Yesterday we did another 4.5 mile walk with Grafton and Mary on the fort's training area. I always enjoy those. Today we did the two mile trip around Capitol Lake, again with Grafton and Mary. It has taken us many walks to convince Gimme and Grafton that they can't play on leash, but they still try at least once every time.
As we were walking, Mary noticed the sign was up indicating the salmon were running. It was across a busy street from where we were walking, so we waited and and parked at what used to be a KFC, after our walk. Watching the salmon was interesting.
There was a guy there talking to his family about how to tell hatchery salmon from wild salmon. He explained that there is a big fin midway down the salmon's back and then another tiny fin between it and the tail. That tiny fin is called the adipose fin and its removed from all hatchery raised fish so they can be identified when caught. Wild fish must be released, while hatchery raised fish can be kept. You can read more about it at: http://wdfw.wa.gov/hatcheries/mass_marking.html
While there we saw a harbor seal hanging out and obviously wanting salmon for dinner. He'd hang around about a hundred yards away, just treading water. The salmon were schooled up at the base of the ladder, but hardly any tried to make the trip. You could always tell when the seal came up under the school, because the salmon would instantly scatter.
Two young girls informed us they had named the seal Carlos Mustache. I'm not sure what the significance of that name is. Mary and I were both rooting for Carlos to get a nice salmon dinner, but it didn't happen while we were there.
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