There were dolphins leaping in the ocean, right off shore today. A line of them looked like they were playing leap frog out in the surf. I’ve seen them swimming by in the past, their dorsal fins rising up and dipping down in a smooth motion that makes them appear mechanical and reminds me of the metal cutouts of a shooting gallery. Today, there were several pods of dolphins, some following the returning party fishing boats. Every once in a while a dolphin’s snout shot straight up in the air. The creature wriggled its sleek gray body and dove back down, with a flash of white underbelly. I’ve never seen them leap so high.
These are the lazy and hazy days of summer. We’ve been over 90 degrees for a week now inland in NY and New Jersey. But along the ocean where the dolphins frolic, it’s a different story. The humidity may be high, the temperature hovers around 80, and a cool fog has been drifting in, an eerie sight that keeps us on the cooler side. Once the ocean heats up later this month, we will lose the cooling air that comes off it. In the winter the ocean is a warming factor and it’s usually warmer here than inland. And in the summer, it is cooler due to the wind sweeping in off that chilly water.
The water has turned to icy again. It had warmed up for a while and I went swimming a week ago, but when I attempted to go in today my feet cramped with the cold. So it was back to lazing on my beach chair again, and scanning the horizon for more of those leaping dolphins. Why do dolphins leap like that? I have no idea, but my own heart leapt each time I caught sight of one. For that magical vision I am grateful.
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2 comments:
I like to think they leap just for the joy of it...*smiling* loved this post.
Lovely! Wish I could see those water puppies having fun.
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