Gear up – Halloween
I have to admit that my little canine cardiac unit was all aflutter on Tuesday night when I turned onto Union Street and saw the familiar family of inflatable Halloween characters lighting up the entire block.
This was the first of what turned out to be a week that saw Alamedans gearing up for the best holiday of the entire year. Now that we are officially in October, I will be making the rounds to start checking out some of the iconic displays. If you happen to see a yard display going up, please email my human companion (HC) at [email protected] so he can put it on my walking schedule.
The weather here on the Isle of Style in October can be a real mixed bag. Wednesday saw wind and rain dislodge an array of colored leaves that carpeted the sidewalks along Central Avenue.
A few hours later, the sun was out, and Monarch butterflies were sipping nectar at the local flower pub.
There are a few construction projects that I have been following, and I decided this would be a good week to check out the major restoration of the Victorian at 1619 Central Avenue. There is not much progress showing on the outside, but I can hear lots of sawing and hammering when I walk by. The day I was there, the workers were getting a delivery of some very long boards. Boy, I would give my dew claws to be able to take a look inside.
Over at Alameda High, the pool construction is moving right along. The crew was drilling holes for pilings and pumping concrete. Pretty noisy.
For those of you who follow my reporting, you may recall my discovery of boxes and boxes of crackers left on the curb at Central Avenue and Union Street. I passed on taking a box or two because I had nothing to eat with them. Well, now I wish I had taken a box, because I came across some cans of sardines that would have been the perfect complement to these salty and savory fillets. I could smell them right through the can. A day later, someone was giving away Suavitel Fabric Softener.
In other doings, I found a resident who apparently had enough of the local turkey population, and posted a sign. It made me wonder if they even get the whole red line through the image concept.
I also had the rare opportunity to crash Anna’s bridal shower but my HC nixed the idea because he was wearing dirty jeans with the red fire hydrant poop bag holder attached to the belt loop. He thought someone might question why we were there.
And this final note on my way out—my HC’s tomato crop did not do so well this year. After germinating the seeds of the rogue tomato plant that spontaneously appeared in the planting strip in 2024, he had 18 plants growing in the backyard. The total yield was seven tomatoes, making the cost of each tomato about $73 when you figure in the charge for water. Did anyone else have a disastrous tomato crop?
Just 26 days until the big day. Hope you are working on your costume.
Mouf, Roving Reporter
Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda
Mouf and his human companion can be reached via [email protected]. Their stories are collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jeff-Cambra/. All photos and videos by Jeff Cambra.
