Home From Chatham Point

After a week working at Chatham Point Lightstation, I had to come home. My back was not getting any better; in fact, it was getting worse. To stay working on an isolated station would make me a liability, especially when I can't lift or move without pain. On the drive home, I made it two and a half hours before stopping at Starbuck's in Courtney. I crawled out of the car in my old sweatpants (I'd left in a hurry that morning) and stumbled just as I was getting to the door. The poor woman sitting outside with her little dog saw the look on my face as my back went into spasm. I managed to get my chai tea latte and change (it was hot by then) and drove the rest of the way with a swimming pool noodle jammed into my back to try and alleviate the spasm. Having back pain gives me a new sense of sympathy for people who live with chronic pain. It is intensely frustrating not to be able to do the simplest things, like turn over in bed or go for a walk.

Luckily, my daughter is a massage therapist. Today is a little better than yesterday and tomorrow will be better than today. And so it goes. My back will heal and I'll be out on the lights again in a few weeks, stronger and more aware.

Meanwhile, I managed to put together some of my videos and photos from Chatham, and create another wee movie.  Part of this film features some footage of several Pacific White-Sided Dolphins who appeared in the strait. Leaping and cavorting, they put on quite a show. These dolphins run up to seven feet in length, have a black dorsal fin and beak, and a white underside. They travel in groups of up to 100, and up close they look something like this:

Photo courtesy of Marine Bio. Enjoy the show.