Katherine and Steve have been visiting the exotic Kingdom of the West, and have sent us a postcard from Monterey. Katherine writes: Wonder what it says that I went to CA and the first photos I send are of jellyfish from a tank at the Monterey Aquarium? We both found the whole aquarium fascinating but could have watched these all day.
Honestly I’ve never seen anything so perfectly suited to a slideshow. They’re beautiful. Thank you, Katherine.
My sister spent quite a bit of time at that aquarium while she was on a post-doc at Stanford (I know, I know, I’m the underachiever of the family). She was cudgeling her brains in the study of colonial tunicate over at the Hopkins Marine Station, and found the larger creatures on display at the aquarium quite restful. I am astonished that I can remember the name of the colonial tunicate, but her obsession with them was not unlike my obsession with Civil War veterans, and I heard a good deal about them over time.
Torch Lake Views 
Cindy Lou
September 2, 2010
Very cool!
Gerry
September 2, 2010
Thank you, Cindy Lou. Katherine, take a bow.
Kathy
September 2, 2010
Jellies…funny! I came over here fully expecting to see apple jelly or grape jelly or cherry jelly. And you’re talkin’ jellyfish! Interesting…our son Chris and his girlfriend just went to an aquarium in Long Beach, CA, last weekend. He said they could pet the sharks. Yikes!
Gerry
September 2, 2010
Imagine my surprise when I opened my email from Katherine. There would, I thought, be jewel-like pots of Antrim Gold. Yikes indeed!
Not to disagree with Chris and his girlfriend, but to my mind sharks are not pettable.
Fee
September 3, 2010
See, right there – proof that my decision not to go into the sea – ever – is the right one. There are too many things in there which just plain don’t like us! I’m a land mammal, and I’m sticking to swimming in nice, safe, chlorinated pools (even if they do wreck my skin!).
Gerry
September 3, 2010
Ah, Fee, sometime you should visit Torch Lake. One of my associate grandchildren asked to go back to “the swimming pool” which mystified us until we realized that he had concluded that blue, blue Torch was a pool. It is so clear that you can perfectly well see there is nothing menacing there, and the sandy bottom is nice for your toes. This is not to say that there aren’t fierce muskies lurking in the weeds, but the lake is 17 miles long and the muskies are at the other end.
On the other side of the Township–just a mile away–you could take a dip in Grand Traverse Bay. Pick your spot and you get the same clear water and sandy bottom. Watch out for the swans, though. Oh dear. Perhaps you are right.
Gerry
September 3, 2010
PJ Grath writes:
Once again, everything works but the commenting capability.
Frustrating. I was there!!! Loved the surprising jellies!!!
pj
And once again your stubborn blogiste thwarts the Gremlins! Katherine shall not be denied a Good Comment! Ha! And again Ha!
flandrumhill
September 6, 2010
They are stunning and look so animated in a gentle sort of way. Katherine has excellent taste in her choice of subjects.
Gerry
September 6, 2010
Thank you Amy. I rely upon Katherine to elevate the tone of the discourse around here.