My husband and I are in a hotel this weekend because our condo complex is being tented for termites. We don’t seem to have termites, but tenting happens every ten years, and we timed it just right. At least the tents are jolly.

I’ve been spending a  lot of my exile at the Seymour Center. I spent one morning on the job as a docent-in-training. It was very confidence-building, as the public mostly seems to ask quite basic questions. There’s always the chance of meeting the ten-year-old who did a project on marine snow, but by the time I met that kid, I was happy to have a more in-depth conversation. Since we had two school classes visiting, I was mostly needed at the touch table, which has a level reachable by children and a lower level where the animals can rest. It appeared to have a training effect, with even the slow-moving sea stars aiming for the depths as soon as they were released; I tried to re-direct the kids to algae-petting to give the creatures a break. Can one empathize with invertebrates?

A few weeks ago when my younger son was visiting, we saw about 30 sea lions off the end of the wharf, forming a relatively quiescent clump on the surface of the water. During wharf training I learned that this behavior is called rafting. The animals cluster together, each with a fin, nose, or tail on one or more others, and most of them sleep, while one or two serve as lookouts. On a sunny day, given blubber, I imagine it would be as cozy as snuggling in bed is for us.

We have a resident pod of orcas in Monterey Bay, which would be keeping me out of the water if I already wasn’t staying out due to 1. white sharks and 2. cold water. As on land you can avoid being eaten by the bear if you can outrun one person, in this water the plethora of surfers may protect the rest of us. “Killer whale” is apparently a mistranslation of “Whale killer”, which makes much more sense. Orcas are apex predators which hunt in packs, choose food opportunistically, and modify their hunting strategies for the prey and the conditions.

The entire region feels like it’s already a period piece, since the nature-haters now in charge are gunning for the EPA in general and the Bay Area in particular. Sometimes it seems they would gladly tent the entire planet if there were profit or control to be gained. Of course humans are part of the planet too, but a lot–most?–people really don’t seem to understand that.