I learn something new every day

That is one thing I love about my life. I really do learn something new every day. In my work (I'm an RN in the NICU at Primary Children's Hospital) we are required to be perpetual learners. Isn't that great! There are always new advancements in medicine and technology. In nursing it is important to follow "best practice" and "evidence based" learning. Not all my ah-aha moments are at work. I learn many things from my children....even more so as they try to bring this old lady into the techno world. I also learn great things from my parents, and of course my greatest teacher is my hubby. He always shares great wisdom and discoveries he has had throughout his day with me, and it enlightens me.
I was thinking about the fact that so often I think, "I learn something new every day," today.... when I learned about Salmon.

Lake Tahoe October 9, 2012

Greg and I are on a vacation in Lake Tahoe Nevada/California. It is fall, our favorite time for a get away, until winter, when January is....if it is to somewhere warm! Anyway, we decided to rent bikes and ride along a bike path. There were scenic stops along the way. One was at Taylor Creek that feeds into Lake Tahoe. We happened upon a great even. The Salmon are spawning! I've heard about it but never seen it before.


So this is what happens. Salmon "spawn" or reproduce in the rivers, and then the after they hatch they swim out to live in the lake. When they are 2-4 years old they return to the river of their birth to "spawn" They have to swim upstream to get up the river to their birthplace. They jump up rapids, and finagle the beaver dams to get to their original home. It's really quite amazing. They find their way by taste and smell of the water and surroundings. The males start to morph. Their mouths become hooked and they get a hump on their backs. All the fish turn a bright red.

Salmon at Taylor Creek off of Lake Tahoe

So besides learning that they return to there birth to spawn, or to give birth again, I learned that after they spawn they die. The creek was full of dead fish. I thought something was contaminated in the water! One guy said to Greg, "I'm glad I don't die after I spawn!" True that!
After they die, the insects and other fish eat them and the circle of life is started all over again.
How about this picture...gross but kind of cool.

Crawdad eating the dead salmon :(