September 5, 2003

Nature's Curiosity Shop

By SCOTT SMALLWOOD

The first thing that hits me is the stench. It's a mix of barnyard musk and the trash can at a seafood restaurant. "Sorry," says C. Robert Shoop, a retired biology professor. "I usually tell people about the smell before they come."

The strongest odors come from the buckets filled with water and decomposing sea turtles. They are scattered around the yard, encircled by a collection of wooden buildings, mostly made from driftwood or collapsed barns. An old Jeep sits under scraps of