The morning of July 1 was glorious. I snapped these photos on my phone, wrote a haiku for each, and sent them to Canadian friends with Canada Day greetings when we arrived at the outpost of Shearwater in the Heiltsuk First Nation.

Anchor up at dawn.

Still water full of cirrus clouds.

Drnk morning’s sweet light.

Every humpback breath

An exclamation point! A

joyous deep exhale.

Clap! Splash! Fin rises

then and again, applauding

Gaia’s bounty.