I'm a whale watcher...

This will so date me...I know. But the whole time we were out whale watching on Saturday, I had the theme song from the 1980s "Wheel of Fortune" running through my head...except of course, I was substituting "whale" for "wheel".  "I'm a whale-watcher, I'm a whale-watcher..."  Of course, now you have either lost all respect for me whatsoever...or you just loathe me because that song is forever stuck in your head. Sorry. (And, if you are too young to know what I'm talking about...just skip this paragraph completely!)

The first thing my sweet Claire asked me when she heard we had actually seen whales was, "Were they adorable?" I had to pause with my reply. Knowing as I do that "adorable" is high praise for my 13-year-old girlie girl. And knowing that the creatures we saw deserved her high praise. And yet, wanting to somehow convey the power of what we witnessed.

Majestic.  That was the word I told her would best describe them. Adorable just didn't seem to fit.

Sighting the Humpback Whale

And majestic is an adjective that I still stand by. Words -- nor photos -- do these creatures justice. Spotting them first by the spray from their blow holes, I wondered if that would be the glimpse. But no. These whales -- and we saw both Blue Whales and Humpback Whales -- were more than delighted to put on a show.

First Sighting of a Blue Whale

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Humpback coming close to our boat

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Humpback on her side

And I know they could hear the simultaneous squeals of delight from all the sight-seers when they dove deeper and showed us their beautiful tails!

Tail of a Blue Whale

The following four shots are my favorites from the day. I was shooting in rapid succession...it was cold, overcast and sea salt was spraying all over my camera. I was not sure I was capturing anything and didn't dare check to see for fear of missing something. But this amazing Humpback swam right up to our boat before veering around it. I ran to the other side just as she performed for us. When she dove deep, I snapped and snapped...and captured the raw strength of her tail as she brought it high for us all to behold.

The Marine Biologist narrating our tour immediately began telling us that this was not a whale he recognized. He proceeded to explain how each whale has different markings on their tail and that is how they tell them apart. It was a first visit from this lovely Humpback.

I was again in awe. Our fabulous creator not only designed these majestic creatures (which I realize serve a far greater purpose in the living sea than just delighting me) but he cared enough about each one to give them distinguishing markings. No two the same. Amazing.


And while that is a blessing -- make no mistake my dear friends, He cares for you even more. Matthew 10:30-32 reminds us:


"...Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven."


You are known by the creator of all things majestic -- big, small, gigantic, minuscule -- He knows you! Oh, what a blessing!