chickens, ducks and killer whales

This is my dentist’s office:

The rounded part in the middle with the white front is where the chairs are located.

The water in front of it is the Pacific Ocean.  I was just settling into one of the chairs

Wednesday when the dentist pointed and said “Look!  Orcas!”  A pod of five or six

orcas were passing by about fifty metres away, gracefully navigating the rough

waters and blustery weather.

All the staff came to the windows to admire the promenading mammals.  I was 

struck by three simultaneous thoughts, one short of my personal best: (1) I love

living on an island where I can watch orcas at the dentist; (2) I’m glad that my

dentist has a staff so skilled and relaxed that they can take time to orca watch;

and (3) I’m very glad that the dentist wasn’t drilling my molars when he pointed.

In less spectacular news about island chordata, Jude and I returned home from

her orca-less dentist appointment yesterday just as the rain started turning into

the first serious snowfall of the season.  We hurriedly attended to the one outside

task we really wanted to finish, moving this top of an old parrot cage . . .

. . . to the expansion of the garden.                

When the snow melts, we’ll let the chickens into the new area to work on the weeds

and bugs.  Since it’s such an exposed area and so far from the coop, we figured that

the girls will need some serious cover.

This is the first snow the ladies have ever seen.  They weren’t at all certain what to

make of it this morning.

But things soon normalized.

And, between the transitory orcas and the year-round chickens, our winter guests

have returned.  This is the fourth or fifth year for this group of bufflehead ducks.

The predominately white male Biff is back with his first love Muffy (far right), the

mysterious Yolanda (second from right), and a third female we’ve yet to name.

Jude said she spotted another female in Biff’s harem this time.  He must be hung

like a heron.