23/12/2024
Two big stories today: The water's back in the taps and there's a dead dolphin on the beach.
The water
Oh, to open taps and find water.
I had the best shower, said Sunette.
Ditto. Tralala.
So, there I was on my way to the dolphin, my clean hair getting a turbo blow dry, when Alice came into view.
Shew. The wind. She looked at her legs.
The sand stings, she said.
Then Clive bundled himself out his car and we trudged headlong into the eye of this windstorm.
The gale blasted Jeff and Beryl into sight.
They cluched their hats and Beryl said: I'm glad we could do laundry.
(I wondered if they'd find it in Kidd's Beach, perhaps?)
We all shook hands and smiled and Clive and I carried on.
Crikey. This wind's strong.
But Clive said he'd seen the sand like sheets of water blowing off the dunes.
And then we chatted about tanks, water tanks.
He said the Harding family had used 7000 litres during the water outage and now their tanks were empty.
Which just goes to show. Water in tanks is nice to have but... a finite resource that relies on rain.
Hmmm.
On to the Striped Dolphin.
Jason alerted everyone, Christelle called Kevin and in no time the EL museum's marine biologist was huddled over the beautiful creature ably assisted by Hadassah, one of the Harding girls.
Tks for coming out to Kayser's Beach, Dr Cole.
Interesting to learn that the specimen was female, out of its depth, and that Dr KC would send specimens to Bayworld.
And that's when I left.
The wind was hurting my ears, even my dogs turned their backs on the gale, and Dr Cole was sharpening a giant scalpel.
Yikes.
And that, me dears, is my day up until noon.
Now it's time to tidy up, sweep, and get ready for Christmas and the cooking.
Season's greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and when we get there, Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to 2025.
AI tells us:
Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) live in warm to tropical oceanic waters, typically between 50° North and 40° South:
Locations
Striped dolphins can be found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the waters off the west coast of the United States. They can also be found in the waters off Japan, Argentina, South Africa, western Australia, and New Zealand.
Habitat
Striped dolphins prefer deep oceanic waters, but can also be found in coastal areas where deep water is close to shore. They are often found in areas of upwelling, where cold, nutrient-rich water rises to the surface, and convergence zones, where high productivity creates favorable feeding opportunities.
Depth
In the North Atlantic, striped dolphins are usually found in water depths of 1,000 meters or more. However, they have been recorded in shallower waters around the Scottish mainland and west of the Faroe Islands.
Striped dolphins are threatened by habitat degradation, overfishing, and incidental capture in fishing nets.
