Bubbling Over with Love - with

Water baby Marla Spellenberg has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with nature, and her condition is contagious. Dive into her world of tranquility and wonder with us, but be forewarned — you may never want to return to the surface.

We've learned in this issue that a nymph is a divine creature who is tied to a particular locale. Clearly you are a water nymph, tied to fresh water Weeki Wachee Springs. What first drew you to Weeki Wachee?

I was born from placental waters, to the winding, rushing, rarely calm rivers of life. My mother was a swimmer, I come by loving water rightly! As a toddler, Mom would find me splish splashing, playing paddy-cakes in the toilet! Bath time was a horror for my Mom as this water child would throw a tantrum if she tried to take me from the tub. Growing up in Michigan, I was surrounded by the Great Lakes, closest to L. Huron, with many ponds and lakes around our home. Choosing where to swim was always the question. Swimming in L. Huron, my sister and I wouldn't want to leave even tho Mom said we were blue from chilly water.

Swimming came naturally to me, and I swam before I walked. All Mom could do was succumb to giving me lessons on her own (no swim instructor would take on a toddler at the time), then as soon as possible my folks put me in swim programs. As a youngster, my babysitter Trudy, who lived across the street, also swam in our local High School's swim program. She was one of the first to take the synchronized swimming course offered there. Following her lead, I joined the team and swam synchro for 3 years. Vacationing in Florida one summer, visiting my grandparents, we discovered Trudy was at Weeki Wachee, so of course we had to go see her swim. Watching her in a show, I knew I was hooked. On one visit, Trudy said “If I ever find myself living in Florida, come for a test, I'll make sure you get a chance to swim at Weeki Wachee”. Little did I know that in 2 years, we'd be living in Florida, due to Mom's health. I was so upset at having to move from my friends and not graduate from the same HS that Dad did. The first thing I did was go visit Trudy, bathing suit and towel in hand. Trudy gave me the water test and I passed with flying colors! I knew noone at the new HS so I left as early as possible every Friday to drive the hour to the Springs. Small cottages on the grounds were shared by the Mermaids there, so I had a place to stay for the weekends. I eventually moved in with a senior Mermaid after HS graduation. I spent every weekend and all my Holidays at the Springs.

Training began with a senior Mermaid, and I was out of training in two weekends. I was the fastest trainee they had! Now I had to learn all the parts of a show, and perfect the ballet moves for each routine. It's one thing to have gravity to use in ballet (of which we had a ballet bar for daily exercises on, stretching and positioning with our choreographer) and another to perform those same moves suspended in the and adjust for the current from Springs. Hose breathing was another technique to perfect! Buoyancy using only your lungs, another! Eating and drinking underwater was fun to do. Deep Dive was my favorite, especially performing it in our gold suit and tail! I eventually broke a Deep Dive record, holding my breath for 4 min 12 sec while my grandfather was watching!

Photo by Sparky Schumacher, 1969

My water home will forever be Weeki Wachee Springs. Spring reunions are more important to me than my HS could ever be. I get to visit with the few women remaining that swam in 1947, see my MerSisters, some of which are still performing as the “formers” in a show they perform a couple times a month. Barbara Wynns, our MerQueen and spokeswoman, is a wonderful, beautiful, caring woman, a dear friend, and forever Mermaid! I have become involved with the younger mers of MerNetwork, in hopes that some of my experience of over 2 years performing is helpful. I love watching the young mers grow into their tails and begin a lifelong love of Mermaiding.

And what do you personally get from being in the springs?

What do I personally get from being in the Springs? Cold! LOL! Now, 40 years later, it seems even colder! The Springs are a constant 74 °F year round. I love it, so I just grin and bear it! What do I really get from being in the Springs? Of many things: Love and respect for our MerSisterhood, love for the environment and animals that call the Springs home. But mostly, Love for the weightless freedom and stress-free balance it imparts on my soul. My water nymph spirit draws me so hard to return to those life giving waters. Sometimes it brings me to tears, the desire is so strong. I feel fulfilled when submersed in those waters both sharing and receiving restorative gifts. I am truly home. What closer way could you get, than to be in the life giving waters boiling forth from deep within Mother Earth. My spirit becomes immersed in the placental waters of her life blood. Without her waters, no life would exist. I respect and love her life offering. I am but a small part, but a part of Her.

Photo by Melody Craven

Not only are you a SCUBA diver, but you actually helped build an underwater reef, that is hugely popular with divers today. Please, oh please tell us about that unique experience.

Earning enough money from working at the Springs, allowed me to go to the Jr. college near home. At St. Petersburg Jr. College (now a full 4-year college), I was drawn to the Marine Biology courses. Our instructor was instrumental in developing and getting permits to find an appropriate location for a planned reef. It was just an experiment to see if it could be done and follow its growth and population of fish, sharks, dolphins and eventually divers. Having earned two SCUBA diving certificates from the Springs, I was able to join the collaborative effort to bring old ceramics, like toilet bowls, sinks, tubs, and rubber tires and weight them down to the Gulf floor. The location of the reef is about 3 miles off Clearwater Beach, in about 30 feet of water.

On many occasions while placing these objects we would see fish starting to habitate the nooks and crannies offered by the protection

provided there. A couple of times, Spotted Dolphins came to investigate what we were doing! We'd end up hoarse from squealing to them, trying to get them to respond to us! One time as we were snorkeling there, a female with a young calf approached me squawking and whistling. She stopped about 10 feet away, but her calf kept coming closer, almost within arms reach. I was overjoyed at the honor that she would let her calf come so close to me. It didn't last long as her whistles changed and calf swam back to her mother, and they merged back into their pod. I will never forget that honor.

Snorkeling in fresh water rivers, like Crystal River afforded me the opportunity to free dive with manatees that swam there. They are huge and gentle, but can be quite playful, especially among their herd-mates. So getting too close can be problematic if they are in the mood to play! On occasion manatees would find their way from the Gulf of Mexico, up the 7 miles to Weeki's headwaters, altho that was an infrequent occurrence, when I swam there. Now, manatees routinely show up and “steal the show”! Swimming with those gentle mermaids is an awesome experience! Unlike dolphins, a snorkeler or diver can for the most part keep up with them, but manatees can move out with speed if necessary. As grazers, they are the Gentle Giants of our precious Springs and rivers, and also close in- shore in Gulf herds. Communicating with manatees, like dolphins, is a body language of respect and open mindedness, always being mindful of their space.

Weeki Reunion 2012, Photo by Steve Spellenberg Edited from video source by Marla

Given that you're forced to co-habitate with those on land, are there any land animals you're drawn to?

As much as I am addicted to water, I also love turtles, birds (both wild and domestic), kittehs, and horses. I have two turtles, Sami, my aquatic Southern Map turtle, and the other is an Eastern Box (land) turtle, Lady. Sami is nearly 40 years old, I've had him since a wee turtle-ling! Lady I've had about 45 years, she was a rescue as was Sami. My Vet says she is nearly 100 years old, as she hasn't grown in the years I've had her. I also enjoy the company of my Cockatiels. I got my first pair in 1969. Taji, my oldest 'Tiel passed away at nearly 30 years old! My two current Cockatiels are Ari'in and Ryssa. Ari, the male, talks and knows about 25 phrases. He is quite the entertainer! Ryssa keeps him in check squawking at him if he gets carried away! I have one loving kitteh, Ashes, who picked me as her human at a barn where I used to work. I rescued her as the barn manager was just going to let them go in the woods as she was closing her business and barn. All three kittens were found good homes. Ashes has been my constant companion for 12 years now! My horses are my other avocation. I own two at the moment. My heart and soul mare Ketaki, who was part of my family for 17 years, passed away three days after Thanksgiving last year, she was 32. My rescued gelding Cassidy, is 25 and he's now retired. He is such a love! He really missed Ketaki for a few months after she passed away. My current mare, Savannah is in Dressage training at the farm just down the road from my house. I was in Dressage training, too! She progresses faster than I.

Savannah, Photo by Tony DeCosta Savannah is half-Andalusian (other half is Percheron), pinto patterning, bright chestnut and white, with lovely movement and willingness to please. She is very easy on my old bones!

Rumor has it you and your aquatic friends have been known to skinny dip in the Weeki waters. Bonding around the campfire, etc. That must be heavenly. Can you paint the picture for us of what this is like?

Oh! You found us out! We would enjoy a few evenings of role playing and entertaining ourselves with costume making and on-the-spot script writing. On several occasions we'd take our towels, costumes, swimsuits and food (marshmallows, butter, popcorn, corn-on-the-cob, foil, etc) and “play in the woods”! Most of these “all fins” meetings would degenerate into after dark swims, and we'd doff the clothes for a swim in the Weeki's river, a ways down from our Spring. Towels brought for sitting on, were quickly used to dry off, a campfire lit, and food cooked and served. Skinny dipping made us really hungry for some reason! Sometimes the Weeki guys would find us and bring fresh caught Springs' catfish! O, they were sooo good! Prepared with just butter, wrapped in foil and cooked in the campfire with corn-on-the-cob! Delicious! These catfish are free swimming and sometimes meet us on Deep Dive during nite shows! They get to be about 20 or more inches long! They could be so curious to come see us, gently brush against you as you were waiting down in the deep hole. Catfish are not scared of anything, and would swim up to you and stare you in the face mask. Some Mers were really unnerved with them and would use the provided “stick” to chase them away! They were quite harmless! Just BIG! What fun to feed mosquitoes (not!), at a down river get-together, then enjoy a quick skinny dip in the River to rid of their nuisance. Cool skin is a great mosquito deterrent! Swimming down river or at a night show was one of the great pleasures of performing at Weeki, the water sooo dark, the lights ethereal, the bubbles seemed louder and music was heavenly to dance to! Almost alien, definitely unreal in its stunning beauty!

As a regular visitor of Siren Lagoon, any thoughts on the water there?

Come on in the water's fine! Just beware of the Lagoon-atics! We are a crazy, happy group of Siren sisters, ever to gather in a pod! Such camaraderie, playfulness, puns, and light-hearted fun welcomes all our Siren sisters and new comers! I enjoy splish-splashing newbies, and instigating threads of Siren silliness! Missing any time there leaves you to the mercy of Lagoon antics! My muse generally only helps with oneliners, after that I am on my own! I thoroughly love participating in the Lagoon, it's a happy place for this Mermaid!

This mermaid is dry from scribbling in the sand! She needs to flip her flukes and dive back into the blue lagoon. I am a mermaid, drawn to water. Weeki Wachee is my Mer-birth waters. My water nymph is tied to her eternal spirit. She flows from the depths of the earth to gift to those who are willing to receive. The gift of Life.