Julian Frazer
Wednesday morning I stopped by the beaver site. A group of children with their teachers were there, excited about the beavers. They came as part of a school field trip, riding the train from Sacramento. They seemed to know something about beavers as they were sharing a snack of apples hoping to entice the beavers to show themselves. It was nice to see the little park at the train station bridge filled will children.
Cheryl Reynolds
2.21.08
7-7:30 AM
It was quite and exciting morning at the beaver dam. It was a flurry of activity by the whole group, five to be exact. There was no mistake this time. The smaller beaver that I’ve always believed to be the loner was helping mom plug the holes.Jon was watching four beavers as I arrived and he ran down to the footbridge to see the last beaver as he came up from his evening rounds at the lower creek.
Back and forth they went bringing mud and cattails to the dam. Mom even came up with a plastic cup in her hands to add to the pile. Well, you know the saying, ‘One mans garbage is another mans treasure’. Maybe she was having her own clean the creek day.Just as the last beaver went in for the day at 7:30 ,in come the flotilla of Scaup to having their morning mussel feed in front of the lodge. What a great way to start the day.
On tuesday the SF chapter of the Sierra Club released a letter to the City Council indicating their support for leaving the beavers where they are and allowing them to continue their natural habitat restoration work. Wildlife chair, Terry Preston, had been to the site and interviewed residents, and made a recommendation for the chapter to adopt language supporting them.
The letter opens with, “The Sierra Club strongly opposes any attempts to relocate or euthanize the beavers that have colonized the downtown area of Alhambra Creek, as well as any attempts to irrepairably harm their lodge, dam or surrounding habitats” Now that’s a nice way to start a letter. They were in part motivated by the fine work of Gary Bogue in his coverage of the beavers, and his support for wildlife in general.
The letter ends with offers of help if the city should need information or consultation to access appropriate strategies. Finally it emphasizes how the dam provides a excellent opportunity to educate children and adults on the importance of habitat and ecology. The letter was mentioned by councilwoman Delaney at tuesday nights meeting, and sent to the entire subcommittee. Thanks Sierra Club, for helping take care of “John Muir’s Beavers”.
Linda Meza
And unlike the lyrics to the song of the same name I had plenty of people to talk to. I encountered one gentleman sitting along the banks of the pond and we struck up an easy conversation. As it turned out he was visiting from Philadelphia, attending an opening at the Martinez Gallery and heard about the beavers.
After answering a few obligatory questions he ended up taking a call and I politely excused myself and resumed my watch up by the lodge. Within a minute or two he found me standing besides the railing, chatted me up for a moment more and wandered off to find his friends. Not ten minutes passed when he returned with a very colorful, very artsy group of folks.
I wouldn’t have even considered this to be all that noteworthy were it not for my passion for Monet. There is a particular painting of his entitled “Morning on the Seine by Giverny” that is by far my favorite piece. When ever I find myself in Chicago I make a special point to visit the Art Institute where it hangs.
Wouldn’t it be something else if our little waterway, teeming with life, turned out to be the inspiration for Martinez’ version of a Claude Monet or even a Cat Stevens. After all where better to see the moon’s shadow than filtered through the newly budded leaves of a willow beside a quite body of water?
A few shots of the areas wild inhabitants in and around the creek
Photography: Cheryl Reynolds
