I got that call you don’t want to hear at work. It’s a friend. “Hey, there’s a fire, and it looks like it may be near your house.” Sure enough, at about 11:30 and there’s a big fire in the north of Redding. You can get good coverage at Redding.com/scanners and listen to the workers and fire people. It looks like we are not in the path for now, but the wind is scary.
Looking southeast. Fire is a fact of life (and death) here, so is not to be treated lightly. I make sure the pets are rounded up and we are ready to go. I hope all others are safe. I hope no workers are injured. I always feel a little anxious, when I wake up to a windy day in late summer. This year the oak trees seem under distress everywhere, and are unusually brown for only August. They almost looks like they do in October.
Terrific local video – Where the Health is Peter?
This is a locally produced version of that wildly popular viral video seen on YouTube by zillions. I like it and thought I'd help spread it around as well. Thanks to the News Cafe for providing me the heads-up on it. There's a good story behind this and you can read it by clicking on the link to Food for Thought.
Peter Murphy is the lead, and is not related to me, as far as I know. We are apparently related in spirit however! Good job everyone.
$2500000 what a great deal bomb shelter (red bluff)
I love real estate. You never know what’s next. Who knew that you could get a bomb shelter in Red Bluff for only $2.5m?
Here’s the description:
approx 4,000 sq ft five flights of stairs below the surface of the earth, 2-generators 2-compressors air filtration system, hoist with approx two ton capasity, was built by federal government, 10 acres of land, decontamination room, well, septic, on top of mountain with awesome views of the valley. about 13 minutes from down town red bluff. hellecopter is not included. serious inquiries only.
Too bad about the ironically named “hellecopter.” Anyway, live through the apocalypse in the style to which you have become accustomed. Call me for more details.
So… it’s a poodle. Who knew?
New dog.
Farmers Market slideshow
I assembled my photographs of the Saturday market into a slideshow on Flickr. Check it out HERE.I love the color and sensual shapes of all the produce.
Went up to Seattle for a few days
And stopped at the Oregon Coast on the way back down. Nice to be out of the smoky skies we’ve had here. The most striking thing was to see a city where the economy continues to boom (think Microsoft and Boeing). Real Estate hasn’t really crashed there. The restaurants are all busy. It has a very different mood than home. Good to be back though. Erin took care of business here while I was away, and wanted me to replace my latest post about fleas with something else. Anything else. Well here’s a Seattle shot.
Fleas
Apparently, I spent much of my adult life sheltered from what must be a daily reality for some. I showed an inexpensive bank-owned house yesterday evening to a curious buyer. Among other issues, it was infested with fleas, a quick Google search for “pest control experts iowa” was so useful for this though. But up until the most recent housing cycle, I had never seen fleas swarm one’s ankles when walking into a home with wall to wall carpet. I am unfortunately familiar with that now. It is still disturbing to think that humans live this way, and maybe even unimaginable for most people until you see it with your own eyes. Imagine Redding summer heat and no electricity for so much as a vacuum cleaner.
Yesterday started me thinking about the health implications, so I browsed over to the CDC website.
Ever heard of Typhus? (2 kinds) Tapeworms? Flea-borne Rickettsiae? I was wondering about plague (Yersinia pestis, known in history as black death) but that’s not prominently mentioned. From the site, “flea-borne diseases could reemerge in epidemic form because of changes in vector-host ecology due to environmental and human behavior modification” and “economic factors, as well as changes in human behavior, have resulted in the emergence of new and the reemergence of existing but forgotten infectious diseases during the past 20 years.” Hmm. Anyway, here’s the website if you’re interested:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol3no3/azad.htm -and thanks to the CDC for the image seen above.
It’s quite a sight to behold, fleas leaping from carpet to your feet and legs with such swarming gusto. As I witness how annoying fleas can be for humans, imagine the discomfort these little pests can have on animals? This is why understanding the difference between frontline plus and frontline gold products, for example, could help with the discomfort that the fleas may bring to your pet. It may also be a preventative measure, which could be beneficial. Pets can be a big factor in bringing fleas into the home as the pests attach themselves to the pet’s fur. If you want to avoid bringing them into the home, you may want to consider an outdoor dog kennel, even if it is just while you treat the carpets.
Not all bank-owned properties have fleas. Its not that bad in the winter, but on a hot day, they have remarkable mobility. It doesn’t even startle me anymore. Maybe it should.
The one that still haunts me is the house in south Redding/north Anderson last year, where it was apparent that the evicted had been doing child day-care. I saw the home pre-eviction when there were kids there, and then a few days after they had left. Along with fleas were the largest rats I’d ever seen. That one was brutal. My sheltered life left behind.
Not my Starbucks
News that 600 Starbucks will be closed has recently been accompanied by articles of various towns rallying behind their favorite Starbucks to try and keep it open. When it was announced that this store on the corner of Cypress and Civic Center was being axed, no such outcry seems to have been heard.
There are loads of alternatives to this one if you really need that latte, some just a block away.
