Red Tide at Dawn

 

I went to the coast earlier this week and finally saw the thing I've heard so many talk about. Do you ever think you know something because you hear it so much until you actually see it for yourself and realize you had no idea what you were talking about?

 For me, that was a red tide. This algae bloom was the first I'd seen, and you can see for yourself how it gets its name.

And fishing just a week before showed no trace of it. Even a mass as infinite as the ocean can change quickly.

 The algae blooms are part of the season and provide food for lots of species- just harmful to us if we eat shellfish from the water during a red tide.

 

During my hike with Chuck on a glorious sunny day, we looked out at seal rock to see whales feeding and seals barking their heads off. Here's a little video I shot so you'd get a picture of just how loud those cute little flippery fur-balls really are.

The Road Kill Menu

Last week in my writing class, I was feeling the grind of the semester and the drudge of homework. And not just any homework: writing, where there is no clear fill-in-the-black to an assignment per se, but endless possibilities, with a bit of the subjective thrown in.

For a perfectionist, this is hell. In that moment, I didn't even want to think of the drivel I would produce under a 10-minute prompt deadline.

Until ... a lovely assignment to write a "road kill" menu of at least four entrees, consisting of "stomach churning, disgustingly awful things one could ever imagine appearing on a dinner plate."

Here are some of the class results:

Bird Drop Soup
Kitten Pot Pie
North Country Steak smothered in Moose Saliva
Armadillo Cutlet
Fresh-Boiled Roadkill of the Day
Housemade Skunk Ravioli
Transmission Fluid on Ice
Day Old Coffee
... and those are just a few

A nice break from serious personal essay and character development.

What's the most disgusting thing you'd want to add to the menu?