You're not going to believe this

How fun would it be to go exploring along this shore line? Wow, the things you could find. Seastars, shells, maybe a crab, beautiful rocks and bull kelp. Excuse me? Yup, you heard correctly, bull kelp. Bull kelp is found along protected and open coastlines of the Pacific from Alaska to California. Bull kelp forests offer protective shelter for young fishes and many invertebrates, such as sea urchins, sea stars, snails and crabs. Sea otters thrive in kelp forests too. They can find their favorite foods on the forest floor, then take an after-lunch nap in the forest’s golden canopy—often wrapped in a flexible stem or two to keep from drifting away.

And when the bull kelp washes ashore, the locals go about picking it up and...and...hmmm, looks like they're...no, they couldn't be...could they? Are they tooting them like horns?

Looks like Greg's got the hang of it. I can just hear the deep, melodic rumble of the Alaskan bull kelp tenor pipe, can't you?

Lauri writes:
"I wish you would come to the island this summer and HEAR the kelp horns for yourself! Better yet, see if you can make music with one! I will send you a photo of what I do with kelp tomorrow. Other than play it, we also make all of our pickles with it, and last year made a gigantic vat of salsa with it, that I canned ( jarred ) and we have 2 cases of it. Yummo."

This is the promised photo -- long strands of bull kelp hung up to dry. I'm sure I don't have the complete picture here, there must be so much more to this. I'll just have to go to Hesketh Island and see. I'm partial to an alto horn myself.