John Muir 的馬車。當時從Martinez到舊金山要一小時多。
Muir's horse carriage. It took an average of 1 hour to get to San Francisco
2010 趁Memorial Day 長週末，抽了一天的空跟朋友再度去Martinez瞻仰John Muir的故居。這次來得知，在他家旁邊的果樹大部份都不是原本的樹，而是National Park Service接管之後試圖回復原貌的大工程。唯一一顆是十九世紀就種到現在的是那最大的無花果樹。
I would return during 2010's Memorial Day weekend to visit the John Muir NHS. Previously unknown to me, the fruit trees currently in the area around the house are not the original trees but recreations of what would have been John Muir's orchard in his days. The only original tree is the large fig tree near the creek.
葡萄樹。Grape tree
杏桃 Apricots
無花果 Figs
Quince
榅桲(ㄨㄣ ㄅㄛˊ)，是一種跟蘋果有點像的果實，但其果肉容易酸酸苦苦，因此大部份的用途是被拿來做果醬。
枇杷樹 Loquats
Ranger 說看到成熟的果熟都可以採來吃，因此我們也不客氣地摘了幾顆枇杷來吃。Martinez這兒夏天可是又熱又乾，有枇杷止渴，相當過癮。
Munching on a loquat picked from the tree.
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Martinez Beavers
Martinez是在加州東灣Richmond和Concord兩大城中間的一座小城，僅有150多年的歷史，也是Contra Costa County郡行政中心。除了一些住家之外，它的historic downtown有許多保存完好的建築。Martinez這邊比較名的，說來說去，可能就是John Muir吧。許多downtown的街道和地方，都因紀念Muir一家人而用他們的名字來命名。
不過，2007起，Martinez這個小鎮多了另外可以前來看的東西。在2006的冬天，兩隻beaver(海狸)跑到了這兒的小溪，就此築起了窩，賴著不走了。由於Martinez冬天時的雨量大，小溪容易滿出來淹到旁邊的住家，因此海狸築的巢被視為加深淹的禍害。Martinez市長及代表原本決議要將beaver抓起來放逐，但此舉引起別的居民的注意，連署起來反對，還鬧到整個加州新聞的版面。在大批媒體前來採訪的壓力之下，Martinez市政府的態度終於軟化了。
最後市政府同意讓beaver留下來，不過同時安裝了一些排水措施來控制水位。原因是，如果水位開始漲過原先beaver們蓋的河堤，那他們便會立刻繼續加蓋，使得水位越來越高，到時恐真的會引起水災。事後，因beaver蓋的河堤改變了小溪邊的生態環境，使得原本消失不見的許多生物都回來，像是彩虹鱒，水獺，以及諸多鳥類。
Martinez is as little town between the two large towns of Richmond, CA and Concord, CA in the Easty Bay. A little more over 150 years old, its historic downtown preserves most of the original buildings built back then. Martinez also serves as the Contra Costa county seat. The historic downtown is similar to many of the little towns in the United States, but the biggest attraction and thing to do around here, I suspect, is probably still John Muir.
However, in 2007, two beavers found their way down to creek and called Martinez home. Building a dam, the town officials quickly became concerned at a flood hazard, which previously did in 2005. Initially try to trap the beavers and get rid of them, the townspeople rallied and voted against the move, creating state, if not national headlines. Later, the Martinez officials relented and installed flow devices to keep the water level constant between the ponds. The beavers have since changed the ecology of the area, where many species have returned to the creek, including river otters, rainbow trout, and many others.
painted tiles supporting the Martinez beavers
在溪邊橋上聲援beaver的彩繪磁磚
水獺 river otter
啃蘋果的beaver
beaver feeding on apple
beaver
Beaver是夜行性動物，所以非得要到傍晚才有辦法瞧見它。雖然Memorial Day Weekend大部份的店都是關門的，不過最後仍找到一家當地評價很好的墨西哥餐廳用餐。吃完出來，正好幸運地看到beaver媽媽正在覓食。這些beaver習慣當全鎮的焦點，對人一點也不懼怕，儘管我離它不到一公尺。
Beavers are nocturnal animals. While most of the shops were closed on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, much to our dismay, we were still able to find a very good Mexican restaurant open on that day. After finishing dinner, we were lucky enough to see one of the beavers coming out to feed. You can never get enough of these cute critters~~~
La Primavera Mexican restaurant
Back to: John Muir NHS Part 1
Official Website:
John Muir National Historic Site
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