Saturday Update

Today’s weather has been significantly better than yesterday although its still grey and quite cold. The logs at the jetty are slowly breaking up a bit but there are still a ton down there. I did manage to drag in a couple more for firewood while the tide was low. 

There have been 20-30 eagles here lately which is pretty neat to watch, but still no elephant seals! 

The little entangled Cali is sticking around which makes me hopeful we’ll be able to to help her. I also spotted a juvenile Steller on the jetty today with a large fish hook and lure in his lip. A hooked lip is far better than him having swallowed the hook but its still not great. I expect that it’ll get stepped on or ripped out before we can do anything for him but I’ll keep an eye on it regardless. The young Stellers LOVE to play with anything they find, I’ve been watching them carry sticks around and chunks of fish, and unfortunately some plastic debris as well. They’re like curious little toddlers and I love watching them play – I’d just prefer it not be with garbage! 

Nothing too wild going on today! Chopped some wood, and got a few tasks done inside. No vessels in the area today, everyone seems to be laying low. 

Stormy and Cold

Not much of an update today. Woke up to strong winds and sideways rain that I’m surprised didn’t turn to snow with how cold it felt. Definitely a stay inside kinda day! 

The entangled Cali is still here, hopefully it sticks around until we have calmer weather to organize a rescue. 

One thing I have noticed thats changed since October is how many more Steller sea lions appear to be here as opposed to California sea lions. There are also a lot more young/juvenile Stellers than the fall as well, super interesting and I wonder if Race Rocks will ever become a rookery?

Very young Steller resting on a California sea lion

Slightly older juvenile Steller

High Tides and Logs Galore

Over the past few days I’ve noticed how many logs and driftwood seem to be out in the ocean this time of year. I’ve heard its significantly worse than previous years but thankfully not too much has been accumulating at the jetty (as I’ve been told it can). Until today. 

Yesterday afternoon there were a few small bits of driftwood/logs but nothing out of the ordinary, however the tides and wind must have been combined in all the right (or maybe wrong) ways over night. This morning when I woke up there was enough logs and debris around the jetty to open up my own lumber mill. I’ve never seen anything like it. For the better part of the day the waves have been crashing directly into the jetty making it impossible for any of it to be pushed out. In the afternoon I pulled a few of the reachable logs up to use for future firewood but it barely made a dent in whats there. Hopefully some of it gets pushed out tonight! 

The fur seal has not shown up again, so I guess he was just passing by, although I’m hopeful we’ll see him again one day! Ollie is still around and a few humpbacks are passing by each day. 

I haven’t seen the entangled sea lions today, but the Cali was around yesterday and the Steller the day before. 

Vessels:

  • Ecotourism: 2

Facility Work:

  • Topped up battery electrolytes 
  • Cleaned/organized inside main house 
  • Hauled in logs for firewood