Transformed by fire

heidi08 Beavers October 11, 2017

The fires and death toll keep growing. Northern California has been transformed by walls of blazing terror or charred empty places where nothing lives or grows. The list of our wildlife friends in harms way is too long to mention. This horror will be devastating for years to come.

I heard this morning from Cheryl that they had the birds at IBR standing by ready to evacuate. And heard from Tom and Darren of Sonoma Birding that they are on vacation and living in terror with the worry that their home had been destroyed or that their bulldog daisy wasn’t safe in the kennel where they left her. I hard from Pam Campbell the director of ISI our fiscal sponsor that 5 staff members’ homes were threatened or destroyed, there was no power and spotty cell service and internet. And there is still no word from Rusty. UPDATE: Rusty is on vacation and his home is safe for now.

There are literally piles of beaver stories I should be telling you, cluttering my inbox but I just can’t bring myself to share them and look away from the smoldering fires that are 1% contained or not all. I can’t imagine what California will look like when this is over, if it’s ever over. I can’t imagine how the wine country recovers or who goes to the fancy spas and restaurants in a region that’s covered in ash. I know the Oakland Hills were rebuilt and lives continued but I just can’t imagine this many communities starting over.

I keep trying to think of a phoenix rising but right now all I can see is flames.

There was one moment yesterday that made me feel hopeful and resilient. It was when we looked over the bridge at Susana Street and saw the water backed up again. The crazy beavers, whose dams were destroyed, whose safety was threatened, whose family home was ruined, against all odds are starting over again.

There was fresh mud all over the little dam.

From Napatopia to Napageddon

heidi08 Beavers October 10, 2017

Yesterday was a day of unveiling unthinkable horrors. The fires ravaged the homes of friends and wildlife all across Napa, Sonoma, and Santa Rosa. Every advance had some fresh horrors, friends or family or folks we care about. Safari West has been an on again off again nightmare. I heard initially from Marie that the fire was stalled, then that they were assessing what to do, then that the Oakland Zoo was standing by to take rescued animals, then this report of the owner, Peter Lang staying at the site and putting out spot fires with attached garden hoses to make sure the animals were safe, while his home burned to the ground.

I still haven’t heard from Rusty or Robin, or Tom of Sonoma Birding, there are so many people we care about in trouble. This morning there were mandatory evacuations not far enough from IBR where Cheryl works. I heard from Amy the artist who will be working with us this summer that they live right at the border of trouble on the Silverado Trail in Napa. She was staying with friends and filled with concern. It has been the same for everyone all day, all night, all over.

And is still.

This was unbelievable footage of them evacuating Kaiser Hospital in Santa Rosa.

Just one story, and you know there are thousands of them. Pets and horses in shelters, schools closed or burned down, downed power and broken cell service so families can’t even know if each other are safe. Not to mention all the millions of dollars tied up in wineries all across the burning landscape. (Whatever California Wine you own you better set it aside for safe keeping, because the next bottle you buy is going to cost a lot more.)

There is, in all this gloom, a single bright spot. I saw county supervisor Brad Wagenecht on channel 5 talking about what was evacuated in Napa and thought I’d express my condolences and ask one impertinent question. We have had contact over the years because he sometimes visits the beaver pond in what used to be Napatopia (and now seems more like Napageddon). He even came to one of our festivals a few years back. Of course you know exactly what I asked.

He wrote this morning to answer the beavers in Tulocay creek are fine.

wrestling Rusty — Beaver Kits in Tulocay Creek: Taken by Rusty Cohn whom we are worried about.

Fire everywhere

heidi08 Beavers October 9, 2017

We woke at 1:00 smelling smoke and it wasn’t any better when the sun came up. It seems like everything is burning, with fires in Marin, Sonoma, Santa Rosa and Napa. There were mandatory evacuations just a mile from the Napa beavers and our beloved Rusty Cohn is apparently in a shelter awaiting news. Maybe Robin Ellison too? I read on FB that wildlife photographer Tom Reynolds was also evacuated and I am waiting to hear back on our friends at Safari West. Not to mention all the others we care so much about in harms way.

Here’s hoping the fire crews do magical work and they are assisted by sudden rain.

LATE BREAKING:

Still haven’t heard from our Napa friends but Safari West evacuated staff and guests last night. Marie just wrote and thanks to some awesome firefighters they are spared, hurray for our heroes and some lucky animals.

Beaver Guide

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver Behavior, Educational, Environmental October 8, 2017

Lovely but slow yesterday at Wild Birds Unlimited. Plenty of folks were dam interested to find out there were beavers living just one block up! We left the sign with Mike so he could continue to pass on the word. There were lots of interesting people and conversations but my favorite has to be the man who said he lived on a lake one summer in Illinois and would canoe every day. Whenever he’d show up a beaver would surface along side him and swim beside him as long as he paddled slowly around. He said it happened nearly every day in the month he stayed there, and showed it was an adult beaver in describing its four foot length. Isn’t that a wonderful and rare story?

It made me think of Grey Owl and this striking video.

When I got home Bill Leikam sent me this from a buddy doing sound recording in the Catskills at a beaver pond. What you are hearing is coy-wolfs, geese and a flying squirrel chittering. If you feel any stress at all after listening to this, I’d be very surprised. Enjoy.

Another beaver blessing

heidi08 Beavers October 7, 2017

Jon doesn’t like me to talk about the festival until at least January but I can’t help it. The news of next summer’s beaver festival keeps getting better and better. Yesterday I found out from the street artist Amy Gallaher Hall that she’d like to start work the day before the festival. So she can do a larger piece and there can be something visibly in progress by the time folks come on the day. That means we might be able to get a news crew out there and have it on the evening news promoting the event! This morning she wrote to say that we should bring a stepladder to photograph the piece when its finished and to put photos on social media while its happening and to keep for future use.

She asked for barricades to protect the work that night so I asked the city about this. They are okay with the idea provided that our event insurance covers the artist the day before the event also, so I wrote our insurance team and got them started thinking this way. I suppose we’ll end up paying more for the extra coverage and another day of chalk but ohhh it is so worth it.

Just imagine this with beavers.

This morning we’re off to Wild Birds Unlimited in pleasant hill for their 35th anniversary event. We’ll be exhibiting there with other wildlife friends and talking to the good folks about their new flat-tailed neighbors up the block on Willow Pass rd. Mike Eliot who owns the store and handles the event is always a very thoughtful host – much more generous with his guests than I am at the beaver festival. He provides tents, tables, coffee and pizza to his exhibitors!

Shhh, don’t get any ideas.