Tag: animals

Crafty armadillos roll into San Diego!

Dozens of crafty armadillos have rolled into San Diego. I observed them today in Balboa Park, inside the Mingei International Museum!

The roll of armadillos (that’s what a group of armadillos is called) is hanging out inside several glass display cases on the ground floor of the museum. Tuck and Roll: The Art of Armadillos is the name of the free exhibition.

The exhibition includes folk art armadillos crafted from wood, clay, glass, metal, stone, fiber and various natural materials such at shells, gourds and coconuts. There are bowl armadillos, toy armadillos, ashtray armadillos, pipe armadillos, jar armadillos, coin bank armadillos, toothpick holder armadillos…

These crafty armadillos were made primarily in Central and South America, and Mexico, where the roly-poly animals are found in the wild. Many of the objects were created by indigenous peoples following centuries-old traditions.

I took a few photos, but if you plan to visit Balboa Park, step through the Mingei International Museum’s door and encounter these fun armadillos yourself!

Tuck and Roll: The Art of Armadillos will be displayed into January 2026, so you have plenty of time.

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Restoration of Balboa Park Carousel animals!

Carved wooden camel of the Balboa Park Carousel is being lovingly restored.

The restoration of the Balboa Park Carousel’s carved wooden animals is an ongoing project. William “Bill” Brown, who has been operating and tending this historic carousel since 1972, showed me four animals that are being restored in 2025.

The first–a camel–you can see above. Feast your eyes on the amazing sculptural detail!

The Balboa Park Carousel was originally built in 1910 by Herschell-Spillman, whose factory created many of these same animals for different carousels.

Restoring the carved animals involves removing layers of paint, repairing dents and scrapes caused mostly by dangling feet, then returning these true works of art to their former glory. Bill accomplishes this by using images he obtained from the archives of the Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum, which he once had the opportunity to visit.

Bill was very kind and showed me the animals undergoing restoration during a brief lull in the carousel action.

The Persian Cat, in the next photo, is the animal nearest completion.

Here’s an image of how the Persian Cat might have appeared as it left the Herschell-Spillman factory over a century ago. (Through the years, the basic design would undergo certain changes, including coloration.)

The restoration pays close attention to original details.

Next is the carousel’s War Horse, now stripped of old paint…

Many of the animals have “side images” such as a warrior with shield in this case.

A carousel goat is also being restored!

Bill also showed me several carved animals whose restoration was completed last year! They look absolutely fantastic!

First up, this tiger. Look how bright and colorful it now is! Remember the famous 1882 short story The Lady, or the Tiger? That explains the side image.

Then there’s a beautifully restored stork, with a baby ready for delivery!

And look how amazing this restored stag appears! A hound appears on its side.

Bill, by carefully tending and restoring the Balboa Park carousel, has been bringing joy to generations of San Diegans. Thank you!

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Wild animals on a Logan Heights corner!

Ferocious wild animals have gathered in San Diego’s Logan Heights neighborhood!

It appears that a leopard, tiger, snake, wolf and gorilla now hang out at the corner of Imperial Avenue and 32nd Street!

Check out this cool artwork on a wall and building that is presently vacant. It was painted by Matt Spangler.

Love it!

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

Jaguars and wolves in Chula Vista!

I discovered two very cool murals during my latest walk through Chula Vista!

The first mural promotes Southwestern College and features the stylized head of a Jaguar–the name of Southwestern’s sports teams. A stack of books, a flask, paintbrushes, a drone, and other objects useful in career education also appear in the mural.

The colorful artwork can be spotted on the side of State Farm Insurance at 460 3rd Avenue. Artist signatures and a year indicate the mural was created by Nick McPherson (Nicholas Danger) and Eddy Berducido (@Beavster) in 2024.

The next mural appears to show wolves. The artwork was painted at the north end of a construction fence in front of Chula Vista’s old, closed Vogue Theater.

You might recall other images previously painted on the same fence: the Padres’ Swinging Friar and Chula Vista’s own celebrity superstar Mario Lopez!

I don’t know who painted these two wolves, or when. Within the past year, if I had to guess. Leave a comment if you know more than me!

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

San Diego organization rescues dogs in Mexico.

There’s a San Diego-based nonprofit organization that rescues dogs from high kill shelters and the streets of Mexico. The Animal Pad rescues all breeds with its connections in Baja California–particularly in Ensenada and Tijuana.

The Animal Pad has many lovable, adoptable furry friends who are ready to join your family today!

Early this afternoon, as I walked through San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, I met smiling volunteers who were engaged in community outreach. I learned a little about the good work they are doing. The Animal Pad rescues dogs from Southern California as well as Mexico. They provide veterinarian care and rehabilitation for the rescued dogs before four-legged friends head to loving foster homes.

The Animal Pad also has a youth education program and operates the fun Camp Tappy Tails for dog loving children ages 7-12. Their La Mesa facility hosts birthday parties, too!

The Animal Pad website explains: The Animal Pad is only able to do what we do through the efforts of a wide network of volunteers, fosters, donors, sponsor organizations, and adopters. It truly takes a village. And we are always looking for help! The Animal Pad is seeking new avenues for fundraising, veterinary and pet supply connections, and anything else that can assist TAP in helping these innocent souls.

Would you like to adopt a new friend? Do you want to be a hero and help out in some other way? Go to The Animal Pad website by clicking here!

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Old Town’s last donkey passes away.

Very sad news.

I learned today that Dulce, the last donkey at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, died yesterday. Her companion, Don, passed away earlier this year. The corral next to Seeley Stable is now empty.

Dulce was in her mid to late 30s–she lived a long life and was well loved. She was a rescue donkey, saved from a cull.

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed visiting Dulce and talking to park rangers watching over her. Dulce was saddened by Don’s death, but had seemingly recovered, eating well and enjoying her role in short easy parades around the State Park’s plaza during occasional special events.

Yesterday she lay down and didn’t get up. A wonderful chapter in Old Town has come to a close.

Countless students, families and children met Don and Dulce over the years. I know that I’ll remember both donkeys fondly. I spoke to a couple of California State Park folks, and it sounds unlikely that new donkeys or other animals will replace Don and Dulce.

…

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Bum . . . San Diego town dog, celebrity and drunk!

You possibly know about Bum, San Diego’s “town dog” during the late 19th century. He was the free-spirited dog who belonged to no one, but was loved by practically everyone.

An excellent History Talks presentation concerning Bum can be viewed here on YouTube. The video was produced by the Gaslamp Museum at the Davis-Horton House, where a sculpture of Bum can be enjoyed in the museum’s pocket park.

Bum was a stowaway on a ship from San Francisco, and when he arrived in San Diego he took ownership of the city, roaming about and doing whatever he pleased. He befriended a Chinese fisherman, a news reporter, newsboys, shop owners, restaurant owners (and their handouts), and practically everyone he met, particularly children.

Bum would lead parades. He led horse-drawn fire engines to fires. He jumped on the ferry to Coronado. He hopped onto a train at Santa Fe Depot and took a trip to Los Angeles, where he was greeted like a celebrity because a telegraph by his reporter friend told of his coming. When Benjamin Harrison visited San Diego in 1891, the United States President rode a special carriage in a grand procession. And Bum was provided with his own carriage, too!

Less known is that Bum travelled to El Cajon, where he was introduced to alcohol at a political event. And he became a drunk who’d often languish in the middle of the street. Those at San Diego’s downtown Army barracks thought it great fun to give him a drink. I didn’t know this about Bum until I viewed the YouTube presentation.

This great history presentation includes many old newspaper cartoons, photographs and stories concerning loveable but sometimes feisty Bum, San Diego’s famous Town Dog. To watch it, click here!

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Bay to Park Paseo: Before There Were Borders.

Art was recently installed on windows near the main entrance of San Diego’s Central Library. Before There Were Borders depicts native wildlife and the languages of indigenous peoples who lived in our region north and south of the present-day U.S./Mexican border, long before the arrival of Europeans.

Animals such as roadrunners, whales, deer, mountain lions, pelicans, rabbits, butterflies, coyotes and bears are matched with their names in four languages: Kumeyaay/Kumiai, Kuupangaxwichem/Cupeño, Payòmkawichum/Luiseño, and Cahuilla.

But there’s much more to the installation. As this explains, a “digital art piece will be accessible within the arcade of the Central Library. Rob Quigley, designer of the Central Library, envisions it to be one of ‘stage’ and ‘performance.’ As participants move though the arcade, images will appear to entice further exploration using a simple scan of a QR code with a smartphone. The installation will include video holograms, viewing cultural objects through augmented reality, and immersive reality language experiences.”

Before There Were Borders is part of a 1.7 mile artistic walking experience along the Bay To Park Paseo, a project inspired by the selection of San Diego/Tijuana as World Design Capital 2024.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Sheep attacked by wolf in La Jolla!

A pen full of vulnerable sheep was attacked today in La Jolla. A wolf somehow infiltrated the UC San Diego campus and made its way to the small sheep pen at Revelle Plaza, where the terrified, trembling sheep were saved by a shepherd, who chased the wolf away.

Onlookers clapped as the wolf slinked away. That’s because they’d just witnessed a unique, often funny performance of Les moutons by Canadian company CORPUS. The strange act was part of this weekend’s La Jolla Playhouse 2024 WOW Festival!

The sheep might have been sheepish, but they did entertain the crowd with their dull stares, herd mentality, their shearing, milking and feeding sessions, and a couple of natural but unspeakable animal behaviors!

Here comes a ram through the astonished crowd? What does it want?

A howl was heard in the distance. Then…

Panic! Chaos! (My camera wasn’t fast enough.)

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Don, beloved Old Town donkey, passes away.

Don, a male donkey at Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, passed away two weeks ago. The beloved animal is believed to have had a stroke. He leaves a second donkey, Dulce, by herself in the corral beside Seeley Stable.

I was very saddened to hear the news today during my walk through Old Town.

Don and Dulce have been loved by kids and families for many years in this California State Park. I first blogged about Don and Dulce almost nine years ago here. I took the above photograph of Don back then.

Don is believed to have been in his mid to late 30s. Dulce is a couple years younger. Both were rescued from the wild many years ago.

I was told Dulce cried and wouldn’t eat for some time after Don’s death. She was quietly eating when I came by today. The following three photographs are from today’s walk.

I asked several State Park employees: What will become of Dulce now that her companion is gone? From what I could gather, her future is presently undecided–she might go to an animal rescue organization, or might get a new companion donkey.

If I learn more in the future, I’ll be sure to blog it.

…

Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!