It’s odd taking a walk without Aki. She suffered soft tissue damage running frantic laps around a Labrador retriever and has been ordered by the Vet to keep off her feet. Without her to move me along, I took much longer to complete the Rainforest Trail loop. She wouldn’t have begrudged me the time I took to visit with a friendly dog walker. She would have loved to sniff and greet the dog.  But she wouldn’t have the patience to wait for the whale. 

            If Aki were here, I would not have been circled by a crow. The corvid strolled toward me until three meters separated us. Then it walking along the three meter line as I clicked away. I would have never seen the whale breach. I was standing near the beach-forest border, staring across Lynn Canal, listening to small waves hit the beach. Something large and gray blew out of the water and crashed onto the surf, sending up a “v” shaped splash of water that could be seen even with my old eyes two kilometers away.

            Aki wouldn’t have let me take the time to doddle. She doesn’t care that the doodlers see all the good stuff. Because they resist the need to progress, they are often hear the swallow sing.