Online Exhibitions
BLUE SEAS & GREEN SEAS
Cool Critters of the California Current
In Words and Pictures
By Ray Troll
With poetic help by Dr. Milton Love,
Robert Pitman & Bob Kiwala
A cold, rich sea has a greenish hue
When it’s warmer it looks much more blue
And so the animals change
Throughout their range
When the colors switch ‘tween the two.
An ocean green is both rich and cold
Where animals thrive in numbers untold
While an ocean’s that’s bluer
Is warm but there’s fewer
Creatures for us to behold.
When serving dinner to some guests
Give them the crab called Dungeness
Serve it with butter
And they shall surely utter
“By gosh, this crab is the best!”
I got a message from some flounder
“Man, you’re just one great big downer”
Then the sea stars came out
And I started to shout
“Wow, this is one weird encounter!”
In matters concerning the squid
It’s hard for me not to kid
For when they make ink
They can’t even blink
For you see, they have no eyelids!
Consider the strange Mola Mola
Not many fish look much bolda’
For the tail and the head
Can be easily misread
So remember what I’ve told ya!
The Opah sure makes my heart swoon
As it darts about under the moon
Oh I like them allot
With their wild polka dots
And red fins like a crazy cartoon.
There’s a grumpy old fish called a Cabezon
And how that fish does carry on
Its head is gigantic
But it hardly seems frantic
When it opens its big mouth to yawn.
A dolphin called “Common” just doesn’t seem fair
For a creature that likes to vault in the air
And as they swim through the sea
They really seem to be
A creature that’s quite debonair.
I sometimes think of glowing sardines
Swimming about like old Hollywood scenes
With Doc Ricketts and Steinbeck
Looking down from the top deck
Of the Western Flyer, sailing on in my dreams.
Back in the Monterey cannery days
The seine boats enjoyed a great phase
They pumped fish galore
To the factories ashore
Their history is with us always.
Do anchovies think about pizza pies
Swimming through waves with tears in their eyes?
For I think it’s their fault
When I taste all the salt
Of their sorrow and longing and sighs.
If Mackerels were holy would they fly in the sky?
Amazing us all, “That’s stupendous!” we’d cry
Their halos no doubt
Would shine all about
Causing onlookers to cover their eyes.
When approaching a shark that is basking
It’s probably well worth the asking
If his mouth is wide open
He’s only hopin’
For krill and not multi-tasking.
When anglers hook a wild Coho
They sometimes do cry “Oh no, oh!”
For it puts up a fight
With all of its might
And leaps like it’s at a wild go-go.
Swordfish chase bait-balls with sabers so sharp
And threshers sharks streak up from the dark
The baitfish they’re bashing
With tails they are thrashing
Like a bait-ball bat used by a shark!
Leatherback turtles wearing backpacks
Provide data for scientists to track
They don’t seem to mind
They relax and unwind
Gobbling jellies like wiggly little snacks.
The rhinoceros auklet is an odd bird
And is hard to describe in just a few words
But suffice it to say
It needs no toupee
With feathered tufts both long and absurd!
If I was an elephant seal
There’s one thing that would make me squeal
If I saw a Great White
It would fill me with fright
For I wouldn’t want to be a shark meal!
The David Starr Jordan’s a ship
That scientists take on a trip
To study sea creatures
And cool ocean features
Oh man I think that’s so hip!
It’s fun to watch sea turtles
As through the water they hurtle
They glide here and there
Then come up for air
Oh the marvelous Loggerhead turtle.
Of plankton I sing words of praise
Plants and critters that will always amaze
Oh man they’re so tiny
In waters most briny
I shall love them ‘til the end of my days.
I am happy and oh so content
Thinking of a fish dubbed “magnificent”
For a rockfish called Flag
Is really my bag
Fish nerds must always represent!
Sperm whales dive down in the deep
To chase a creature using loud sonic bleeps
They eat giant squid
And I really don’t kid
That it kind of gives me the creeps.
Jellies just go with the drift
And nothing about them seems swift
They just cruise along
For all their lifelong
With tentacles that constantly sift.
Lingcod are very big Greenlings
With oh so combustible feelings
For they really get mad
Especially the dad’s
If into their nests you are stealing!
The Mahi Mahi is the fish for me
Rocketing about the deep blue sea
Flying fish in the air
Had better take care
So into the sky they do flee.
The largest of whales is the blue
And they do as all mammals do
They come up for air
And give maternal care
To their big babies, oh yes it’s so true.
Oh the great California Sea Lion
Is so graceful without really trying
They swim through the seas
With the greatest of ease
A very cool critter ain’t no denying!
Skipjack and Yellowfin tuna
Just might cross the finish line sooner
If a Marlin they race
They soon might outpace
Even the fastest of fast racing schooners.
The Black Douglas once cruised the coastal seas
And sailed about in the wild ocean breeze
As the seabirds took flight
In the slow fading light
The researchers aboard gained expertise.
Though named for a guy who wore red
The Garibaldi is quite orange instead
Even their manners are contrary
The males’ temper’s a bit scary
They don’t seem to be very well bred!
Sometimes I dream and pretend
That a Sea Bass is a Sheephead’s friend
And they’d never need help
When they meet in the kelp
Because they are such good pals in the end.
Now here’s a most puzzling thing
In Canada this salmon’s called “Spring”
While some say Chinook
But I say just look
This salmon is clearly a King!
For the little rockfish called China
Nothing could be more divina’
With bright little spots
Speckles and dots
Could you ever see anything fina’ ?
Sea otters are always searchin’
For the prickly purple sea urchin
Then they lay on their backs
And eat ‘em like snacks
While in the waves they’re a’ lurchin’.
The Black-footed Albatross flies with the greatest of ease
When riding upon a smooth ocean breeze
And while Murrelets fly fast
And the Auklets do dash
When out exploring the green rolling seas.
Could you dive deep into the swirling ocean,
And tumble about in wild commotion?
For on this shore
In days of yore
Ama pried abalone with great devotion.
Hardhat divers dive down very deep
For tasty morsels to harvest and reap
As the kelpfish looks in
At the divers wide grin
A special moment to treasure and keep.
The red crab’s a crustacean pelagic
Their travel to sea is quite magic
But they don’t think it’s fine
When big turtles dine
On their kind, it seems sort of tragic.
The leatherback turtles eat jellies
To fill their reptilian bellies
But I’m thinking, I am:
“They’d rather eat ham
But there are no mid-ocean delis.”
An albacore once had a notion,
To migrate across the broad ocean,
“I’m under the sway
Of bright lights in LA,”
It said with lots of emotion.
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Click here to see NOAA's interactive version, including the science that inspired the artwork.
Click here to view more of the 'Fin Art' of Ray Troll.
The original paintings, limericks, and interaction were originally elements of a Temporary Exhibition at this museum in 2011. Limericks © Ray Troll 2011; artwork © Ray Troll and NOAA 2008; all rights reserved.