Glen Smith is a musician from San Francisco who wrote me in July saying he was planning on a trip to see the beavers and asking how best to arrange it. He and a friend came out on a night Cheryl happened to be at the bridge and they saw plenty of beavers. Here are some of his thoughts!
Yes it was an excellent night for viewing our friends! Pat and i have spent countless hours seeking and viewing lots of animals from Mexico, Central & South America, to Indonesia and Fiji, but these are the first beavers we’ve ever seen & We Love Them!!! The youngster took center stage, appearing and disappearing many times for extended periods … very entertaining ….including a tail splash in response to Moses’s indelicate clambering in the growth on the south side of the creek as he attempted to get a closer video view.
The adults didn’t appear until dusk, rewarding our persistence and patience with some nice views before disappearing (downstream, i think). Because i’m not familiar with the individuals, i’m not sure who, or how many, we saw, but they were markedly larger than the kit, who, it would appear, is getting bigger quickly.
Meanwhile, i’ve written a short article (below), inspired by my visit, in hopes of inspiring support of efforts on behalf of the survival and welfare the beloved beavers. Thanks for your correspondence and invaluable advocacy!
Best Wishes & Best Of Luck!!!
The Beavers Of Martinez: Messengers Of Hope
Following a trip from San Francisco to Martinez with the sole purpose and hope of catching a glimpse of the beavers who reside in Alhambra Creek, I returned home with a mixture of compelling thoughts and feelings.
I was extremely grateful to have been treated to a number of excellent views of these remarkable and benevolent animals as they glided silently and peacefully,to and fro, in this small creek, their home.
So near the center of town on one side, and a large noisy train station on the other, I was struck by the fact that, here, in this improbable setting, was a glimpse…a vision of incomparable natural beauty, harmony and tranquility.
This tiny gem of nature’s innocence, is parenthesized, amplified, and, sadly, threatened by the ever advancing and seemingly inexorable expansion of the machinations of “progress”. If, in fact, there is anything “wrong with this picture” I wish to say, most emphatically, the beavers have absolutely nothing to do with it!
Against all odds and adversity, in spite of initiatives to exterminate them, here they still are, these beavers, these messengers of hope…hope for a future where the heart and soul of humanity awaken to the urgent necessity of preserving the immeasurably precious and irreplaceable natural world, upon which all life is profoundly dependent.
Let us not fail to recognize the true gift of their presence in our midst, and the message of hope that it is not yet too late to get it right this time, not to late to extend our circle of concern and compassion, embracing the sanctity of all life.
The life and lives we save might well, ultimately, be our own.
Here’s a slideshow Glen made of beavers photos, set to his own original soundtrack. You’ll definitely recognize the last one! Thanks Glen for the support and for viewing our beavers with such grace and compassion!
