kandas-adventures

Sarvey Wildlife Baby Shower

A local wildlife rescue held a "baby shower" at a park near us, and they brought unreleasable birds of prey and an opossum along to do an educational talk.  Above, a Great Horned Owl who had been hit by a car and can no longer dilate one of his eyes.

There were several handlers and each had a wealth of information to share, not only about the animals themselves, but about their habitat, how to protect them, and what to do if we find an injured or baby animal.

The crowd listening was mostly kids, and some parents were better than others on corralling their young children and keeping them quiet.  A few times the birds "spooked" at approaching or squealing children, and the eagle handler got a few bloody cuts across his forehead from the bird's talons, but otherwise the birds seemed content in their role as species ambassadors.

Of course all the birds were secured on "Jessies" and couldn't get far from their handlers.

The "spooking" incidents were pretty dramatic, because you got to see the wildness in the birds, and their amazing wingspans.

There were many tender moments, too.  The handlers and their birds definitely had a bond with each other.

Here the handler tries to calm his bird before putting it back in it's carrier.

In addition to the Bald Eagle and Great Horned Owl, we also saw a Red Tail Hawk (above left), a Peregrine Falcon, a Golden Eagle, and an Opossum.  All had injuries that prevented them from being released, however the main goal of Sarvey Wildlife is to rehabilitate and release.  They work with everything from tiny hummingbirds to enormous black bears.

I was just in awe at the handlers' poise and ability to manage these unpredictable, wild birds while also talking with the crowd.

Besides the lecture, there were also educational tables, activities, and crafts scattered around the park.

The kids particularly loved the "feather boards."  One of the educators had handpainted life-sized cutouts of birds and attached shed feathers so the children could feel them.

The board on the right, above, shows the Red Tail Hawk, with the left side being a juvenile, and the right being the mature plumage.  The eye color of the hawk even changes from yellow to dark brown.

Soon the show was over.  Birds were loaded back into their kennels for the drive back to the shelter.  Children and their parents learned new things.  And I have an even greater respect for the work wildlife rescue groups do to keep our wildlife surviving.

New Grocery Store

There's a recession right now, in case you haven't noticed.  Stores are closing left and right, businesses and families are declaring bankruptcy, jobs are hard to find, loans nearly impossible to get.  People still have dreams, though, and for one family that has wanted to open an independent full-size grocery store, they couldn't put their dream on hold any longer.  Opening on 11-11-11 in the building of an old grocery store that had been vacant for years, they are taking a major risk. 

I love their sense of humor, evident throughout the store on their signs.

I question their business model, though.  They are trying to be a mix of organic - specialty - mainstream.  So, you have expensive organic specialty foods alongside overpriced Lay's Potato Chips and Diet Coke.  There was another store with this business model that was popular in the 80's & 90's but eventually went bankrupt.  

It was a rough opening, and we were there on their second day, after the media and the crowds had poured through the day before.  It was still a grand-opening weekend, though, with free roses for all the ladies, samples throughout the store, and a coupon for $10 off a $40.00 purchase.  The first sign of trouble was the half empty parking lot, and it's a small lot to begin with.  The shelves were very jumbled, lots of bare areas, many things mis-labeled or not labeled at all.  When I went through the check out, four of the items rang up for prices much higher than the signs had said.  The worst was orange juice, which rang up at $8.99!  About half the items weren't in the computer yet, and the bagboys had to run all over the store or track down the different department managers to find prices.  And this was happening with each customer at checkout!  I felt really bad for the checkers.  They were exhausted by the discrepancies, and weary from frustrated customers, some of whom were really irate.

Since it was a family business, there were children working, probably under the table and off the books, or maybe he was just "volunteering."  This boy, about 10 years old, was pouring juice samples.  The customer service from him was great, he was really cheerful, and seemed proud to be wearing his apron and working.  

Over at the bakery four women behind the counter were licking their gloved fingers while they ate pastry.  I stood there waiting to be served while they finished chatting and tasting the samples they were supposed to be putting out.  Management has some work to do there. 

It will be interesting to see how this new business fares.  Of course I wish this family well, but given our experiences during our 45 minute visit, I'd say there is a lot of hard work ahead.

New Fire Station Open House

Here's another grand opening we recently enjoyed: the world's most energy efficient fire station.   It's not the first LEED certified station (that one is just a few miles away, built by the same district in 2003), but it exceeds all other fire stations in the world in energy efficiency, in addition to having a LEED platinum designation.  

It features an 8,700 gallon cistern to collect rain water from the roof, for use in washing machines, toilets, and for cleaning fire trucks (we all know how clean those fire engines are kept!).  The roof is studded with solar arrays, all flooring is solid-surface concrete for easy cleaning, skylights run down to the first level, lights go on only when rooms are occupied AND a light sensor says it's dark enough to warrant extra illumination.

The engine bays are spacious and have front and rear drive-through doors.

I was having a terrible case of "kitchen envy" in the station's kitchen.  Oh, how I'd love a big, integrated stainless-steel sink like that!

Here's an example of tax-payer monies wasted as a result of inane building codes:  in any public facility, ADA compliant fixtures must be installed.  So, a corner of the kitchen features a lowered countertop and sink that someone in a wheelchair could use.  C'mon!  Firefighters have to be able-bodied enough to run into burning buildings and carry people out.  They have to pass a fitness test.  The day our government feels obligated to hire someone in a wheelchair who wants to be a firefighter, regardless of whether they can do the job, but because anti-discrimination laws have become so generous, I think I'll have to start joining those anti-government protesters downtown.
Right now there are only 3 staff on a shift, but the station was built to accomodate 6 as the area grows.

This colorful hose display in a stairwell is decorative only.  The "pop" of rainbow colors really is a nice contrast against all the gray.

Depending on which direction you are looking, this firefighter is either putting on his turn-out gear, or taking it off... You can guess which scenario I was fantasizing about... ;)

The girls check out the engine.

This sign should be installed in every bathroom.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Station 72!

Sewage Treatment Plant Grand Opening

We like to attend grand opening celebrations.  We try to hit all the hospital openings, and the new community centers, new housing developments, and occasionally new stores.  This grand opening was one of the more unusual -- a waste-water treatment plant.

Keeping with the "green" theme, we rode the shuttle bus to the plant.  A "salmon" was there to greet us.  Successful waste water treatment is especially important in our area, because salmon spawn in our creeks and rivers.  If waste water is not properly diverted to a treatment plant, it runs into storm drains, which go directly to rivers and lakes where the fish live, breed, and grow. 

Soon we met "Princess Sparkling Clear," the county's water treatment mascot.  Note that her name is "Clear" and not "Clean."  Truth is, people dump so many synthetic things down the drain that they shouldn't, like drugs and chemicals, that the water coming out of a treatment plant can never be truly clean, but it can be clear.  

There were lots of educational displays, with the science of water treatment and water quality explained in simple language.  I love that the county not only built a plant, but an educational center as well.  School groups will be coming through, learning about the water cycle and conservation.  I know some think this is a waste of tax payer money, but I say education is almost always worth the extra cost.  Our parents and grandparents grew up in a time when dumping PCBs and mercury was totally acceptable.  Now people are learning about hazardous waste collection, recycling, and conservation, and that has only happened through education.

Then it was time for the tour itself, hard hats and all.  I hadn't been to a water treatment plant in over 30 years, and I was curious to see what had changed.  A lot, actually.

When I was in 3rd grade our class took a field trip to a sewage treatment plant and we had to walk on a narrow catwalk between holding pools.  The stench was unbearable, and on the surface in the first pool floated tampons, condoms, and other garbage.  Kids were pointing and asking, "What's that?" and the teacher and tour leader hurried us along and simply said, "those are things that should NOT have been flushed down the toilet," without of course, telling us what those "things" were.  Some of the kids knew, and then through whispers and snickers, we all knew.

This facility was completely different.  Everything was sealed and enclosed, and rooms within rooms kept odors completely contained.  And yet, it was all very transparent... every room had large glass walls, so you could see what was going on.  The plant was built so that tours could be given, and also so workers could monitor and control the equipment from glassed-in offices.

Down in the bowels of the building, deep underground, miles of pipes circulated.  We walked among them, stopping every once and awhile to learn how various control panels kept things running.  

There were just a couple "dirty jobs" within the plant, but mostly it was all automated, overseen by a handful of highly educated scientists, engineers, and computer specialists.  So now the girls know what happens after we flush the toilet!

Because it was a Grand Opening, there were vendors and organizations there with activities for kids.  Above, a "pick up dog poop" game from scooppoop.org!  (Those are brown stockings filled with dried beans).  In the summer there are closures of favorite swim beaches along the lake because of e-coli contamination, some of it from dog poop which has washed into storm drains.  People just don't realize how big a problem dog poop is in our area, where frequent rain washes it down the drain.  Check out this music video: 

Yeah, dog poop is such an issue here that we have to make music videos about it!

Also on display were "Bike Buses" made from recycled bicycles.  Nice concept, but not so good for our hilly terrain.  

The education center was set up with microscopes.  Bacteria at 10x magnification, anyone?

We were having so much fun that we stayed until the very end of the day, and scored some free native plants, left over from the landscaping project around the plant grounds.  It was good fun, and very informative.