Birds & the Bees
Can you believe that we are already halfway through June and that means we are also halfway through 2024? Where did the last three and a half years go!
I made some interesting observations on my walks this week, which led me to the headline for this report. First up was the turkey mom with her four chicks hanging out at the Meyers House and Garden. I couldn’t get too close, because that mother was keeping an evil eye on me when I walked by. It was weird.
A quick note about the Meyers House. It is a great place to go if you want to see how Alamedans lived in the early 20th Century. I did a brief report way back in July of 2022 and I am probably due for another visit. I might try to sneak inside—there is a back door entrance. You can get a full description of the house and its contents by going to the Alameda Museum’s website.
Thursday, I was on Santa Clara Avenue just hangin’ out and smellin’ flowers when I saw these two bees competing for the same flower to pollinate. With hundreds of flowers in this yard, I couldn’t figure out what was so special about this one particular blossom. Don’t understand why she couldn’t just “let it bee.”
My human companion insisted that I include images of a flower, a tree, and the moon in this week’s column. All he would say is that it’s something about a song from an ancient civilization sung by Jewel Akens.
It wasn’t worth arguing over, so I got a picture of an interesting orange flower and decided to pass on the tree and the moon shots. Hope he gets over it before my afternoon snack.
I took another stroll down Park Street to see how the parking scofflaws were making out. Looks like the City folks are getting serious about discouraging parking in the bike lane. Public Works installed these zebra-striped bumps. Judging by the design, I am predicting these barriers will do very little to stop folks from parking because, “I will only be a second.”
Check out this picture of the parent with their child in the carrier who not only had to detour into the traffic lane because of all the “I will only be a second” folks but had to also navigate around the car whose butt end was sticking out into the traffic lane.
On the “glass half full” side of this problem are the new bike parking spots on Park Street in front of the Starbucks. These were originally located around the corner on Central Avenue.
While checking out the parking situation on Park Street, I walked all the way up to Blanding Avenue to check out Coffee Cultures for one of their puppuccinos. This place has a great sheltered outdoor seating area and some unusual coffee and tea drinks in addition to the standards. It is worth making a stop. The puppuccino had little dog bone treats on top of the whipped cream, a really nice touch. They offer other amenities including a stainless-steel dog bowl filled with fresh water and some plants along the wall for smelling and other activities.
Our contractor folks did a small job for another client this past week while and took a break from the ongoing Great Deck Project. So, this week, the wood for the posts and decking was delivered. My human companion has been waiting fifteen years to get this deck built. He said that if a small job came up that they should take it. What’s a few more days when it’s been fifteen years in the making?
I could not believe the cost of the kiln dried clear heart redwood when he told me the price. He could have bought a car for about the same price. Yikes! I am sure it will be worth it when he hosts my belated Gotcha Day party that I have been planning… hint, hint.
Finally, I am wondering if anyone can use some big plastic serving trays and aluminum containers with lids. If you email my human companion at [email protected], you can arrange to pick them up. First come, first served.
This Thursday marks the beginning of Summer here on the Isle of Style, which means it will be cold, foggy, and miserable in the mornings according to my human companion. Look for the guy wearing a big old hoodie, a furry hat with flaps, and ski gloves—being pulled by a handsome German Shepard mix who is scanning for squirrels, cats, and other dogs. Also, the days start to get shorter beginning Friday.
Thanks to my human companion for the treat.
Have a great week.
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 by Jeff Cambra.
