With everything else going on I completely forgot to post these photos of the visitor we had last week!
One cold morning this week I was walking down our frosted pier, thinking Arctic thoughts when a flapping movement caught my eye. While a polar bear wouldn’t have been out-of-place in those sort of temperatures, it was a slightly smaller mammal I spotted.
I hadn’t had my morning coffee so I thought my tired brain might be seeing things – but nope, there was definitely a seal – flopping in an ungainly fashion down the ramp.
I was a bit worried he was injured because seals don’t usually come into the marina and also because he was so very little – but apparently the juveniles like to go wandering, so he was probably just fine. I snuck as close as I could to check but before I could offer him the leftover seafood chowder I was taking to work for lunch he jumped in the water and swum off – much more graceful in water than on land
Some factoids about New Zealand fur seals: http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/marine-mammals/seals/nz-fur-seal/facts/
PS – I really don’t have the words to do justice to the amazing people who came out in support of my blog on mental illness. The response was more than I possibly could have expected. I’ve had friends, family and complete strangers contact me with positive messages and stories of their own struggles – some also coming out publicly for the first time. All I can say is that you are all stars. The more we talk about it, whether privately or publicly, the more we realise – and the world realises – we are not on our own and we are a force to be reckoned with. I don’t normally do soppy and emotional, but you guys made me soppy and emotional – shame on you (and thank you!) 🙂
WCC building inspectors unusually responsive
Ba ha ha! Yes! They sent the dive squad
Hi Anna, have just started following your blog. Loved your post on mental illness. Yes the more we talk about it the better. Inspired me to get a wonderful book out of the library, a new release called My Age of Anxiety, by Scott Stossel, a humorous and very well researched and written treatise on anxiety, the author being a serous sufferer who lives a full and rich life in spite of it. Your blog also related to another new book I read recently, Mrs D goes Without, a book written in a similar style to your mental illness blog, the story of Lotta Dann who gives up drinking and frankly reveals the emotional journey this entails.
I am an ocean sailor who gets seasick, and anxious about leaving land, but am preparing to head to Fiji next year anyway. We live on D pier and I’ll be in touch soon to get to meet you. I aspire to write a book about our journey and want to meet this very nearly published author.
Cheers
Janet from Navire
Hi Janet, nice to e-meet you! Look forward to seeing you in person! Funny you should mention My Age of Anxiety, a friend of mine who writes for the Listener did a piece on the book and interviewed Scott Stossel and it has been on my to-read list ever since. I saw a TV program on Lotta Dann’s blog a while back and thought she was really brave. I must start following it. Would love to have a chat about your trip to Fiji. I’m nervous about our trip there and that’s not until 2016! Happy to chat about the book too. Though ‘soon’ to be published won’t actually be until March next year. Book publishing is a looong process! Catch up soon 🙂