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Look! Up in the air! It’s a silk floss tree!
When I was a young boy, I was always tripping. Didn’t matter what I was walking on or what kind of shoes I had on, or no shoes. If I walked more than ten steps, I was going to trip. I had bruised knees, torn jeans (my wise old grandmother despised torn jeans), bloody elbows and hands….
My youngest uncle (still living at home and going to college) used to blame my tripping on my feet…. feet and tripping…. Hmmm. Logical…. He was reading “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” at the time, and one of the illustrations in the book was of Ichabod Crane, a tall, gangly man with huge feet. He took to calling me Ichabod Crane because of my tall (6’3″), skinny body (150 pounds), and my huge feet (size 11). What my uncle did to me might be considered verbal abuse in today’s world, but I survived.
My wise old grandmother blamed my tripping on me not looking at where I was going. She would always say, “Pick up your feet! Get your nose out of the air! Look down to see what you’re about to step on! It might be a rattlesnake!”
Alas, I have solved the tripping problem by picking up my feet and looking down to see what I was about to step on.
However, when I’m out and about, like at the Zoo or SeaWorld, I do like to look up often to see what’s above me, what’s sitting in the tree and about to poop on me. The fun part about doing that is that if you stand there long enough looking up, people will gather round you and look up, too. They don’t want to miss anything! If only I could train a bird to sit up there and wait until everyone is looking up and then, when I look down, let go….!
The other day I was at SeaWorld. I looked up and saw a huge (probably size 11) cotton ball hanging in the tree:
That’s a seed pod of the silk floss tree (Ceiba speciosa). I was quite familiar with the silk floss tree’s flowers but had never seen its seed pods, especially bursting open with cotton like that.
I stood there gazing upward and took a few more pictures of the seed pods in different stages of growth:
By the time I finished snapping my pictures, I had a crowd of about 15 or 20 people standing around me looking up to see what kind of animal (at SeaWorld!) was up in the tree that I was taking pictures of. One lady asked me and I told her, “Just the tree and the huge seed pods.” At that point, everyone left in disappointment. Folks, it’s okay to appreciate flora at a fauna park, or fauna at a botanical garden!
Here is the flower of the silk floss tree:
The flowers look similar to some orchids, and I have heard it called an orchid tree although I could find no sources that use that name. Maybe it’s just a San Diego thing.
The silk floss tree is native to South America. It is drought resistant (which explains why we have lots of them here in San Diego) but grows very rapidly, even in spurts, when water is plentiful. The trunk of the tree has huge (probably size 11) thorns on it which store water for those droughts:
At the entrance to the San Diego Zoo, just to the left of Flamingo Lagoon, is a huge (way bigger than size 11) silk floss tree that looks really strange during the winter when there are no leaves or flowers, just a tree full of seed pods, looking like this:
If you really want to have some fun with people and this tree, skip Flamingo Lagoon and go stand under this tree and look up. In the afternoon when the Zoo is really busy, you can get a hundred or more people standing around you looking up. It’s a lot of fun!
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
San Diego Historical Landmarks — #1: El Prado area designation, part 5
For the introductory blog post to San Diego’s historical landmarks, click on San Diego’s Historical Landmarks.
#1: El Prado Area Designation, part 1
#1: El Prado Area Designation, part 2
#1: El Prado Area Designation, part 3
#1: El Prado Area Designation, part 4
Behind the California Tower and the Museum of Man is the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center:
Conrad Prebys is one of the top two philanthropists living in San Diego today, the other being Irwin Jacobs, a co-founder of Qualcomm and the current Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Salk Institute.
Other facilities that I am aware of having benefitted because of Conrad’s financial generosity are:
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Conrad Prebys Polar Bear Plunge at the San Diego Zoo
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Conrad Prebys Elephant Care Center at the San Diego Zoo
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Conrad Prebys Australia Outback at the San Diego Zoo (opening May 24)
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Africa Rocks! at the San Diego Zoo (renovation to be completed in 2016)
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Conrad Prebys Music Center at the University of California San Diego
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Prebys Cardiovascular Institute at Scripps Health
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Salk Institute ($2 million for an Endowed Professorship in Vision Research)
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San Diego Opera ($1 million).
The Chronicle of Philanthropy lists Conrad Prebys at #24 in its Philanthropy 50 list. We are fortunate to have such a philanthropist with a wide variety of interests living amongst us.
The Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in Balboa Park comprises the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts, itself comprising three theatres: Old Globe (600 seats), Lowell Davies Festival Theatre (615 seat outdoor theatre), and the Sheryl & Harvey White Theatre (250 seat theatre in the round).
The Old Globe was built in 1935 for the California Pacific International Exposition, San Diego’s second World’s Fair, and presented Shakespeare plays on a daily basis during the Exposition run. It is a copy of Shakespeare’s Old Globe in London, England. The Old Globe was destroyed by an arson fire in March 1978, rebuilt and reopened in 1981. Another arson fire destroyed the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre in 1984.
The Old Globe was led by Craig Noel for more than sixty years, fostering the careers of many people, but a couple of people you definitely should know: Marion Ross and Kelsey Grammer.
The Old Globe has been home to some of the most acclaimed artists, designers, directors, and playwrights in the Theatre industry. More than twenty productions produced at The Old Globe have gone on to play on Broadway and off-Broadway, such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 2005), and The Full Monty (10 Tony Award nominations for its successful Broadway run in 2000). The Old Globe’s annual production of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! should not be missed, especially if you have children.
The Old Globe is one of San Diego’s largest arts institutions, its leading arts employer, and among the nation’s top-ranked regional theatres. More than 250,000 people annually attend Globe productions and participate in the theater’s education programs and outreach services.
I have had the privilege of performing on stage at the Old Globe while a member of the Gay Men’s Chorus of San Diego. I sang there three times.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Will YOU be next on the list?
I have always had a hard time meeting new people.
That was a contributing reason why I joined Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed service fraternity, while I was at Texas A&M University. Since I enjoy helping others, I could do that while basically being forced to meet others through the fraternity system.
I think the main (maybe the only) reason I like Facebook is because I can meet people without having to meet people. Then, once I’m comfortable meeting them, if I go to where they are, I will try to look them up.
Blogging is the same thing. People find my blog, I find theirs, we become Internet friends, and maybe somewhere down the road we’ll meet, either at their place or mine.
Yesterday, Barb (Life in the Foothills) and her husband (Paul), came to San Diego after their Carnival cruise had docked in Long Beach. Long Beach is about 110 miles from me, so they certainly didn’t have to go out of their way to come down here instead of going directly back home to life in the foothills. I don’t know whether or not they came here specifically to see me, but they sure made me feel like they did.
Jim and I took them to the San Diego Zoo, where we spent 4½ hours traipsing around watching the animals and, of course, taking pictures:
After we wore ourselves out at the Zoo, we had drinks and food at On The Border.
Barb makes the fourth WordPress blogger that I have met in actual reality since I started using the WordPress platform on January 7, 2012. Here is my complete list now:
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Rommel (The Sophomore Slump) — Rommel and I went to the USS Midway Museum on May 27, 2012. See his pictures and my pictures.
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Bashar A. (2 Rivers Photos) — Bashar, Jim, and I went to the La Jolla Cove on October 17, 2012, to take pictures of a negative tide and a beautiful sunset. See his pictures and my pictures.
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Marsha Lee (Marsha Lee) — Marsha came down with some long-time friends of hers on January 5, 2013, just to spend some time in San Diego. She and her friends introduced Jim and me to a new restaurant here in San Diego. See her pictures and my pictures.
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Barb (Life in the Foothills) — Barb and Paul were on a cruise that originated in Long Beach. After their cruise, they came down to San Diego to visit Jim and me. They just got home today so keep an eye on her blog for pictures of their cruise and trip to the San Diego Zoo. I’m still cataloging the 380 pictures I took, so stay tuned here, too, and I’ll have some pictures this week.
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Will YOU be next on this list?
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
I’ve been very good (wink wink)
We have several wildlife sanctuaries here in San Diego County. One of them is Sky Hunters in Lakeside. Sky Hunters is a non-profit group dedicated to informing the public about raptors and birds of prey, and promoting raptor conservation.
I got this picture of a beautiful Western Screech Owl winking at me last December at a Sky Hunters presentation:
The birds that Sky Hunters uses in its presentations are either injured and cannot be returned to the wild, or they have become accustomed to humans and cannot be relied on to hunt on their own if they were to be returned to the wild.
Most people don’t know the proper care and handling instructions for injured birds and can end up accidentally hurting themselves or the bird. If you come across an injured hawk or owl, or any bird, first protect yourself by wearing gloves and covering the bird with a towel or blanket.
Get the bird into a cardboard box with air holes as a temporary container to move it to safety. Don’t try to pet it or feed it. Once contained, move it somewhere warm, dark, and quiet. Then immediately call a licensed rehabilitation group. Don’t wait! Here in San Diego we have Sky Hunters (619-445-6565) and Project Wildlife (619-225-9453), and their phones generally are answered 24/7.
The San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld San Diego also have animal rescue services, but they generally work with the larger animals — mountain lions, whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, etc. Start with Sky Hunters and Project Wildlife, and if they can’t help you, they will know where to send you.
If it’s a larger animal, such as an opossum or raccoon, it’s best to simply call an animal rescue service. Some wild animals carry diseases that can be transmittted to humans, so don’t take a chance. There’s a reason wildlife has wild in it. These creatures don’t know that you are trying to help.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Friday Flower Fiesta — It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature, but it sure is fun!
San Diego gets only about 10½ inches of rain a year. I’ve been in afternoon thunderstorms in my home state of Texas had dropped 10½ inches of rain in a few hours, not to mention hurricanes, of course. San Diego’s Mediterranean climate in terms of temperature means that anything will grow here as long as you meet its watering needs. Consequently, its not unusual for some plants that normally bloom once a year to have two or three blooming periods here. Other plants that normally bloom for three or four months, such as hibiscus, will bloom year round.
Right now is a great time to visit the cooler coastal areas because roses are acting like it’s April instead of November:
Another excellent place to visit right now is the San Diego Zoo. They have both regular hibiscus and giant hibiscus blooming profusely right now.
This next hibiscus picture is one of my favorites, so I was playing around with it in Photoshop. Which one do you think is the original? Which one do you like best?
And from my own garden, my Stapelia just keeps putting out these star-shaped flowers, probably in honor of me!
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Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I can recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Goodness! What a big mouth you have….
Jim and I met eighteen years ago, and one of our family traditions has become going to the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, or SeaWorld on holidays. This morning we went to the San Diego Zoo, which we chose because the new Reptile Walk opened today. I’ll have lots of pictures of it later on.
First I wanted to share pictures of one of the San Diego Zoological Society’s ambassadors:
That is a Gray Wolf (Canis lupus). This one is a subspieces, the North American Timber Wolf. It is the wolf that has been re-introduced to Yellowstone National Park.
As with all of the Zoological Society’s ambassadors, this was an injured wolf rescued from the wild and nursed back to health. Its injuries will not allow it to be re-introduced to the wild, so it gets to live out its life at the San Diego Zoo…. lucky wolf.
The two wolf handlers were telling us about the Yellowstone ecosystem and that, with the re-introduction of wolves, it is now North America’s only “complete ecosystem.” I have Googled “complete ecosystem” to try to find out exactly what that means but no real luck. I’m getting the impression that it has something to do with the wolf being an apex predator, i.e., at the top of the food chain. Only humans and tigers, both apex predators themselves, are a threat to it. Tigers are not in Yellowstone National Park, and humans, well, they tend to mess up everything….
The gray wolf is the sole ancestor of the dog. The genetic divergence between gray wolves and dogs is only 1.8%.
From Little Red Riding Hood:
….Little Red Riding Hood then says, “What a deep voice you have.” “The better to greet you with,” said the wolf. “Goodness, what big eyes you have,” said the little girl. “The better to see you with,” said the wolf. “And what big hands you have!” exclaimed Little Red Riding Hood, stepping over to the bed. “The better to hug you with,” said the wolf. “What a big mouth you have,” the little girl murmured in a weak voice. “The better to eat you with!” growled the wolf.
Humans are not a part of the gray wolves’ diet.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
So why do I keep taking pictures………………?
I never really much cared for wildlife art, especially when I can see the real thing at the beach, the various wildlife preserves, SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, and Safari Park.
So why do I keep taking pictures of bird art?
Flamingo art from a home inspection
Flamingo art from a Gay Pride parade
Pelican art from a plant nursery
Pelican art from a home inspection
Bird art bench in downtown San Diego at the harbor
Bird art in the street median in Mission Hills
Bird art at the San Diego Zoo
Parrot art at a San Diego Zoo store
Bird art at the San Diego Zoo
Bird art at a home inspection
Fake ostrich eggs at the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I can highly recommend Russel Ray (that’s me!)
Extended hours at the San Diego Zoo begin June 22
I always look forward to extended hours at the San Diego Zoo, “extended” meaning that they stay open until 9:00 p.m. This year’s extended hours begin June 22 and run through September 3.
Along with all the great wildlife to see, there are many unusual activities going on that you won’t find at other times of the year. Last year I watched Splash! Animals, a speed painting live art experience dedicated to conservation of endangered animals.
Watch as Splash! Animals paints an endangered giant panda:
Probably won’t be exhibited in The Louvre anytime soon but a lot of fun to watch because she did that in about 15 minutes. I think the children watching had more fun seeing her get all that paint on herself, maybe more on her than the canvas!
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Nothing that a little ear trim won’t take care of
It had been more than seven days since I went to the San Diego Zoo’s Safari Park so I headed out there this morning.
At 11:00 a.m. each day they have an Ambassador showing near the entrance. Today’s Ambassador needed a little ear trim:
That’s a Caracal (Caracal caracal). In the past it has been called a Persian Lynx, Egyptian Lynx and African Lynx. However, it is no longer considered to be an actual lynx, instead believed to be more closely related to the African golden cat and the serval. It is one of the heaviest of the small cats, with males weighing up to forty pounds. Caracals are also one of the fastest small cats.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park location:
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Rommel and the USS Midway
I am quite serious when I tell you that if you come to San Diego, call me and I’ll be happy to play docent for a while.
Over the years I’ve played docent on a scenic driving tour of the the San Diego metropolitan area, at the San Diego Zoo, at Safari Park, at SeaWorld, of Coronado Island, and, yesterday, the USS Midway.
Rommel came down from Oxnard. He let me know about a month in advance that he was coming, and I was only too happy to set aside time to meet a fellow WordPress blogger and spend a little time with him.
Rommel has a military ID of some sort, so he got onto the USS Midway free. He also offered to pay my $18 entrance fee and before I could say anything, the ticket booth lady was taking his money. Thanks, Rommel!
We had a great time touring the aircraft carrier, taking pictures of all the planes on deck and in the hangar. I also got pictures of the USS Carl Vinson parked across the bay at North Island Naval Station, the downtown San Diego skyline, and even the Californian, the official tall ship of the State of California which was out for a cruise of the bay.
Depending on what you want to do and where you want to go, I might also have some discount coupons for you. I’m a member of the San Diego Zoological Society (Zoo and Safari Park) and SeaWorld, so I’ll often have free passes for them. If you don’t call, it’s your loss. 
Thanks, Rommel. I had a great time and hope you did, too!
Rommel taking pictures of the San Diego skyline from the flight deck of the USS MIdway
Rommel taking pictures inside the command tower of the USS MIdway
USS Midway flight deck from the command tower
USS Midway hangar deck
The Californian, official tall ship of the State of California
USS Midway in San Diego, California
USS Midway in San Diego, California
USS Midway flight deck
South San Diego skyline and Coronado Bridge from the USS Midway command tower
F/A 18 Hornet in its “Top Gun” colors
Partial San Diego skyline from the USS Midway
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
use Russel Ray; that’s me!
