Main Street

Irritations
As you drive north on Highway 101, just before the main Windsor exit, you encounter an expensive electronic message board dangling out over the highway, installed by Caltrans in the last few months, apparently to admonish us for various perceived infractions. It’s irritating to see our state funds being spent this way, especially when the current message on the sign advises motorists to be careful in highway construction zones. Of course, there are no highway construction zones in the area north of the sign. We’re being scolded for nothing.
Mourning doves are also quite irritating. A pair moved into my neighborhood a couple of years ago. They’re pretty things, a soft creamy color, but I can’t stand the sounds they make. The plaintive oo-oo sound is considered sad by some, but it just gets on my nerves. Even worse, they have a sort of recognition call that they use when one flies back from wherever it’s gone (presumably annoying someone else). The call is a gaspy, raspy, chokey wheeze that makes me want to ask, “Did you get any of that on you?” The doves’ biggest offense is that they displaced the mockingbirds, who sang their hearts out in the morning and thrilled with their endless variety. According to Wikipedia, mourning doves are a popular game bird. I wish someone would demonstrate that on the electric pole outside my bedroom, where they coo and gasp day and night.
Do you live in town? Were you irritated by your latest utility bill? Ours went up a whopping 20 percent, and according to our water bill, we used 5,236 gallons of water in May, then used 9,725 gallons in June. I only adjusted the drip irrigation by 5 minutes in that time period, so I guess I have to go crawl around and look for leaks. The meter couldn’t be wrong, could it? I did check with the city on this, and a summer rate increase coincided with hotter weather. Apparently lots of folks got the utility rate surprise we did.
A Healdsburg couple had a major irritation recently. They spent weeks organizing their late father’s home for an estate sale, only to show up the morning of the sale and find that an enterprising burglar had heard about the sale and cleaned them out the night before. The creep and an accomplice opened the garage door of the house, backed a truck into the garage, closed the door and loaded it with furniture and household goods.
After the initial shock, the couple sold what was left, spoke to the police, then took matters into their own hands. They drove to Sebastopol and found their stuff for sale in a flea market and a local “antique” shop. Working with the Healdsburg Police, they were able to recover a few things and identify the bad guys, who were found and arrested. The creeps apparently do this all the time and are known to the semi-scrupulous shop owners who buy from them.
Our couple is taking it in stride. They’re complimentary of the local cops for their thoroughness and the police are appreciative that they were able to work together. Plus, they now have an idea for a reality television show where they advertise estate sales, then lie in wait for burglars and surprise them with a video camera. “Estate Bait” is the working title.
Not at all irritating is the news from CASA. The Construction And Sustainability Academy at Healdsburg High is about to begin its third year of offering hands-on experience to curious and motivated students. The big idea this year is to build a house. Working with Tumbleweed Homes, the national leader in the tiny house movement, our advanced CASA cohort will build a self-contained, fully functional, 89-square-foot house on a trailer. The house will have a porch, a sleeping loft that holds a queen-sized bed, a tiny gourmet kitchen and even a bathroom with a shower. It’s a terrific project that the whole community can enjoy when we haul it around town next spring to show it off.
The John Jordan Foundation is the primary supporter of our tiny house project, and gave us a generous grant that we are matching with support from the community.
Ray Holley would love to tell you all about how to support the tiny house. He can be reached at ra*******@gm***.com.