Friday, February 18, 2011

The Importance of Whale Poop…

It’s kind of a tradition in this family whenever we get anywhere near the ocean. One of us has to start spouting quotes from America’s great ballad, “A Horse with No Name.”  The ocean is indeed a “desert with its life underground and the perfect disguise above.”  For some reason, every time any of us Hales look at the spectacle of the sea, this particular phrase falls into our brains like rainwater.

I grew up in the Midwest and don’t have the same draw to the ocean that many of my New England friends do, but I will never turn down an opportunity to stare at it. I was thinking about the ocean the other day while I was poking around on the internet.  I came across an article about ocean ecology and the importance of whale poop as an essential component to sea life.*  Whale poop, it seems, can actually help “temper the damage humans have done to the environment…”  Just one more good reason to save the whales!

Well, it all made me think about the trips I have taken to the ocean with my family so here are some of the pics I took along the way.

My sincere apology if you have “A Horse with No Name"
stuck in your head for the rest of the day.  You have to admit, it is much more pleasant than having “It’s a Small World After All” stuck there.

*http://inventorspot.com/articles/whale_poop_vital_ocean_ecology






3 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

Very fun and beautiful!

Unknown said...

The third photo that is of the sky and beach.. The sky is what my mom calls a "Mackerel sky", cuz I guess it looks scaley...

barbara l. hale said...

Yeah, that's what I call it, too. Makes for a pretty sky but not such a pretty name.