Young Whale

When I got close to the beach on the way to Crescent City this morning, I noticed a large gathering of folks. My first thought was that they must be holding some kind of surfing or kayaking class. But as I got along side the group, I could see that they were all gathered around something very large. Being of a naturally curious nature, I pulled over and could see what I thought was a whale. I got out of the car and walked down to get a closer look, snapped a few pictures so I could get his body angle right and left. The lab folks were already on the scene working on the far side of him with the intent of figuring out how he died since he/she was a fairly young sperm whale (this I was told by one of the audience). The whale was approximately 15' long, I probably should have included the crowd of folks standing on the other side of it, as it would give a sense of scale. I appreciated who ever placed the flowers at his tail, it kind of reflected how I felt. One can't help but be awed by an animal so large and intelligent. May he be breaching happily in whaley heaven even as I'm typing this.