I dread the upcoming forest fire season if the normal monsoons don't come soon....

TAM
Posted By: Gr8_White_North Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/24/14 10:07 PM
You want crazy weather, try 8 above here in the Yukon, should be -30 right now. I don't know about global warming, more like Global Weirding.
Posted By: JBG Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/25/14 02:27 AM
Originally Posted By: Socketman
You want crazy weather, try 8 above here in the Yukon, should be -30 right now. I don't know about global warming, more like Global Weirding.


Donno about global warming perhaps the answer is here
Posted By: Murph Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/27/14 12:48 PM
Weird winter here too. We usually say "it's been a cold winter" or "it's been a warm winter". This year it has been both. After three blizzards in a row, it rains, then it's minus 30 something wind chill for a week, then it's plus zero and raining again. Then freakin cold, then rain...

Weather is always unpredictable so I try not to read much into it. However, it seems like I'm using the "weird" word every year.

On a lighter note. I love the west coast, Tam. Ocean and Mountains The best of both worlds. I'd take a year of volcanic ash & eruption if it would mean that we end up with a "real" ski hill within decent driving distance.
Posted By: BobKay Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/27/14 12:53 PM
I heard some report on NPR about recent climate changes. The guest said that there hasn't been an average winter in most of the US in over 30 years.

One question: After 30+ years, isn't the word "average" up for major review?!?
Posted By: Murph Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/27/14 01:24 PM
People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but *actually* from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff.
Posted By: exlabdriver Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/27/14 06:11 PM
Murph:

Our local ski hill - Mt Washington - often gets the most snowfall of any ski hill on the planet, but not this year.

I was an avid skier for years but my ancient knees are starting to protest that activity. Furthermore, when I first started skiing here in the late 80s, a lift ticket was $17. Now it is $75. That is just a bit much for the amount of enjoyment that I get out of it now...

TAM
Posted By: Murph Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/27/14 08:11 PM
Ya, lift tickets are a scandal now. Certainly not that bad around here maybe the 1/3rd price reflects the 1/3 height differential.

I still enjoy it but I avoid the double & triple black diamonds on a big mountain now due to knee issues as well. Steep is OK in short stretches but moguls turn my bad knee into jelly in about 5 minutes.
Posted By: exlabdriver Re: Seals - not the Navy kind. - 01/27/14 10:53 PM
Me in a field of moguls is not a pretty sight.

Furthermore, I would have made a significant navigation error to have gotten in there in the first place, ha!

TAM
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