Talbert Lake Again

Oh yes, I do love having Talbert Lake around and intact. 

Huntington Beach Central Library and Park

I'm so glad we have Talbert Lake again!

Huntington Beach Central Park, Photographs

Pictures from the Huntington Beach Central Park. Included are some of the many reasons I hope the plan to keep Talbert Lake year round goes through.

Status of the Talbert Lake Diversion Project

So I finally got my act together and did some phoning. Someone suggested Public Works, and they put me through to Terry, the engineer in charge of the project as of January of last year. She told me that the project had, as I suspected, been put on hold, as had all grant projects.

They had recently gotten permission to restart grant projects, but in the meantime, examination had shown that the project would need another 3.7 million, plus which the original end time was this month--not feasible now, for obvious reaons--so she was applying for a five year extension. So, there is hope, but for now, it is on hold again.

I'll keep watching. I would love to see Talbert Lake year round, but can certainly see why it might not happen.

Ducks in Talbert Lake

 

"DUCKS' DITTY."

All along the backwater.
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling.
Up tails all!

Ducks' tails, drakes' tails.
Yellow feet a-quiver.
Yellow bills all out of sight
Busy in the river!

Slushy green undergrowth
Where the roach swim —
Here we keep our larder.
Cool and full and dim.

Everyone for what he likes!
We like to be
Heads down, tails up.
Dabbling free!

High in the blue above
Swifts whirl and call —
We are down a-dabbling
Up tails all!

Kenneth Grahame (from Wind in the Willows)

Spring is Sprung!

Talbert Lake is back, the cherry trees are blooming, and all is well in the park.

I haven't been since the latest storm hit, so I went yesterday for a visit and had a great time getting reacquainted with all my favorite bits. Not only was it a good walk on a perfect day, but I ran into someone who showed me where the hawks nested last year, so I will watch for them as well as the owls.

I did not spot the owls, but I do not know they are there to look for, and finding them requires knowing they are there, being sure they are there, and staring for a long time to see them in the trees since the spend much of their time pretending to be bumps on logs.

Talbert Lake

I was very excited to read about a plan to restore Talbert Lake to a year round feature. It sounded exciting and worthwhile. Unfortunately, the linked article (October 2008), is the last I've heard about it.

I tried calling the HB Park management, and they were very prompt in answering, and said they'd liked what they had heard of it, too, but they didn't know of any further developments.

Too bad. Talbert Lake looks great now, spread out across a wide area of the park and full of ducks, herons, egrets, and grebe. It would be wonderful to have it the full year, to have the water properly cleaned, and to see some of the water used to water the park and to help keep Blackbird Pond at the Shipley Nature Center full (rumor has it that was part of the plan, anyway; I've been asking around here & there & people have heard of it but don't actually know anything).

Anyone know if this is still ongoing?

Edit: Ok, here's a 2009 blurb that sounds hopeful. Hm.... I'll keep hunting!

Edit2: It seems to be called the Talbert Lake Diversion Project. There are a couple of useful looking phone numbers that might help this lazy reader make sense of some very long documents to see if it is a "yes" or a "no." Then I can decide whether or not to read the very long document (no point if it's a 'no' is there?)

Edit3: Last edit! I found this: Like the first, a 2008 article, but it has neat diagrams and color pictures. Bringing life back to Talbert Lake

Two Reasons I Love Huntington Beach Central Park

Taken from the Central Library window; I was working there last week & watching the rain come down.