The animal world in the eyes of a 2-year-old

Corridor of Sound: Sky, 2, listens to animals sounds at Mission
Trails Regional Park visitor center

_____________________________________________________________
By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO—My 2-year-old grandson Sky took Nancy and me on a tour of the animal world over the weekend.  We didn’t go to the Zoo or to Sea World, although Sky loves both these tourist attractions.  Instead we went to several places that in his young eyes may seem almost as large and nearly as wonderful:  to the front yard of our neighbors Bob and Alisa Lauritzen, to the visitor’s center of the Mission Trails Regional Park, and to my computer, where we viewed You Tube video selections of “Old MacDonald Had a Farm.”

Bob and Alisa own four live cats, as well as an outdoor sculpture of another cat.  The lawn also has other stone animals, including a mountain lion, rabbits, turtles,  an egret, and now that the Christmas season is approaching, they also have up some wire reindeer.   Sky ran from one to the other, naming them.  One live cat ran just as quickly – in the other direction.

Next, we bundled into the car and drove to the visitor’s center, which Sky knows so well that at a full run  he can name the animals, over his shoulder.  On the path to the visitor’s center are displays that as you pass them will emit animal sounds: “Snake … Deer… bird…’nother bird … lizard… quail… ‘nother snake… up there an eagle,” Sky informs, hurrying to get to the front door.

He makes a beeline to the floor near the gift counter, where he finds all kinds of stuffed toy animals.   These too he inventories… “rabbit… I think a dog (yes it was)… a duck, a horse, lady bug, penguin…” He’s satisfied to examine them, and doesn’t ask to keep them.  The dark corridor up to the second floor, with more animal sounds, awaits.  “That’s a coyote!” he says.  “And a lion!”   I also hear an owl, but Sky’s little legs already have carried him to the second floor, where stuffed real animals are within reach.

He wasn’t able to name the bobcat, but next to it was “a coyote!” which he immediately recognized.  And beyond it, “a mountain lion!”

I snapped photos as quickly as I could, because Sky clearly was headed for the door to the second floor landing outside, which would take him down the stairs, past the replica of the flume that once carried water from this area to Mission San Diego, and past a Kumeyaay dwelling known as an ewaa (ah-wah),  to the amphitheatre, where there are three animal sculptures.

Sky likes to narrate what he is doing, so as we descended to the amphitheatre, he announced “we’re going down the stairs,” and as he hugged the sculpture of another coyote, he said, “I’m saying cheese.”

“What’s this?” asked grandma, pointing to what a sign explained was a dusky-footed wood rat.

“I’m thinking!” said Sky.

He never did indentify the rat, however, and he ignored a large sculpture of a mountain lion, as he went to the bottom of the amphitheatre to watch water flowing from the flume into a small pond.  Then back he scrambled up the stairs, narrating that “I’m climbing!”   He tripped, fell, got up and reassured his grandparents “I’m okay,” and as if to prove it, added: “I’m running around.”

Trying to keep up with him unsuccessfully, I realized what a big difference there is between the ages of 64 and 2.

After ducking into the Kumeyaay house, then running along a pathway on the perimeter of the amphitheatre  that took us back to the front of the visitors center, Sky seemed satisfied that he had visited most of his outdoor animal friends.

But there still were animals to see on my computer once he was indoors.  Sky climbed up on my lap, announced he wanted “Old MacDonald” and then pointed in turn to approximately six different selections of the song.  His favorite is one sung in studio by Phil Collins, who is joined by numerous celebrities—among them Jewish community members Goldie Hawn and Kevin Kline—who  make the appropriate sounds for the animals enumerated in the song.

The celebrities look much younger on the video than they do today,  especially the two Hughs –Laurie and Grant.  Check the video out, you can’t help but laugh at the antics of Bishop Desmond Tutu and Whoopi Goldberg.

Sky doesn’t just like animals, he adores them. I have a feeling that animals always will be a big part of his life.  Perhaps he will follow in the footsteps of his Israeli godfather,  Yoni Peres, and become a veterinarian!

*
Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World