Checking in on Chester

 I had intended for this to be a follow-up, but we never previously covered Kathryn's work with the false killer whale calf "Chester" who was taken in by the Marine Mammal Rescue last summer (2014). Kathyrn spent many shifts monitoring and tending to him when he was first brought in but in time he outgrew the tanks available and was moved to Vancouver Aquarium.

 

Chester is currently sharing the dolphin tank with Helen, the last of their wounded Pacific White Sided dolphins, and is much larger than he was when Kathryn was looking after him. While we know that cetaceans in captivity is a touchy subject these days, we were saddened to hear interpreters at the aquarium explaining his drooping fin as a natural part of their design when it has a 0% incidence in the wild, and has been proven to be a direct result of tanks that are not large or deep enough to allow the animals room to properly dive and exercise.

 That aside, he is a very curious and inquisitive animal, and came over to visit us at one of the windows for a few minutes. He was very enrapt by the pair of us, and while we both very much want to believe it was because he remembered Kathryn and her efforts, it could just as easily have been light reflecting out of my camera lens that caught his eye as something new.

Fall blooms and garden harvests

 A few years ago, Kathryn had a New Years resolution to grow something from a seed, and that idea quickly grew into a sizeable balcony garden with a nice selection of tasty vegetables, savoury spices, and hummingbird-friendly flowers. Much like her father, she enjoys growing hot peppers, and while not AS hot as the ones Bevan cultivates, these ones have been pleasantly fiery and recently helped out with a turkey curry.

 This is her second year of growing tomatoes and they have done very well although the extreme heat of this summer has kept them a little more parched than would be ideal, even after nightly waterings. Still, that cluster of delicious multicoloured fruits goes to show that her efforts are far from in vain.

 Rounding out the set, a few years ago Valerie brought several cuttings from her hoya plant, which had always been a favorite of Kathryn's. Since then, not only have the plants thrived and grown several feet of vines which are currently weaving around the vertical blinds by the balcony, but for the first time every they are blossoming. There are currently 4 little clusters of waxy, earthy-smelling flowers which have all opened in the last few days, much to our delight.