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Opposums, rats, pigeons, plus San Diego's geologist who hates roadside landscaping

Close look at San Diego's natural world

"The highest-priced bird sold here in the United States was a couple of years ago, sold for $32,000. The bird’s name was Senna.”
"The highest-priced bird sold here in the United States was a couple of years ago, sold for $32,000. The bird’s name was Senna.”
  • Our Panther

  • Our fair city does have one black jaguar resident, downtown, in Cat Canyon, near Sun Bear Forest, across from the Hunte Amphitheater, in the San Diego Zoo. He was born October 1992 at Wildlife World Zoo, in Litchfield, Arizona. He weighs as much as I do, about 165 pounds. His name is Orson.
  • By Geoff Bouvier, July 14, 2005
I started to mention Rilke's poem, but Noel gently cut me off. "That poem doesn't apply to Orson at all."
  • More or Less Sudden Mountains

  • Looking at the first of many instances of San Diego hydroseeding, across from Costco and Ikea along Friars Road, Deméré declared, "I don't mean to dis botany completely. I can appreciate plants." But more often along our trip he would indicate that roadside landscaping was, to a geologist, a kind of proliferating evil.
  • By Geoff Bouvier, Jan. 13, 2005
Tom Deméré: "I used to surf a lot. On bad surf days, I'd check out the terrific exposure on the sea cliffs."
  • Our friend, the opossum

  • Shawn Powell and I are driving south on Jackson Drive, carrying three opossums in Powell's Hyundai Santa Fe. Our mission is to liberate them. We could stop and dump them out on the sidewalk, but that would be injudicious.
  • By Jeannette DeWyze, Aug. 31, 2006
As an animal rescuer, "You're dealing with a lot of death."
  • Marathoners of the Sky

  • Today, Hamilton and his “grandson,” John Timmerman, have about 750 pigeons in Jamul, the largest collection in San Diego County. As we sat on the deck of their loft, amidst soft cooing and wafting feathers, Hamilton looked at his birds and smiled. “We’ve won every race there is. All the top races, top prizes, we’ve won.”
  • By Don McCullough, April 1, 2004
Virginia Kraft, lives in a big French chateau in Rancho Santa Fe and has some of the best birds in the county.
  • Frozen Drama

  • When you walk in the front door you enter another world. What was originally meant to be a living room is now his showroom/office and is filled with many mounted ducks and other birds, some fish, and three or four stunning tableaux/dioramas (as one might see in a natural history museum) combining sculpture and taxidermy.
  • By Thomas Lux, Jan. 1, 2004
Mounted wood duck. Even though 98 percent of the duck is hand-painted, the airbrush painting is crucial.
  • Rats!

  • Call them what you will — roach-boys, rat-men, rat-catchers, terminators, pest technicians — the fact is that pest inspectors are professional killers.
  • By Geoff Bouvier, Sept. 22, 2005
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Zaludek showed me a decomposed rat skeleton, which he'd found in a corner of the attic.

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Peaceful, eaze-y feeling

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Developers eye site, but historical designation may stop them
"The highest-priced bird sold here in the United States was a couple of years ago, sold for $32,000. The bird’s name was Senna.”
"The highest-priced bird sold here in the United States was a couple of years ago, sold for $32,000. The bird’s name was Senna.”
  • Our Panther

  • Our fair city does have one black jaguar resident, downtown, in Cat Canyon, near Sun Bear Forest, across from the Hunte Amphitheater, in the San Diego Zoo. He was born October 1992 at Wildlife World Zoo, in Litchfield, Arizona. He weighs as much as I do, about 165 pounds. His name is Orson.
  • By Geoff Bouvier, July 14, 2005
I started to mention Rilke's poem, but Noel gently cut me off. "That poem doesn't apply to Orson at all."
  • More or Less Sudden Mountains

  • Looking at the first of many instances of San Diego hydroseeding, across from Costco and Ikea along Friars Road, Deméré declared, "I don't mean to dis botany completely. I can appreciate plants." But more often along our trip he would indicate that roadside landscaping was, to a geologist, a kind of proliferating evil.
  • By Geoff Bouvier, Jan. 13, 2005
Tom Deméré: "I used to surf a lot. On bad surf days, I'd check out the terrific exposure on the sea cliffs."
  • Our friend, the opossum

  • Shawn Powell and I are driving south on Jackson Drive, carrying three opossums in Powell's Hyundai Santa Fe. Our mission is to liberate them. We could stop and dump them out on the sidewalk, but that would be injudicious.
  • By Jeannette DeWyze, Aug. 31, 2006
As an animal rescuer, "You're dealing with a lot of death."
  • Marathoners of the Sky

  • Today, Hamilton and his “grandson,” John Timmerman, have about 750 pigeons in Jamul, the largest collection in San Diego County. As we sat on the deck of their loft, amidst soft cooing and wafting feathers, Hamilton looked at his birds and smiled. “We’ve won every race there is. All the top races, top prizes, we’ve won.”
  • By Don McCullough, April 1, 2004
Virginia Kraft, lives in a big French chateau in Rancho Santa Fe and has some of the best birds in the county.
  • Frozen Drama

  • When you walk in the front door you enter another world. What was originally meant to be a living room is now his showroom/office and is filled with many mounted ducks and other birds, some fish, and three or four stunning tableaux/dioramas (as one might see in a natural history museum) combining sculpture and taxidermy.
  • By Thomas Lux, Jan. 1, 2004
Mounted wood duck. Even though 98 percent of the duck is hand-painted, the airbrush painting is crucial.
  • Rats!

  • Call them what you will — roach-boys, rat-men, rat-catchers, terminators, pest technicians — the fact is that pest inspectors are professional killers.
  • By Geoff Bouvier, Sept. 22, 2005
Sponsored
Sponsored
Zaludek showed me a decomposed rat skeleton, which he'd found in a corner of the attic.
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Peaceful, eaze-y feeling

The evolution of San Diego's dope delivery
Next Article

Could this be Queen Bee’s last North Park fab fair?

Developers eye site, but historical designation may stop them
Comments
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April 14, 2020
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