Tag: Nature

So Much Water!

Saturday, February 25, 2017   630 am, 46 degrees

As I walk through Fair Oaks Village streets on my way to the Fair Oaks Bridge, I hear the chickens’ good morning songs. It feels as if I am the single float in a parade and the chickens are the crowd along the streets cheering for me along the route. I hear their chants 50 yards away, hidden in trees. I leave my car and was startled to hear from a chicken standing alongside a bush a few feet to my left.

water, sunrise, American River, Folsom Dam, morning, Fair Oaks Bridge
Sun shines through clouds before 7 am

Dawn has broken, the sun has yet to rise over distant trees in this heavily clouded sky of deep blues and grays. Thankfully, no rain today!!! I hear the little bird that used to greet me on the bridge each morning hidden in a tree as I walk past.

A single cyclist greets me as I walk toward the bridge. No one else has arrived yet. The American River still flooded and moving swiftly. Release of water from the Folsom Dam created a river that was a raging torrent, so flooded that the boat launch ramp and the parking lot beyond were under five feet of water only two weeks ago. All that I could see was water, muddy, green water, whirlpools and white caps racing downstream with such speed, I was dizzy watching it. The bicycle/pedestrian bridge west of the Sunrise Blvd. bridge crossing vanished without a trace under several feet of water. Today, the bridge is still closed and I suspect will remain so for several more weeks. Water sits only a foot below the lowest edge.Read more

Wildlife Returns to the River

Friday, March 3,  645 am 41 degrees

The American River is quiet once again after one of the wettest winters in 20 years.

Birds are twittering in distant trees. The entire boat launch ramp is visible, except for a wide strip of mud stretched across it. The sun rises behind thin, white streaks of clouds. I see a cyclist and a pair of walkers this morning out even earlier than I am.

pigeons, Fair Oaks Bridge, American River, wildlife returnsAs I walk to the bridge, I wonder what wildlife has returned to this part of the river.  Half dozen pigeons fly in circles over the bridge three times before deciding to settle down on the overhead frame. One flies down and wanders the bridge deck to be joined later by a second pigeon.

As I look out to the water, searching for wildlife, I hear Canada Geese honking immediately behind me. I turn around to see them sitting on a round cement support leg of the bridge (outside the upright bars), discussing what to do next. An instant later, they fly into the sky still engaged in conversation. Next I check for spider webs attached to the bridge and see several perfectly spun webs, no spider to be found.Read more

Winter Chill Lingers

Sunday, March 5, 2017    7 am    43 degrees

A gentle breeze blows to chill the air on this very quiet morning. The temperature apparently too cold for the chickens to wake up.

Only a few chickens are awake this morning after last night’s drizzly rain. Birds are twittering. Water remains on the streets.                   Blue gray clouds blanket the sky with faint differences in shades of gray.

Fair Oaks Bridge, boat launch ramp, boat, American RiverThe bridge is dry, showing no sign of last night’s storm. Standing on the bridge I see the fully exposed boat launch ramp and mound of mud now worn smooth from falling rain. Soon all traces of flooding on the boat ramp and parking lot behind will be washed away. The American River moves quietly downstream with very few ripples returning to its pre-rain state.

The yellow “END” sign is still stuck fast alongside the muddy riverbank in a tangle of branches. A large red reflector attached to the sign post is now visible. I wonder if this is the end of the sign’s journey down river?Read more

Chickens Greet the New Day

Wednesday, March 15, 2017,  7:20 am 57 degrees

Far too warm this morning. Daytime temperature raises to 75 or 80 and it is only March!

Chickens sing good morning. Birds chitter, one calls and another responds from its hiding spot in a tree on the other side of the street. Back and forth. Call and response, half a dozen times. Wildflowers bloom on street side slopes on the way to Fair Oaks Bridge.

White clouds stretch across the sky at sunrise as if they were puffy white batting pulled apart until light shines through. The river is nearly still. A couple walkers pass me and one cyclist. A few more walkers approach. Pigeons arrive at the bridge shortly after I do and fly to the boat launch ramp searching for breakfast nibbles.

Two ducks swim out and a pair of Canada Geese fly unseen. Another goose swims under the bridge and hides under debris at the riverbank. Very little happening that I can see at the river today. Mornings here are very different from the vibrant wildlife scenes and interactions of the fall. I hope as spring progresses, more wildlife will return to the river. 

Fair Oaks chickens enjoy a typical morning in the village. These chickens stay in the road a long time before deciding to cross. Why these chickens cross the road is either they were chased by angry rooster or they are allowing a car to pass by.

 

River of Emptiness – After the Flood

Saturday April 22, 2017 8 am

During my morning walk, I hear birds greeting the day as they sing hidden in trees lining Fair Oaks Village and nearby streets. A few chickens greet me, still emerging from their evening hiding places in trees and under shrubs.

tree, Fair Oaks Bridge, American River, flooding, water, emptinessSun is high in the sky. Dawn arrives before 6 am on these spring mornings. The sun is already over the horizon to light the morning. Thin, scattered clouds streak the sky. The green water is calmly moving downstream. Sunlight sparkles on the water. As I stand on the bridge, I hear the deep throated cooing from unseen pigeons. The river is empty. Not even one duck is out swimming this morning. All the homes, hiding places, ridges and islands for wildlife to settle on are overrun with water. The river runs high again today and so many once dry places are still flooded.

One tree with roots exposed stands as a marker to the constantly changing water level. During the peak of winter storms, the tall, thin tree was completely surrounded by water, sitting as an island several feet from the water’s edge. Today as in many recent days past, it hugs the eroded shore, roots exposed.Read more

A Wild Day at the American River

Sunday, April 30, 2017 9:30 am

Water is flowing fast and flooding the sandy banks, rocks and other land forms where people usually sit and picnic.
American River
This part of the river is called San Juan Rapids because this area is very rocky and usually fairly shallow. Water is always moving swiftly here. Today, far faster and deeper than any other time.

During the summer I can sit on a rock and dangle my feet into shallow water to cool off. More water will come as melted snow rushes down navigates through the Sierra Nevada mountains into the American River.

To my far left, I catch a quick glance at a family of Canada Geese emerging from the rocks and walking into a quiet, shallow area between rocks for a swim. Nine tiny goslings and their parents. My first sighting of babies this year! On my ride back home, I see a skinny little snake about 12” long in the middle of the bike path. I dragged it to the dirt and the back half of its body wriggled and curved. The top half was still. I think it was near death. I let it lay in peace.Read more

More Wild Day at the River

April 30, 2017, 6:30 pm 85 degrees

Visitors crowd the Fair Oaks Bridge taking professional photographs using the American River as a scenic backdrop. The riverbanks are crowded with people enjoying picnic dinners. All people, no wildlife.

As I arrive at the cement bench that has been sitting on its back all year (and shown in my latest blog). The bench is upright again! Did someone read my post or is this an odd coincidence?

American River, flooded, water, riverbank
During the summer, this area is usually so shallow, we can walk at least 1/3 of the way across the river as water rises to our knees. Now a dozen feet of the riverbank is underwater.

I ride on and sit at the riverbank and picnic area where in the fall I watched 100 seagulls, on the opposite shore to my right, wait for salmon to come by and ducks swim, splash and dive near an island to my left. Now the river is running so high, all the islands are underwater and unseen, the waterfowl have moved somewhere else along the river corridor. This section is far too deep and moving too swiftly to find food.

Six Canada geese fly over and disappear as they fly further west. As I prepare to leave the shoreline and keep riding on, I see a Great Blue Heron appear over the water and continue its flight further west. My first sighting of the year!

Waterfowl are here…where to look remains the big question.

Daily Rituals at Fair Oaks Bridge

Thursday May 25, 2017 7 am 57 degrees

Walking through Fair Oaks Village today, all the chickens are silent except for one.

One solo chicken hides in a tree on my way to the Fair Oaks Bridge. It calls every five seconds, over and over and over again. I hear its faint call from the bridge some 100 yards away.

“Where is everyone?” “I am awake!”

Dense clouds float above my head. It is a chilly and windy morning. I have already seen half dozen cyclists and several walkers. A lone boater was in the water and more preparing to enter the river. The water is calm. Pigeons coo as they straddle the upper bridge frame. Parts of the bridge are covered in spider webs blown apart by winds.

Even after 20 minutes of standing on the bridge, I still hear the chickens calling and the music of  birds singing while hidden in nearby trees. Three ducks play in the water at the end of the boat ramp. I hear the distant honk of a single Canada Goose and see it fly under the bridge and continue its west facing flight. Pigeons are the only ones flying this morning. I watch a new family of Canada geese swim over to the riverbank, climb up and disappear into the shrubbery. The rocks are laid bare after the severe flooding washed away so many hiding places.Read more

A Perfect Sunday!

Sunday, June 17, 2017   745 am 71 degrees

 An ideal day to spend at the American River after a week of scorching heat all day and evening.

I approached Jim’s crossing over the river and see no waterfowl. Not a single one! Where are they? So much has changed since the winter floods to those who visit the river regularly and see the difference.

I ride to the boat launch ramp before riding up to the Fair Oaks Bridge. Fishermen are out in their boats, hoping to catch Shad Skippers. These men are the second group of fisherman out on the river in the past couple weeks trying their luck. Kayaks are launching into the river.

Two boats are already in the water with one more to launch. The boat sits in front of a backdrop composed of Canada Geese. From a distance it appears they are floating backwards. Maybe they are as the geese roll along with the current.Read more

Bottoms Up!

The Boat launch ramp near Fair Oaks Bridge is an ideal site to watch Mallards and Canada Geese begin their mornings – eating and socializing. Are bobbing heads the way to say “Good Morning” in duck speak?
Bottoms up!

Some mornings are far busier than others. Other visitors tell me they have seen a beaver busily stripping the meat from a salmon, an otter family on a leisurely early morning swim and a wayward seal found its way up river.