Building Community

A greater sense of community has developed among the interns here for the second half of the season.  Perhaps, in the group before, we lacked an initiator, someone to really bring everyone together, helping to establish a homey kind of feel at the centre.  More time has been spent with others than individually, as we have shared meals, gone out on the town, watched movies, and camped out for sunrises as a group.

I was not conscious for the majority of the first sunrise trip, since it was well past my bedtime and I had to work early the next morning.  I slept during the car ride up to the top of Mount Maxwell, and then we hiked a short distance to the predetermined look-out spot, where I curled up on a rock face with some blankets and went back to sleep.  I was awoken just before sunrise the next morning and the view was already breathtaking.  We were overlooking Fulford Harbour and the islands beyond and the sky was just beginning to lighten up.  However, what we saw of the sun was through the trees, since we were facing south, so we determined to find a more advantageous spot for the next time.

The next sunrise was at Beddis Beach.  It felt a bit colder, even though we were a much lower elevation.  We had a fire, and of course, I soon fell asleep. At some point in the night, I was awoken by the delighted screams of my friends and was urged to get up and come to the water’s edge.  Someone ran their hands through the water and it sparkled, not like sunlight looks on the water, but instead, it looked like fairy dust as you see in the movies.  It has something to do with phytoplankton blooms and, most likely, some other conditions as well.  Rocks were tossed and everyone began playing with this magical looking substance.  Still being half asleep at the time, it now feels as if the whole thing were a dream.  This time, we were situated due east, so the sun popped up from behind the neighboring island right in front of us.  It reminded me of being back in Ireland with the sunrise right there, always in view, and the brilliance of the sun, gradually ascending into the sky.

Camping in Victoria

Nearly two months ago now, I took a day trip to Victoria with a friend. We managed to get up early to catch the second ferry out, in spite of working a midnight shift the night before.  We visited book stores, coffee shops, ate good food, and mostly wandered around and down to the coast, where you could look across the way to Washington state and off to the southeast, where a narrow strip of open ocean was visible.

Unfortunately, we neglected to check ferry times back to the island, and so, ended up arriving back at the terminal an hour after the last ferry had left for the night.  The security guard was very helpful and concerned and offered to pick us up from Denny’s, one of the few places open twenty-four hours, once he finished his shift and bring us back to the terminal to catch the first ferry out.  Instead, we figured that we would see some more of Victoria and not spend so much time camping out at Denny’s and the ferry terminal a few hours before it opened, so we headed back on the bus to downtown.  We caught some live music at one of the pubs near the waterfront, and tried to take advantage of any open businesses, where we could keep warm before settling down for the night, since we had decided to try sleeping in Beacon Hill Park.

It was a quiet night and quite chilly for August.  After about two hours of trying to sleep in the park, it became too cold to stay asleep any longer, particularly since we had not come prepared.  At that point in the night, all I could think about how my ex could have possibly spent an entire winter in New England like this and I could not even last one night of August in Canada.  He gained some more respect from me in that aspect.  So we started walking and came upon a seven eleven, where we warmed up, bought cereal, and got direction to the closest Tim Horton’s, which seems to be Canada’s version of Dunkin’ Donuts and is often open twenty-four hours.  The walk only took about half an hour and we spent another two hours in the doughnut shop sipping warm beverages and trying to not fall asleep.

We made it early to the bus stop and were incredibly relieved once the bus was in sight, as we knew that our ordeal was drawing to a close.  I managed to stay awake on the hour long bus ride, but passed out on the ferry, which felt like a longer travel time than it really was.  We were quite grateful to set foot again on Salt Spring Island, and once we got home, I went straight to bed, before working that afternoon.

First Seal Release

Today is the day of the first seal release.  We have come a long way together over such a short period of time.  The veterinarian pulled out pictures of some of the first seals from when they initially arrived at the center and, what a difference!  Those adorable, fluffy white creatures cowering in bath tubs have grown up to be big, fat sausages living it up in the above-ground pools.  That time has been a learning and growing process for us all with a string of challenges and successes along the way.   

To start, there was the fear of gavage feeding, for the seals, gradually coming to understand that this is what fills their bellies with food, and for the interns trying to master this technique for the first time.  Before too long, we were bombarded by seals, who could not be fed quickly enough, in spite of all our attempts to organize and hustle.  The older pups soon learned to swallow and eagerly awaited feeding time, and eventually, got booted out of isolation to the outdoor nursery pools to make room for the newcomers.  Even still, there were not enough tubs for all, so they began to be paired up, with some enjoying the company of a buddy, while others seemed to resent sharing and, sometimes, lashed out at their roommate when not distracted and less stressed by swimming at bath time.  They were slowly introduced to fish as play toys in their baths and some did not seem terribly interested, while others mutilated the fish, and a few special individuals quickly taught themselves to swallow it whole.  The pools became increasingly chaotic as more seals graduated to the outdoors, even with the addition of a fourth pool about halfway through the season.   

Currently, there are seventeen seals in isolation, many of which are awaiting their turn to be moved outside, especially since they have already mastered hand-feeding fish.  Only seven more seals have arrived within the past few weeks, and things are slowing down, compared to the forty-something seals crammed into isolation less than two months ago, demanding much attention.  Every day, these pups move one step closer to freedom as they learn to feed in the water or feed themselves by diving after the fish tossed in the pools.  Just a couple of days ago, four pups were witnessed free-feeding and these suspicions were confirmed by their drastic weight gain over a matter of days.   

Now, after arriving at under twenty pounds, our first four seals, weighing in at around sixty pounds each, will be released today from the northeast of the island.  It is apparently a seal haven a short swim from here with lots of rock beds, less populated islands, and likely a wealth of food sources.  I wonder at how they will fair, how easily they will be accepted by established herds, how much of a shock to their systems the sea will be, especially as they hunt for their own food.  It is a day of mixed emotions with sadness at seeing our babies head out into the real world on their own and happiness that they made it to this point; that together, we successfully achieved the mission that we had set out to fulfill.