Wednesday, August 29, 2012

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Seal the Deal & Links

While we didn't make it to the sea lion caves in southern Oregon, we did see plenty of harbor seals hanging around Newport.  For today's [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday, meet my little friends (said in a bad Al Pacino accent):

 Sunning on the rocks at Cobble Beach (if you can call it sunning when there is no sun...)
 
 I suppose "basking" works even if there is no sun?  These little fella's are super basky.
 
 Look at that sweet face!  This little guy was playing in the harbor at Depoe Bay.
 


Before I get to the links, be sure to come back this Saturday, September 1, for an interview with Ian T. Healy.  He always has great information for writers, and is both traditionally and independently published.

Link Time!

Blog Hops/Fests:

Gearing up to Get an Agent Blog Fest & Pitch Contest is run by Deana Barnhart and sounds fantastic!  If you have a completed manuscript this is the blog fest to participate in.  Real pitching opportunities to agents and small publishing houses.

Carrie Ann is hosting the Romancing the Hop Blog Hop.  Bloggers and authors can participate, while readers can win one of hundreds of prizes.

Contests:

The Editor's Prize Contest is run by the Missouri Review.  $5000 prizes in fiction, poetry and essay, and possible publication.  $20 per entry.

The Olympia Unpublished Writers Contest from Clash of the Titles is aimed at unpublished writers.  No cash prize has been announced, but the entry fee is $10.

The 5000 Pound UK Sitcom Writing Prize is for UK writers only.  Try your hand at writing a sitcom for a development deal with Big Talk and Comedy Central UK.  Also, that's pound as in money.  I didn't look up how to do the symbol.

What's going on in your world?  Could you turn down a sweet seal face like the one above?  Ever seen a seal in person? 

May you find your Muse.

14 comments:

mshatch said...

Too cute! Last weekend I saw some very similar cute faces on the whale watch I went on. Apparently the sailors used to call seals sea dogs, according to our guide, although I think they should be called sea puppies because of how cute they are.
I even got a couple of pics though it wasn't easy!

JEM said...

Thanks for the linkage, I'm checking out the contests now. And the seal is so cute!

D.G. Hudson said...

I like your 'location shots'. Keep them up. Sea lions are neat to see too, but seals are cuter.

I have a photo of seals we photo'd in Vancouver's harbour from the ferry at: (not as closeup as yours)

http://dghudson.blogspot.ca/2012/08/time-for-retrospect.html (first photo)

We see many seals in our inlets. They are definitely curious creatures.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

They are cute. Don't know how anyone could club a seal. If I had to kill anything to eat, ugly or cute, I'd be a vegetarian.

Andrew Leon said...

Bah! More great pics from you :P
Actually, I have been around seals a couple of times, but I've never actually "met" one. A sea lion once. Sort of. Long story and probably boring to anyone that wasn't there.

Rebecca said...

aw how cute the baby sea lion is adorable

Heather Murphy said...

I've been to those sea lion caves and the stench is horrendous! I love Whale Watching at Depoe Bay! It's one of my favorite places.

Chuck said...

That first picture of the seal in the water is a great shot. For no sun and pretty overcast you got some good pictures. I could use with some basking time I can tell you that.

Unknown said...

Great photos! I went on a dolphin/seal spotting boat ride a few weeks back and didn't see a single damn seal, so this makes me happy :)

Writer Pat Newcombe said...

The pics are lovely. I love seals - and all sea life actually!

Susan Kane said...

Wonderful pics, and those seal eyes are so enchanting.

M Pax said...

Great photos. I haven't been to the coast in awhile. I'll need to remedy that soon.

Anonymous said...

So sweet!
I'll go check out some of those links now. :O)

Shannon Lawrence said...

Mshatch, I've learned something new! I didn't know it was seals that were sea dogs. Did you see any whales?

JEM, hope you find something useful!

D.G., thank you for the feedback; very useful. I remember that picture. They are so cute, all lined up and looking right back at the camera.

Alex, yeah, that would certainly simplify the decision, wouldn't it? I grew up on a cattle farm, the official calf bottle feeder, but they were slaughtered elsewhere. Still, I was devastated when I learned just what kind of farm it was.

Andrew, sounds interesting! I guess I didn't really meet this guy. They were washing crabs brought in by a fisherman and he was flirting with them to see if they'd throw him any. There were actually two, but the one stayed farther away.

Becca, he was definitely a cutie!

Heather, we always used to stop in Depoe Bay on our way to Beverly Beach or Newport. It's such a neat area. I was secretly hoping for a sudden storm to start the waves really churning there so the kids could see them fly up over the road.

Chuck, thanks! Yeah, it was overcast the whole time we were there. But, hey, at least I was looking forward to some sun at home. Basking would be delightful right about now.

Jamie, did you see any dolphins? I wanted to go spot dolphins in Florida, but we never had the time. We did hear them years ago at one of the Disney hotels. I liked listening to them, at least.

Pat, I do, too! I just enjoy the different types of animals/life in different areas. Sea, desert, forest, etc.

Susan, aren't they sweet??

Mary, definitely! I'd love to head out there in the fall. Gave that up when I moved, though.

Madeleine, hope you find something good!