Pink Milk and Sugar Stars

I am listening to a recording a friend made for me. He leant out of his window in the middle of a thunderstorm and recorded it for me. Sometimes it helps me to fall asleep, the sound of the rain bouncing off the sodden earth. The rolls of thunder somehow make me feel happy and at peace. It is such an amazing thing, thunder, following shortly after the brilliant flash that illuminates the entire sky, so intensely that you can see the face of the person you are with. It draws you closer together, witnesses to a beautiful yet destructive entity.

I wonder what whales make of thunder. Surely the sound of electrons reacting together travels through the depths of the ocean? I wonder if they, like me, are drawn to the waves of noise? If the humpback whales sing back to the sky?

A 28 foot juvenile humpback whale was found dead in the Thames river today.It makes me sad. Humpbacks are found in the European Atlantic, but the poor soul was so far from home, it did not have much chance of survival. It would have probably starved and most certainly become severely dehydrated. I wonder if Naval sonar was the cause, or maybe disease? Both of which may cause the whale to become disorientated. I'm sure I will get the report sent to me at some point. This is why I strive to become a marine mammal scientist, so I can help work towards reducing these occurences, particularly if the causes are anthropogenic.

I wonder what whales and dolphins I will see on my cetacean research trip. I leave for Scotland on Sunday, I cannot wait!