Bubble Nets

Bottle nose dolphin tank with them begging for food

We called her Bob as she kept bobbing up and down emerging with even a bigger smile than the usual dolphin fixed smile much to the amusement of this one year old girl who would chortle with delight every time she bobbed up.

Ah a chance to sit down after negotiating crowds for the past few hours! A plus: watching the dolphins go through their paces and then play between shows. They segregate the sexes: it was the girls turn while we were there. One was named Maya. Aside from the usual dolphin tricks; jumping in unison, going through hoops, throwing balls back, they explained the many tricks they have in the wild to hunt in packs. Lots of their strategies are similar to those of wolves (corralling and then coming in for the kill) but they had some tricks particular to them such as making bubble nets. In unison, they blow a bunch of bubbles into their water confusing their prey and making it difficult to see. On command the dolphins demonstrated this: pretty cool. Also the ability to swim in just inches of water does not keep fish safe from dolphins. They can skim along in just an inch of water despite their size.

Well I am back from a grueling ride. First a late start that at least kept me free of traffic except for the construction zones around Pittsburgh, then my new route was way longer and contained toll roads I was not aware of. And my lunch stop did not have the restaurants I was told it had. And at sometimes, it rained so hard, visibility was a real issue so I had to go down to a crawl. But I am alive though still tired. So many little things that need to be done! I did edit my posts as the crappy Blogger ap does not let me edit after I post, can not control the size of the photos, can not place them where I want, on and on. So for my past week of posts, please revisit to see things in greater clarity. And we still have Maya. No rest for the wicked.

I also edited my many photos. I will put some of them in over the next few days. In the mean time, there are these:

crepe myrtle again

art museum mounds

Soulmate headed into the light at the end of the tunnel

More van Gogh

cherubs and severed head

Forgot this artist's name. He specialized in painting chiefs of various tribes 150 years ago

Eastern market: Capitol Hill