We tend to ignore some of the most interesting things in our own backyard.
Always looking for new adventures in nature, it was time to make a long-delayed visit to San Diego’s magnificent Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
It’s only been about 20 years since my last visit.
A recent headline about efforts to breed a unique species of seadragon seemed like a good reason to go.
This would be kind of a TV dinner sit-and-see adventure. Everything was all packaged and ready for me. Perhaps more a bouillabaisse than a turkey dinner, but nonetheless an easy place to spend an hour or two with lots of very different animals. Surely, I’d get a good column from this quick visit.
Within the two wings of the aquarium is a beautiful collection of marine life presented in their natural environment.
Interpretive signs add to the wonder by sharing the stories of such unique things as delicate jellyfish, kelp forests, whales, seahorses and dozens of other creatures of the sea.
Entering the aquarium, you are drawn to the yawning doors leading to a grand terrace that overlooks the La Jolla coastline. Tide pools are re-created here, filled with colorful sea urchins, starfish, lobster, sea hares, abalone, algae, kelp and small fish that you are likely to encounter along San Diego’s rocky shoreline.
And while volunteers stand by to answer your questions, there seemed to be enthusiasm beaming from one in particular.
Volunteer Stan Taylor didn’t wait for questions, he was animated, moving around to show visitors things they might miss and share stories about the things they would not understand without explanation.
Taylor, who became an aquarium volunteer several years ago after retirement, set an exciting tone for my visit, even telling me about things I had yet to see.
By the time we finished at the tide pool, Taylor had me excited about seeing the many other aquarium attractions.
It was time to visit with the leafy and weedy seadragons.
These two fascinating creatures are native to the shoreline of southern Australia and like many species their populations are stressed by various environmental pressures, illegal collecting and the effects of man.
Related to the seahorse, these colorful marine animals might be described as Dr. Seuss-like characters because of their bold colors and whimsical characteristics.
Scripps scientists are working to captively breed seadragons, which is something that has had only marginal success at aquariums worldwide. A successful breeding program could be critical to their survival.
Like many exhibits at Birch Aquarium, the seadragons are mesmerizing as they slowly move in the underwater world that visitors can view through large windows into the 5,500-gallon tank.
My “hour or so” at the aquarium turned into more than four hours. I drank in the beauty of the marine environment and information about this foreign world.
But it was something missing that I noticed most.
There was a lack of social media devices.
I don’t think I saw one youngster or teen using a phone. At one point a smaller child, eyes filled with excitement, reached up to grab an adult’s hand.
Little faces were glued to the aquarium windows and the darkened corridors were filled with sounds of amazement. Adults and kids were connecting and interacting.
So, in the end, it was the people who made this day with nature very special. Yes, I learned a lot, enjoyed the beautiful exhibits and well-presented information about the world’s oceans and its residents.
But people like Stan Taylor not only helped connect kids and adults with nature, they helped connect people through nature.
I can’t think of a better combination.
Morning Joe
I’ve been asked about the regular little hummingbird visitor that I’ve shared coffee with nearly every morning throughout the summer.
He’s a feisty Allen’s hummingbird who I generally find sitting on the pointed tip of an agave frond when I look out the kitchen window while making coffee.
Morning Joe doesn’t seem to mind when I go out to the patio to enjoy my coffee and read the paper.
I sit only a few feet from his perch, and he acknowledges my presence with an occasional high-pitched squeak but does not fly away.
I’m happy to report he’s still a regular visitor. While most of his species migrate south to a winter home in central Mexico, perhaps Morning Joe likes it here enough he’ll spend the winter.
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