Welcome to the Gregor Rare Books Hot Stove blog. We are located in the beautiful waterfront town of Langley, Washington on Whidbey Island. We are about 40 minutes north of Seattle, a short 15 minute ferry ride from the mainland.

Today, we had a break in the weather here in the Northwest. We actually saw the sun and town is filled lots of visitors, many of whom came to celebrate the Welcoming of the Gray Whales. The Grays arrive in Puget Sound each Spring and they are a spectacular sight to see as they come down Saratoga Passage in search of fine dining. It is not uncommon for the ferries to stop in mid-passage this time of year while a pod is feeding in the channel between Clinton and Mukilteo. Arthur Kruckeberg in his book "The Natural History of Puget Sound Country" states that of the six or seven species known to these waters most are 'uncommon' today in Puget Sound, but he does state that the one species that does appear on a regular basis is the Gray Whale. Experience has shown that it is quite common to see them in our local waters. Just two weeks ago, the ferry I was on stopped shortly after leaving the Clinton dock to allow a Gray Whale to move out of our path. In previous years I have seen large pods of Orcas in the same general area breaching the surface as they fed. Mr. Kruckeberg does note that a Fin Back Whale was found trapped in a log boom in Shelton, Washington in 1930 and that local residents actually walked on the trapped whale's back before it finally freed itself and swam off to safer locales. While we do encourage visitors to come and see if they can catch a glimpse of these wonderful creatures, we heartily discourage attempting to ride or walk on them. Leave that to Hollywood.