“Not knowing what to expect, he made his way into the dark of the forest.” His doctor had told him at his last checkup that he must get some exercise. He decided this was the day to begin. It was the first day of his vacation. He walked determinedly toward the hiking trail. It was a 2 mile loop and he thought he was up to the challenge. As he hiked further and further along the trail he thought to himself, This seems longer than 2 miles and I should have brought a water bottle! That was when he heard it. A loud snorting and the thumping of a heavy footed creature. The kids must have hidden the warning sign again, the Ranger remarked. Every year we get one of these hikers run through by the wild boars.
Has anyone else been following this story? A star has been spotted between the constellations of Cygnus and Lyra during a joint survey of 150,000 stars by the Kepler Space Telescope and amateur astronomers. They have been looking for signs of planets circling these stars. What is unusual about this star according to an article in the Atlantic, The Most Mysterious Star in Our Galaxy, is that there was a strange light blocking pattern seen that may indicate not a planet but a very large alien madestructure or structures that are blocking the light of the star as it orbits around it. The SETI Research Center at UC Berkeley is planning on pointing a very large radio dish toward the star in January to see if they can pick up any electronic transmissions. This is scary to me because what if it is an alien structure and they get wind of us pointing our listening devices toward them. And then decide to see who is listening. Dr. Michio Kaku says that ifthis is an alien structure, itmay be as big as our planet Jupiter, and they are far advanced to our civilization. I think I am going to start wearing an aluminum foil hat.
I was still hoping to see another form of intelligent life here on earth close up last weekend, whales. I was a bit disappointed in my whale watching expedition. I went out on a whale watching boat this past Sunday with my daughter. It was a beautiful sunny day off Monterey for the most part. We did hit some fog out at sea on the way back to Monterey Bay harbor. I had high expectations and I think that was the problem. I expected to see huge whales breaching right near the boat. I wanted to get fantastically exciting photos. I realize now that you do not get to see breaching whales close up every day and that taking a photo, from a boat that is moving up and down, of whales and other sea life who are also moving up and down and various other directions requires luck and probably the talent of a professional photographer and at least a camera with a telescopic lens. Our whale watching was originally planned for Saturday but was canceled by the tour company due to rough weather at sea. So on Saturday I attempted to find the Monarch butterflies and found some at the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary. There were not many near ground level and I had to look through a telescope, assisted by a sanctuary worker, at the top of a eucalyptus tree. She helped me get a nice photo through the telescope as well.
One of the things I learned on the whale watching boat is when the guide sights a whale or other interesting sea life and calls it out, all the people go to that side of the boat and, unless you are fast, it is hard to get a good view. Like when he sighted a pod of orcas and a dolphin stampede. That’s right, I said a dolphin stampede. The dolphins were in the hundreds and were stampeding because they knew the orcas were around. The stampede caused a large patch of turbulence and some of the dolphins were leaping out of the water. Unfortunately some of them swam straight to the orca pod. Next the orca pod is chasing a dolphin and it did not end well for the dolphin. I am glad I did not see it all close up. Then we went out quite a distance in the ocean to off of Moss Landing. We saw some Humpback Whales, dolphins and sea lions there. We saw a whale in the distance do a partial breach, saw others spouting and some flukes. A dolphin popped up doing a partial breach, called spy-hopping, as well. Later we went to a different location and saw the orca pod again. The guide called the large male orca “Fat Fin.” This orca had already been identified by scientists. The whole trip was about 4 hours. This is a video from the Monterey Bay Whale Watch website. We did not have the owner or her dogs on our tour. Their research vessel was near us at the different viewing locations.
And here are a few of my photos:
Monarch Sanctuary
A few monarchs here
View through telescope at Pacific Grove Butterfly Sanctuary
“Now this is living the life of Riley.” Total relaxation, no obligations, and no worries. Except my name is not Riley and this is not my life. My name is Cornelius and I am married to Esmeralda, the Good Witch. We have a happy home life with our cat Cassiopeia. Well we usually have a happy home life unless I happen to get on the wrong side of Esmeralda. It was really not premeditated on my part. I was foraging around looking for a sweet and found the stash of Intense Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt. It was very tasty. Later that night my dearest wife was about to read her favorite collection of “Cat Tales and Broomsticks” when she got an urge for something chocolate. The last thing I remember is her eyes, that strange glow, and poof! I found myself covered with fur and had a strange urge to eat a mouse.
How can a person fit a life into a U Haul trailer? I couldn’t take everything. I had to leave quickly or I might lose my nerve. It was like when we had to evacuate that night the wild fires came. Deciding what was essential to take with us. I ended up taking some books, a few clothes, and mementos from my kids. My daughter’s baby shoes, a valentine card from my son when he was little, and some of their photos. A friend is letting me stay at her house on the rocky Monterey shore.
This is my contribution to Friday Fictioneers hosted by the gracious Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.
Do you believe in miracles? This was from my generation. But I think many of us lost some of our beliefs along the way somewhere. “If only you believed in miracles baby we’d get by….”
Jefferson Airplane via Vevo on You Tube:
Reblogging this post because I love the song and the founder of the group Jefferson Airplane and lead singer for this song, Marty Balin, just died 9/27/2018. This music still holds up today.
I received the notice by email, “Last chance to get away in 2015. Great cruise deals to Mexico.” I had not heard of this cruise line before. They must have gotten my email address from other travel companies I have used. The price was too good to pass up. It was better than showing up at my dead end job on Monday. It would be great to see the beach at Cabo. I called in sick and booked an exterior cabin. I took the motion sickness pill my friend recommended before embarking. I woke up in my cabin late that night. I had slept through the Special Welcome Dinner and was starved. Maybe there was still a snack bar open somewhere on board. I was walking on the deck when I saw a dark figure ahead. “Hello,” I called out timidly, ” do you know where I can find a late meal?” He turned around slowly and said, “No, but now I know where my next meal is coming from.” Are those fangs?
I am off, driving up the coast on my trip to the Monterey Bay, California area, this weekend. I heard the reports that there are many whales and other marine animals in abundance there. Taking a whale watching boat to see for myself. There are a few species of whales I hope to see, Humpbacks, Blue, Orcas, and maybe some Grays. Will report when I get back. Due to the weekend of whale watching and possibly Monarch Butterfly watching I may not be posting my usual writing. Get back to you next week….
Stream of Consciousness Saturday hosted by the lovely LindaGHill
“Take a ride on The Magic Swing Carousel,” hawked the ride operator. We handed over our tickets and sat back into the chair. We spun around getting higher and higher off the ground. We hadn’t been on the chair swing ride since we were young high school sweethearts. “Remember?” my husband said. I nodded as he held my hand.
Something strange was happening. We were going up and up until…we were floating through a tunnel of stars toward a beautiful light. It felt so loving and peaceful. Welcome home.
My contribution for Friday Fictioneers hosted by the charming Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Interesting image by Ted Strutz. Follow the link to join in.
It was the night of grand premiere at the Odyssey Theatre. Max told her there was nothing to worry about. He had perfected the illusion. She was perfectly safe. Lilou wanted to trust him. Him with the beautiful dark eyes. She had fallen for him the instant she met him at the bistro. It was time for Max’s most famous illusion, The Shrinking Woman. Lilou took her position. The orchestra played the dramatic fanfare. Max proclaimed his intention of making Lilou disappear and to have her reappear in a small cupboard on the table. He waved his wand and recited the spell, ” d’ici a la bas! ” Lilou vanished in a pale blue cloud. Max opened the cupboard, “Voila!” Lilou daintily stepped out and curtsied to the crowd. She was only six inches tall. The audience erupted into loud cheers and applause. The curtain closed. When are you changing me back? Lilou wondered out loud. Regrettablement, I have not mastered the reverse spell, Max frowned as he placed her in the chest with the others.
“Few knew about the castle hidden inside the island.”
Few knew about the castle hidden inside the island. Robert said he would build it for me and I would be his queen. He was so different from me. An adventurous spirit who had come to the Gold Country to find his fortune. I was always so timid and was happy to let him take center stage in our lives.
Shortly after we were married I noticed a change in my husband, the black moods and rages. He had locked me in the bedroom again. Moonlight flowed in through the window. The full moon over the lake reminded me of happier days as I whispered his name, Robert. A noise brought my gaze to the clearing at the back of the castle. A wolf like creature that was walking on it’s hind legs. It turned toward me and I recognized his eyes.
This is my contribution to Mondays Finish the Story graciously hosted by Barbara Beacham who also provided the photo for this challenge.
This is my contribution to 
Notes Tied On The Sagebrush 