After crossing paths with bears, moose and porcupine in September you’d think I would have become jaded when it came to wild animal encounters. Little did I know that the single most memorable natural encounter that I’ve ever witnessed was yet to come and would happen a mere two miles from my apartment. For those who didn’t already hear about it on the national news I’m talking about the unusually long and unusually close visit from a group of humpback whales off the shore of Santa Cruz in late October. I was fortunate enough to kayak out on a Friday afternoon a mere half mile beyond the end of the wharf and found myself in the midst of a humpback whale feeding frenzy. You’ll find a few of the pictures I took above. Suffice to say it was an awesome and surreal experience that I won’t soon forget.

That said I want reassure everyone that despite the nature photography kick I’ve been on the past couple posts I will be bringing the focus back to bread and butter comic updates soon. I’m caught up on work deadlines and am finally getting started on the Random Bonus Ramble webcomic that has been filed away in the current project section (see right column) for far too long. Stay tuned for a new webcomic or an update on the status of a new webcomic (I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s the former) in the near future.