As promised, I will give a preview today of the live music and talented performers that will join us tomorrow at the beaver festival!

Bringing its unique brand of Urban Bluegrass to California and Nevada since 1986, The Alhambra Valley Band is as good as it gets. Lynn Quinones is an award winning song writer who told me this year she was working on a piece about the mother beaver! When I cajoled her into bringing the group to play last year she cautiously said, I don’t know how the whole group feels about the beavers. How surprised were we to find out that her bass player is married to a Martinez Early Childhood Center teacher who happens to be an avid beaver supporter! In fact, the teacher didn’t even know where her husband was playing that day and was surprised to see him at the festival! Lynn’s original song, “Willow Pass Road” is the soundtrak for the video letter to the mayor posted in the frame.

With over 30 years exerperience, Jeff Campbell has played for the queen, the Cheiftans, and the odd beer comercial. He keeps busy with a demanding schedule of wedding, processions and funeral appearances. He might have done it all, but I bet he’s never done a gig like this before! When I spoke to Jeff he told me he had brought his son out to see our beavers last year and was excited about being part of our festival. You might have heard him on our Cafe Spot on KGO this week. Jeff will lead the children’s procession to honor the return of beavers to Scotland after 400 years. He’s generously donating his time, so think about whether your next four weddings or funerals need a piper!

I wanted to take some time this morning to introduce you to some of the beaver-friends that will be displaying at the festival. Carolyn Jones of the chronicle asked me yesterday, “what happens if you get bored of beavers”. I explained that I seemed to be fairly immune from that particular ailment, but that for others with less hardy constitutions there will be plenty to keep your attention. Such as….

Native Bird Connections:

We are a group of professional interpreters and educators who work with live wild birds while sharing educational messages with groups of all ages. Native Bird Connections maintains a daily commitment to three goals: Respect: For animals and people, accepting them for who they are, not who we wish them to be. Responsibility: We are obligated to walk our talk and accept personal responsibility as well as responsibility for the lives of our wild partners. Reverence: We are thankful for the people and animals that influence our ability to continue providing unparalleled nature experiences.

Noah’s Wish:

Noah’s Wish came into existence in 2002, not to duplicate existing efforts to help animals during disasters, but to expand on what was already in place. Too often, efforts to help animals during life threatening situations have been gravely inadequate. We recognize that animals need and deserve an organized, consistent and professionally managed national disaster relief program. They will, otherwise, continue to pay for human indifference with their lives. How animals are managed during disasters is to implement well thought out, field tested policies and procedures that are practiced in all disasters. Relief efforts for people are managed this way and we feel they should be for animals too.

Lindsay Wildlife Museum:

Connect with wildlife and learn about the animals found in our backyards and open spaces. At Lindsay Wildlife Museum you can have close encounters with many live, non-releasable wild animals such as an eagle, hawk, fox, snake or coyote. An on-site wildlife hospital treats more than 6,000 native California animals every year. The museum also features changing art and natural history exhibits, classes for children and adults, and a discovery room with hands-on activities for children.

Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation:

The Walnut Creek Open Space Foundation  works to preserve and enhance Walnut Creek’s nearly 3000 acres of open space and to educate area residents so that they can enjoy this wonderful resource. In cooperation with the California Bluebird Recovery Program (www.cbrp.org), Foundation members including Brian Murphy and Bob Brittain have been constructing, installing and monitoring nest boxes for bluebirds in our open space.

Paula Lane Action Network:

Badgers in Petaluma? Plan on it! P.L.A.N. is a nonprofit organization, dedicated to preservation of rural land and open space, wildlife habitat and historic resources. Preserving areas where there are inter-relationships - history, open space, critical habitat and movement corridors, grasslands, trees, and seasonal wetlands - creates a setting where multifaceted health-producing life experiences can occur. Such interactive experiences of life with Nature and Community character, we believe, contribute to our sense of well being and ability to give to others.

Intrigued yet? Add the Native Plant Society, the Friends of Alhambra Creek, and the good NPS folks at the John Muir Site. Learn about the new fishing pier designs or the effects of pesticides, or how to prepare for a charity marathon. Check out the amazing designs from Wild Bryde Jewelry and get your copy of the Come Back Kids, “The Martinez Beavers” signed by the author, Penny Weigand of Bellissima Publishing.

Join us for a dam good time!

Four baby mink were filmed swimming with their mom tonight at the primary dam. Here’s initial footage, more pictures soon. Keep your eyes peeled. This is very unique and it means that they’re local.

In case you aren’t yet convinced about joining us on saturday, here’s some reasons to bring your honey and your kids (and your checkbook!) downtown for a dam good time. Today I’ll highlight some items from the silent auction, tomorrow I’ll highlight some of our environmental displays, and thursday I’ll introduce you to our musicians! Follow the links to click through to our generous donors! Click here for our latest guide map!

Gift Certificate for 2: 140.00$ (bidding starts at 60.00$)

Nestled on 400 acres in the heart of California’s wine country, Safari West is home for over 400 exotic mammals and birds. Not a zoo, not a drive-through park, it’s a wildlife preserve where the whole family can experience some of nature’s most beautiful animals in a natural habitat.

Year of Peets Coffee: 215.00$ (bidding starts at 75.00)

Over the past four decades, Peet’s growth has been fueled by ever-increasing numbers of coffee lovers in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the nation. With each generation of Peet’s leadership, we have remained true to the quality tenets of our founder, inspired by the same unrelenting pursuit of quality. Our purpose has not changed since 1966 – to seek out opportunities to raise the expectations of American coffee drinkers by attracting and serving those who truly love the taste of coffee, for whom a cup of coffee could only mean a cup of Peet’s

Esin San Ramon Gift Certificate: 50.00$ (bidding starts at 20.00)

This culinary jewel is a favorite for those in town and a delicious destination for visitors. The family-run eatery has moved and upgraded to a sleeker look, while retaining its savory fare and decadent house-made desserts. A few dishes hearken back to co-owner Esin DeCarion’s homeland, Turkey, including the popular meze platter and phyllo-wrapped chicken breast. The food is fresh, unpretentious and made from high-quality, often local ingredients. Don’t forget to save room for dessert.

Other goodies include original artwork by Kat Mulkey, photos by Cheryl Reynolds, morning coffee with Gary Bogue, full body massage by Joyce Cid, gourmet picnic/watershed tour with Igor & Shirley Skaredoff and amazing handbags made from recycled materials made by Mugwamp in Portland. Don’t worry, there’s something memorable for every price level, and remember that all proceeds go to benefit the Martinez Beavers!

Let this be the year we pay for those interpretive signs! And if this doesn’t whet your shopping whistle enough, remember that August 1st is also the Peddler’s Fair on Main Street Martinez. Just a short stroll away and you won’t want to miss it.

Our New Zealand beaver friend, William Huges-Games writes that there is a heated debate going on about a proposal to dam the Hurunui river to benefit farmers. Check out the story and video here.

Farmers and environmentalists are facing up to each other on a new battleground in Canterbury. Around 200 farmers want to take water from the Hurunui River to irrigate an area two-thirds the size of Lake Taupo.The project proposes the construction of a 75m high dam on the Hurunui River to create a 7km long lake and installing a weir on nearby Lake Sumner to store a 138 million cubic litres of water.Backers of the controversial irrigation scheme say if they get the go ahead, it’ll transform the drought-prone lands and be worth up to $2 billion to the economy.But while opponents say it is wholesale destruction, supporters say it is economic necessity.

You know how this story goes. It is the original battle of the dollar sign and the ampersand. Long ago the river near the tiny community of my parents home was in danger of becoming the next big drought-saving measure. The plan was to dam the Consumnes river and put hundreds of homes underwater to make a massive lake. The citizens organized and fought back, calling their organization (wait for it) “Not by a dam site!”

You must also know the kind of tool that would allow those farmers to hold the water, allow the fish to pass, allow the river to be “free”, allow the environmentalists to enjoy the river, and improve their wildlife and water quality? I thought you did.

We are having a great kerfuffle here in Hurunui/Canterbury (my district of South Island) about the construction of a couple of medium large concrete dams on the Hurunui River for agriculture.  Farmers highly pro - environmentalists highly agin.  I’ve been sending that very neat beaver cartoon you sent me to all and sundry - both supporters and detractors.   Haven’t got a single reply - not even an insulting one. I thought I would at least stir something up.  Never mind - early days yet.  I’m attempting to get ahold of the people that designed the cartoon to suggest that they do another one on, for instance, beaver and salmon or beaver cleaning nutrients from the water.  That first one was simply brilliant.

You know the old saying about how “Great minds think”….

The folks who live in backward town
Are inside out and upside down
They wear their hats inside their heads
And go to sleep beneath their beds
They only eat the apple peelings
And they take their walk across the ceilings

Mary Ann Hoberman 1959

Our intrepid wildlife photographer Cheryl Reynolds was on hand last night when beaver friend (and fish defender!) ML showed up after having spent the day making apple pies. She wisely saved the peelings for our furry friends, and they enjoyed a truly unique meal of “apple pasta”.

(Not My Coast Line!) California gets a little good news:

We’re hoping you can help by telling us how the website appears on your computer screen (and don’t say “stupid!”) Recently the words in the menu bar seemed to spontaneously change color for some Firefox users, but not for Explorer or Safari. Our web guru Jean assures me that the html code “says” to be white, but it is clearly more interested (on my screen anyway) in being an orange-y horrific-color-blindness-test hue. Could you let us know what you see by emailing and telling me what browser you use and what you see on your screen?  Look specifically on the menu bar, the one that says “Home | Our Story | Sightings etc.”  If you have access to two computers, (work and home) let us know on each.

Here’s a picture of how it should look: white letters on a burnt sienna menu bar…

And here’s a picture of how it started looking to me as of 1:00 pm yesterday.

Which do you see? or maybe you see something different altogether? Let us know. It’s easy to take a picture of your screen and send it. Press the “print screen” key on the upper right hand of your keyboard. Right click to “Paste” onto a processing program like Word, then copy. Then you can paste the photo your email. It would be a big help.

These pictures out of KOMO tv in Washington are about the most adorable kit pictures I have seen. Apparently one kit was orphaned when his mother was run over by a jet ski. (Another reason to dislike them!) The organization PAWS is working hard to make sure they get the best chance of returning to the wild. Go watch the video, its OMG worthy. Our Wildlife VP has already written them for their unique lodge box design. You, who are smart beaver supporters, have of course already guessed by now which of our fifty beaver-bearing states this story is from. That’s right, beaver Mecca, Washington. (God bless Washington!)

Yesterday I found that someone had been searching the blog for beaver rehab information, and I wondered if it was them. I have been trying to make sure they have this article on the “Psychological and Environmental Enrichment for Orphaned Beavers” from Anna G. Miller of the Alabama Wildlife Center. I’ll make it a pdf and get it into a permanent link soon, but in the meantime if you know anyone who knows them, pass it along or send them our way.