Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda for July 16, 2023
Tuesday midmorning, while I was out for what my human companion (hc) calls his “get away from the computer screen” walk, I saw something hella big scurry up a utility pole. I bolted towards the pole dragging him behind me while he kept yelling “Heel,” “Heel,” “Heel.” Not a chance. I was on a mission.
As I approached the pole, I saw a human about thirty feet up. Full stop. I was totally confused. Where did the mammoth squirrel go, why is this worker on the pole, and where is the bucket lift that these guys usually use?

There was a lot of activity at my house this week. In preparation for the second part of the new fence installation, we had to have a tree stump taken out so the new fence could go in a straight line. Tree stump grinding is awesome. What an amazing invention. Check out the video.
While the stump was being removed, my hc was digging out the last of the blackberry shoots and some of the hundreds of shoots that popped up just after we cut down the tree. He also found the big chunk of concrete that was used to hold the old fence post in place. I took the opportunity to check out the tomato plants that my friends Stefani and Joe are tending. The tomatoes will go to the Alameda Food Bank starting in August.
In other gardening misadventures, my hc had a bunch of clay pots that did not come with any drain holes. While the grinding was going on, he was drilling holes in these clay pots. It took a long time and fortunately none of them broke.
Does anyone know what’s going on at the Islam Center at the corner of Ninth Street and Santa Clara Avenue? Someone took it down to the studs, revealing a former use of the building as a cleaner.
This would not be a comprehensive report without some coverage of the Encinal 2.0 repaving project. This past week, a crew was removing some of the brand new asphalt and installing rings to hold the manhole covers.

Then they brought in some more asphalt and patched the area. They used a piece of equipment that looked like a lawnmower but without the blades.
A different crew came in and set out the lines for painting the street with crosswalks, turn arrows, and other striping that I could not figure out. Maybe the street will get painted next week.
I think I was on Santa Clara Avenue around Lafayette Street when I found a great little mini art gallery. Pick up a piece and leave a piece. Great idea.
I will close out this week’s report with a funny card I found while my hc was in CVS picking up meds for his mom.
That’s about it for this week’s report. I plan on exploring a few more of the city’s parks. Until then, this is Mouf wishing you a great week ahead.
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.