Wetlands

At sunset, on the Mission Bay tidelands two boys watch the hogging Bahia Belle go by.  2013.

I only lasted forty five minutes at the meeting by the bay even with my super squishy seat.  When I stepped outside to let my hip become itself again, there were two boys playing by the edge of the water.  Mission Bay, once called False Bay, was created in the fifties from the dredged San Diego River flood plain.  No one thought of the migratory birds or the other wild life that used these filtration slough waters.  They thought tourists and recreational facilities were far more important than smelly sloughs.

Today we have a beautiful water playground that causes me great guilt every time I see it or use it.  At the far North end of the bay is an small experimental area that’s being returned to coastal wetland.  I’m sure everyone laughed at the college students who started this.  Not me, I had a great teacher about sloughs and protected species.  

As Mike Clark, retired Biology teacher from Southwestern College, first to work to save tidal wetlands at the Tijuana Sloughs, he taught those around him why they were doing it.  I was one of his eager listeners as was Paul Hawkins.  We cleared trash, old tires, and filled in ditches as he called out a litany of the bugs and critters, the birds and mammals that lived and ate in these murky waters. 

Perhaps someone else heard Mike’s teachings.  Near our house, volunteers work to save a small bit of isolated Mission Bay.  Seven acres at the north end of Mission Bay have now been returned to wetlands.  As birds fly in to several more saved slough areas along our local rivers, they also now fly in to the tiny new Mission Bay wetland area.

This isn’t even half of the bay area.  Photo Google.

Here is a map of the whole Bay.  Map Google.

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Life is Really in the Footnotes:

http://geeeee-zer.blogspot.com/>Himself:  He’s also begun a blog here on Blogger.

Worked hard yesterday, and will be going to corporate to train three days next week.

Herself:  Very worried about that snapped tendon.  That was how this all started in the first place those many years ago.  Doc appointment Monday.  They didn’t pay attention the first time.  Today must study for the Drivers License exam.  I forgot it so must go sit in the Group W bench all day at the DMV.

Reading:  Six Hillerman’s arrived in the mail.  Oh, hurrah.  Now I have all but three.

Kids:  The car ran fine, and they made it to AZ and were able to see their Pop yesterday.

You can read more about the Wetlands here:  http://www.seaworld.org/swc/wetlands/whatarewetlands.htm

Balance:  Not thinking.