Monthly Archives: July 2008

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Seagull Babies

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As usual, after I go through or see something and become an expert, I share all my knowledge with you, my dear readers. Today: seagull babies. I’ve learned so much this past month about them. Now you can too.

  • They are gross. Seagull babies come out all gray and downy and shed everywhere and just sit around and poop even more than grown up seagulls.
  • They make their parents insane. Our seagull parents (on the roof of the building in front of us) have taken to screaming out loud every morning and all day. All day. Loud. And trying to get in our pool for some reason, which is gross. One parent ALSO (see next item) banged his head on our sliding glass door all morning the other day for no reason whatsoever.
  • They are really really stupid. MK actually had to go after the baby that took his first trip off the roof and ended up walking in our laundry room after hitting his head against the glass of our sliding door. Stupid bird then walked down two flights of stairs and got stuck somewhere, so we gave up on him. (Maybe the head banging is hereditary.)
  • They stink. You could totally smell them on our walk by the beach yesterday. Eeew.
  • They need to be stopped. There are already too many seagulls and the babies were going nuts wandering around the beach trying to scavenge for food (they learn that quick) and fighting.
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All Time Lows And Highs

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Does no one read blogs in the summer? Does no one blog in the summer? Is it too summer? I don’t know what you’re up to but it’s awfully slow around here, and on my feed reader! To be fair, my computer time is pretty minimal now that the sun is back out. Don’t ever visit SD in the June Gloom season. The gray weather is the worst.

Maybe you’re busy. We are. We swam with freaking leopard sharks last weekend. And snorkeled in the cove. And THEN took a Hobie Cat out on the Bay. We joined a volleyball group that is perfect – MK can play and I can drink ‘punch’ and watch. We’re traveling for the rest of the week and weekend to see family and friends and get in some trouble. KE took me shopping at her new boutique and I got some outrageous dresses. If I get skin cancer, I will blame it on this summer. I don’t think I’ve ever been this shade before.

We clubbed at the Hard Rock downtown, which for all it’s Vegas efforts, is pretty lame. Envy beats it hands down. We saw Spencer Pratt and almost no one even cared. He was with dudes. All dudes. Quite possibly paid-for posse dudes. That was the funniest thing ever.

My favorite cousin ever is coming to see me. Which means I will again get my wardrobe updated. We are going to Comic Con with RD. It is going to rule.

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Fighting Over Seals, Part Two: Current Dilemma

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Today, if you go to see the seals you might wander into a different scenario depending on the day. The failure of the city to resolve the issue is causing people to take unimaginable actions.

Some days the seals are left to themselves. People walk the seawall and enjoy the view of the beach and the ocean. Children smile and point and get excited to see the animals. Tourists are taking pictures. Chances are good it’s a cloudy day. There will be a small table staffed by a volunteer selling “We just need one beach” t-shirts supporting the seals.

On a sunny day, weekend, or holiday there might be a different scene. The seals will be out in the water looking for a rock or ledge to rest on. Recently some snorkelers have gone so far as to hire private security and put signs up proclaiming their right to use the beach. Families unaware of the small signs warning of the unsafe fecal bacteria levels will allow their children to use the beach and swim in the water. Cops are now trolling the area more regularly.

People not paying attention are finding their pictures on the web and on the local news – they will be found and ticketed with a heavy fine for breaking the Marine Mammal Protection Act that tells them they must stay a certain distance away from the seals. Recently a man was even sentenced for threating the seal activists.

The stress this must be causing the animals is hard to imagine. The fear of disease is a concern of the locals. The problem is clear – the situation needs to be resolved once and for all. All the back and forth is just making the place harder to visit and enjoy. To dredge the sand will cost over $500,000, with $50,000 in annual maintenance going forward. The seals last hope may be the Navy, who have the ability to say that dredging could change the California coast too dramatically and may damage the other landscape. Whether or not the seals are allowed to stay, I certainly hope to see the resolution of the issue while I live here.

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Fighting Over Seals, Part One: Background

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Here in La Jolla, there is a Children’s Pool that was trusted to the city ages ago (1931) by Ellen Browning Scripps. It consists mainly of a sea wall. The idea was to have a safe place for the kiddos to swim. Over time, seals started hanging out on the beachy part on breaks from their adventures. Over more time, they began to birth their pups there annually – the only place of it’s kind in Southern California. This pool has now become famous in its own right – the number one tourist attraction for La Jolla.

In 2007, some mean spirited lady named Valerie O’Sullivan sued the city for not keeping the conditions of the trust. Mainly, she wanted the sand that had accumulated dredged so the seals would leave and kids could swim there again.

On the one hand is the trust. The city is supposed to do with what you give it exactly as you wish.

On the other hand is the change in time since that trust. There are dozens of other safe beaches and pools for children that weren’t previously established. Not to mention EBS wanted kids to enjoy the pool, arguably they enjoy watching the seals (more of that in Part Two).

The city is slightly on the side of the seals, trying to find ways to hide behind marine mammal protection laws in order to avoid pushing them out. In addition, they’ve tried to find that the water would be bacterially unfit for years to come. Unfortunately they seem unable to find a convincing argument for the seals. It has been two years of heated debate back and forth over what to do. I’m currently reading the entire history through the court briefing (if you’re crazy it’s right here).

Here’s the link to the Friends of the Seals.

Here’s the link to the Friends of Mean Spirited Monsters of the Law.

In Part Two I’ll tell you about the recent escalation of the situation and the pros and cons of change.

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4th Of July Celebration

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Not too tongue in cheek I hope.

fives.jpg#51

Five Things To Ignore While Celebrating Independence:

1. The produce you can’t eat. LINK
2. The meat you can’t eat. LINK
3. The people that are staying home. LINK
4. What a stupid idea biofuels are. LINK
5. What the beaches will be like tomorrow. LINK

4th of july fireworks

Let’s not forget those suffering due to wildfires either. Here’s a remarkable map link.

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Enough Is Enough

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There’s the fact that we move a lot. There’s that. But really? For me to tell you about the first two times a while back, and then for the fire alarm to go off tonight, well that’s just crazy. Twice as scary with all the fires actually happening in California right now. Three times as mad with MK sick in bed.

What I don’t understand is why the fire bells can’t ring at, say, 2pm. When we have our faces and clothes on, not our zit cream and pjs. This is the third time, all three at night. There’s only one explanation – someone is following us all over the Earth pulling alarms to check out our pjs. So please, stop it. We’re both kinda grumpy when we don’t get our sleep, especially when some of us think we’re on our death beds.

fire alarm

I also shudder at the thought one of these is ever real and we laugh and keep playing UNO.