Category Archives: Animals

Sea Lions

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Shortly after college, I was fortunate to be part of a research project studying hearing thresholds in California Sea Lions.

The California sea lion can hear both above and below water, with hearing in water to be in the range of 250 Hz to 40 KHz. Comparatively, a human’s range of hearing (in air) is in the range of 20 Hz to 20 KHz.

So, their hearing is excellent in water. This is true for most marine mammals, and why under sea noise pollution is such a destructive element, both in physiology and behavior.

Sea lions can dive to depths of up to 900 feet, and hold their breath for up to 20 minutes.

Here is a female sea lion, Bibi, at the university’s ecological research station.

A little social behavior going on at a local zoo.

This is actually a picture of a picture, taken at the Naval Undersea Museum in Washington.

A rock formation in Southern Cali, but I see a profile of a sea lion.

Working with sea lions was a wonderful experience I hope to always remember!

Killer Whale Fence Sculpture

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If you follow my blog, you know that I am interested in marine animals.

Killer whales or orcas, are very social animals. They are known as “The Wolves of the Sea,” as they hunt in packs.

I saw this amazing Pacific Northwest tribal orca hanging on the back of a log cabin. I knew that one day I would make a similar orca sculpture. Last month, that day came.

I began by gluing up some scrap lumber from a floating shelf project and some old plywood.

While the wood was clamped, I began to sketch out the design.

Once sketched, I used my saber saw to cut it out. In the process, I broke off one side of the fluke. No problem – glue and a clamp to the rescue. The orca is 28″ high and 46″ long.

When painting the body, the black paint reacted to one of the boards that was stained. Careful when applying one type of paint over another. This bubbled up. I consulted the web on what to do and easily corrected the problem.

With the body painted all back, I used chalk to outline the areas that I wanted to paint.

Here is the finished piece.

Orcas are the guardians of the sea. I am honored to hang this in the yard!