New Gardens and Art in the Davis Arboretum

Just a quick posting here. Went for a walk yesterday in the Davis arboretum and saw some nice new artwork and a new garden over near the end of the path. Here are some pictures.

Another Good Kid's (and Adults) Activity in Davis - Take the Train to the Train Museum

I have been meaning to try this out for ages. I take the Capitol Corridor train West all the time from Davis to Berkeley and other parts of the Bay Area. But I had never taken it East to Sacramento. It looked from the schedule that it was just 15 minutes or so to Sac and that the Sac station was right near the train museum, which my daughter (2 yrs old) loves (she loves trains trains trains and trains).

So we did it. We went to the Davis station. And took the train to Sacramento. The train ride was great - only about 20 minutes long and my daughter got to see all sorts of cool things (she specially liked seeing the river and going over the Yolo Basin area). And then we were in Sac. And after not being sure where to go, we walked around a corner and right there was the train museum. Which we went into for an hour or so and then headed back to catch the train back to Davis. It was about a 2-2.5 hour outing (not sure exactly when we got back) and was definitely something different for my daughter to do.

Great kids activity in Davis - the U. C. Davis Raptor Center

We (me, my wife, my 2 yr old and our 4 month old) went for a visit a few weekends ago to the U. C. Davis raptor center. Our 2 yr old daughter went crazy, never wanting to leave and wanting to see all the birds over and over. The 4 month old loved the tranquil setting (he did not like the screeching hawks, but they have a nice little picnic bench area a bit away from the birds). The Center has a bunch of cages outside with all sorts of raptors, including eagles, hawks, harriers and owls. The also have a litte museum with displays. It is in a really nice setting along the flowing part of Putah Creek south of Davis and is definitely worth a visit.

Here are some pictures

U. C. Davis Medical Group - their time is MUCH more important than yours

Well, once again I find myself disappointed with the U. C. Davis Medical Group. We have multiple options for medical groups to join since I am a U. C. Davis employee. Originally, I joined the U. C. Davis group but have since left due to incredibly poor treatment by their system (surprising, given that I am a Professor in the U. C. Davis Medical School, but nevermind that for now).

Now today was the last straw in a long series of annoyances so I am going public with it. My wife had a Dr's appointment with Steve Oliver of the U. C. Davis group here in Davis. Her appointment was at 10 AM. They even called a few nights ago to remind us. So - I stayed at home with our 2 year old and our 4 month old. My wife rushed off, stressed about ditching the 4 month old since he had not eaten at the regular time and she was worried about him getting too hungry while she was gone (we avoid taking kids to Drs offices whenever possible).

So she showed up for her appointment a little early. And then she waited and waited. Finally she went up to the counter and asked what was going on. The receptionist flippantly told her that her appointment was actually at 10:30 but that they tell people it is earlier than it really is because many people are late. In other words, they lie to the patients. I am simply stunned by this. Yes people are late for things. So develop some system to punish the late ones or reward the early ones. But lying to your patients is pathetic. I am once again embarassed to be associated with this system, even if peripherally. So - we are now going to switch to the Sutter group - which I have had great experiences with.

Tour of California comes to town

Here are some pics and videos of the Amgen Tour of California as it left Davis, CA on Road 102.

























































































Here are some videos too.

Davis Wetlands - Beatiful Place, but Bizarrely Closed to Visitors most of the Winter

If you live near Davis you should check out the Davis Wetlands - a pseudopreserve over by the landfill. Its got amazing birds and some nice trails to walk around on. The only problem is, in the Winter, when it is wettest and the birding is best, the Wetlands is closed almost all the time. It is only open to the public for a few hours on Mondays. In addition, there are signs all over on most of the trails saying they are closed to vistors. What gives?

I found this to be completely lame and so I wrote to the Davis government about it

To whom it may concern

I am writing to ask some questions regarding usage policies for the Davis Wetlands. I think Davis Wetlands is one of the gems of this city. I have taken my now 20 month old daughter there many times to walk around and see the birds and animals and get a nice park-like experience. I am writing because I am concerned about the severe usage restrictions at the Davis Wetlands.

First, in the Winter months, the park is only open on Mondays which means those of us who work regular hours cannot use the park. I am wondering if there is some reason why the park is not open all days of the week in Winter and also how Monday was chosen as the day to be open. I would like to recommend that in Winter the park be open on at least one weekend day.

Second, I am wondering why such a large fraction of the park has signs that say "Park Employee's Only" or something like that. These are all over the park on many of the levees and they mean that very little of the park can be seen by non employees. I am wondering why so much is off limits and whether there are any plans to expand public access. If not, I would recommend you do so.

The response I got was quick, although not what I expected ...

Dear Mr. Eisen,
Thank you for contacting the Davis Public Works Department.
Your message has been forwarded to Mr. John McNerney, Wildlife
Resource Specialist, in-charge of the Davis Wetlands. If you wish to
contact Mr. McNerney, his direct line is (530) 757-5680.

If you have any questions, please call (530) 757-5686 or e-mail us
at: pwweb@cityofdavis.org

Thanks!
Maria Briilantes
Office Assistant

And then McNerny replied the next day

Dear Mr. Eisen,

Thanks you for inquiring about the access times for the Davis
Wastewater Treatment Wetlands. As you are aware, the current access
periods are:
Feb 15 - August 31 (summer)-- 7 days per week 7am to 1pm.
Sept 1 - Feb 14 (winter) -- Mondays only from 7am to 1pm.

In addition to the normal access times, a docent led tour is offered
the first Saturday of the month from 9 to 11am (during summer hours) and
from 3 to 5pm (winter).

The current access times were negotiated during the drafting of the
original purchase agreement with the neighboring landowners (Conaway
Ranch Conservancy). These periods and times were set to reduce Wetlands
visitor conflicts with adjacent land use activities (primarily hunting)
on the Conaway Ranch. The Sept 1 - Feb 15 period coincides with the
hunting season. There are obvious hazards associated with public access
at the Wetlands while firearms are being used in the adjacent fields.
Conaway Ranch agreed that no hunting would take place on Mondays or the
first Saturday of the month from 3-5pm.

We are currently planning on re-visiting our access agreement with
Conaway Ranch. We will be discussing the Monday only restriction and
hope to add at least one additional weekly access day during the winter,
ideally on a weekend.

To address your second question, it is important to note that many of
the roads within the Wetlands are narrow and winding. The auto tour
route has been improved for heavy traffic use including use by larger
vehicles such as buses. The "authorized personal only" signs are there
to help keep visitors vehicles off of these smaller roads. With that
said, we do encourage visitors to park in the designated parking areas
and walk around. Foot traffic is permitted on the "restricted" access
roads. We will be updating the signs to be clear about this issue.

A final note on the limited access to the southern portion of the
Wetlands. Being as the Wetlands serve hundreds of thousands of migrating
waterfowl and shorebirds, it is important to offer some quite and
undisturbed areas for these species to forage and rest. Promoting
increased human disturbance in these areas would be a less than ideal
management strategy.

Thanks for your interest in the Wetlands and its inhabitants. Please
feel free to contact me if you have more questions or suggestions.

Sincerely,

John


-->-->-->-->-->--><--<--<--<--<--<--
John T. McNerney
Wildlife Resource Specialist
City of Davis, Public Works
23 Russell Blvd.
Davis, CA 95616
530-757-5680 Fax- 758-0354

I guess this is understandable from the Conaway and the Davis point of view but it would seem to me given the size of Conaway Ranch that the hunters could stay away from the portions that border the Davis Wetlands without too much trouble. But maybe that is where the best hunting is --- I do not know. Nevertheless, I am hoping that Davis changes its mind and tries to open up more access in the Winter. As of last week it seems no more access has been granted:

I am writing to find out if anything has been changed in terms of the winter access to the Wetlands.

I know the Winter is almost over, but I am still interested in expanding access during these months.

Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,

I have nothing new to report. We are still waiting on Conaway to commit
to a meeting time.

I'll be sure to update you if/when things change.

Thanks for your continued interest,

John

-->-->-->-->-->--><--<--<--<--<--<--
John T. McNerney
Wildlife Resource Specialist
City of Davis, Public Works
23 Russell Blvd.
Davis, CA 95616
530-757-5680 Fax- 758-0354

Trip to Sacramento Zoo got interesting with man's head getting stuck in photo booth

Well, went to the SacZoo with my daughter on Tuesday. Not the best zoo in the world, but it is a perfect size for her right now. She loves the Koi Pond in particular (but also the big cats and the flamingoes). The strangest part of this last visit was the guy who got his head stuck in the wooden animal cutout that you can have your picture taken in (you know, you stick your head through and take a picture from the other side).