Effie Yeaw Nature Center

We went to Ancil Hoffman Park in Carmichael, CA to visit the Effie Yeaw Nature Center.

Read about the interesting sculpture on the outside of the building then see it in the photo below. You might have to double-click on the photo to enlarge it.

The Nature Center is home to some rescued animals that are injured in some way so they can not be released into the wild. This is Sophia, an adult saw whet owl and she has been at the center since 2008. The saw whet name comes from the sound the owl makes that resembles the sound of a saw blade being sharpened.

This is a Gopher snake.

Double-click to read about the owl in the following photo.

A while back we were listening to a song by the group America and they mentioned alligator lizards. We didn't know if alligator lizards actually existed or if the group was just high and making up names. Turns out there is such a creature and this is what it looks like.

Although not as small as the other boy who had just sat in this seat, Nolan just had to try out the condor wings.

We decided to do some hiking on the many trails at the center. There were signs along the way where you could dial a number on your cell photo and hear all about what you were seeing. Interesting concept.

This dead tree is home to many beetles that eat it.

It was also full of woodpecker holes. The woodpecker will drill a hole and shove an acorn in it to keep it away from the squirrels. I didn't know woodpeckers ate acorns.

There were also informational signs along the trail.

The American River runs through Sacramento.

California poppies.

We disturbed a few lizards and Nolan got a photo of this one.

This tree had grown sideways and the top was covered in mosses and even grass.

Another trail shot where it was wider.

We saw lots of deer in the park.

There was a pond in the park.

Ducks and other fowl were enjoying the waters.

Yes there were squirrels in the park and this one posed for us. We also saw a woodpecker but it flew by so fast we didn't have time to take a photo.

See next two photos.

We did see bees flying around this tree.

There were also lots of turkeys in the park.

The Redbud really wasn't fully bloomed out so it was too hard to pick out of the foliage in a photo.

This is very interesting. See the following photo.

There were a few flowers and plants in the garden to draw butterflies. See following photo.