We recently moved from San Diego to Sacramento…I know…why in heavens name did we do that?? Well, as beautiful as San Diego is, it is also very expensive and overcrowded. But that is not the primary reason we moved. My daughter and her husband just had a baby boy (Hobie) and we wanted to be closer to them and help with child care. In reality, I wanted to be part of my grandson’s life.
We moved in the Spring and found a lovely apartment in beautiful South Natomas…a stones throw from where the Sacramento and American rivers converge at discovery park. This is just 20 minutes from Davis, CA where Jen and Jay (my daughter and son-in-law) live.
The first thing I noticed when coming to Sacramento was green. Everything was so green! Not just any old green, but minty and spring green. The next thing I noticed was all the trees. They are plentiful, full-grown and lush with foliage, particularly around the place where we live. The view from our living room window is of conifers and deciduous trees, such as: ash, gray pine, valley oak, cedar, fern pine, sycamore, cottonwood, maple, palm and many others I’ve yet to identify. See below:
This complex is called Adagio, which is an Italian phrase meaning slow tempo or slow passage of music. I love it here! I love being surrounded by nature. Better yet…I enjoy walking again! The paths around this complex are unbelievably beautiful! Check it out!
Life in this environment is plentiful and practically everywhere you look. In my walks I have encountered wild turkeys, Canadian geese, numerous species of water fowl such as ducks, cranes, storks, egrets and herons. My son saw a river otter (which we named Theodore) and I have seen hawks, eagles, water turtles, squirrels, and other types of birds I have not identified…but I will!
The waterway you see above is not the Sacramento river…it is a canal. However, it is too beautiful to be just a canal…it is more like a seasonal tributary. It feeds the farmlands in and around the Natomas area. In the short time I have been here, I have seen it change from deep, with a visibility of about two feet, to shallow and murky with aquatic plants and algae covering the majority of the surface. Although fish and other water species that depend on fresh water are dwindling due to a lack of oxygen, there are a variety of ducks that thrive there and have paired off and now have ducklings. I have been watching them grow in size and decrease in numbers…sad, but certainly part of the circle of life.
I have also had very close encounters with Canadian Geese, and they, too, have paired off and have goslings, which are fuzzy and adorable. They tend to gather on the walking path along side the canal. I let them have the right-of-way and patiently wait while the little ones scurry into the water, and the adults saunter, with much disdain, into the water with a graceful swoosh. They are not the least bit intimidated by me. Nor are the wild turkeys for that matter. They seem quite oblivious to me as I attempt to walk around them, being careful not to startle them. They can be aggressive; although I have not seen evidence of that; I continue to be respectful, none-the-less. It’s all very exciting and adds an element of intrigue and adventure to what would otherwise be a boring walk.
My next blog will contain pictures of what the canal looks like now and perhaps some of the wildlife there. Thanks for checking in!
Note to self 