With all the excitement about Rodgers & Hammerstein at Interlochen, I find myself reminiscing about the years I taught music in an elementary school. My students loved musicals, and I recall that their favorite song was "My Favorite Things."
One day, as I listened to a third-grade class sing, I became aware that they were joyfully singing about "whiskers on fishes."
The school was in a shoreline community, and there’s no doubt that the kids knew more about fish whiskers than "bright copper kettles" or "rain-spattered roses." And some fish — catfish, sturgeon and burbot — do appear to have whiskers.
These "whiskers," called barbels, are sensory organs found on various fish species that tend to feed in deep or murky water.
Some old-timers have told me that these white appendages, which truly resemble worms, serve as lures to attract unsuspecting prey, which the fish then gulp down. However, fisheries biologists assure me there is no scientific evidence to support this. Instead, barbels are used primarily to locate food.
Catfish, for example, have eight barbels covered in sensory receptors and taste buds, allowing them to detect and taste small fish and plant material, even in complete darkness.
Burbot, as bottom-feeders, use their single barbel to find small fish, crustaceans and other invertebrates. The four barbels on a lake sturgeon help it locate, but not taste, the hapless prey it ambushes.
And my favorite things? Because this is Earth Week, I’d have to say… all creatures, along with the plants, soil, water, AND young people AND the fine arts. These are a few of my favorite things.
