Deer Demolition Derby

Deer Demolition Derby? Having citizens bringing in injured wildlife was and continues to be a daily occurrence at the Peninsula Humane Society but sometimes good intentions will get your car destroyed. Case in point, and well meaning woman came across a injured mature deer laying in the roadway, and with assistance from some passing motorists they loaded the animal in the back of her new Volvo station wagon and she transported it to our doorstep. Having survived so far through the Baptism of Fire and the in's and out's of Murphy's Law this situation didn't look good to me and it was about to get worse. Now I love wildlife, birds and fish and bears and skunks, heck, I grew up on Disney and prior to working with the agency I try to talk to the animals through my mind? but it didn't work at least not like it did in the movies or on TV like Gentle Ben and Flipper? So while preparing my tranquilizing gear to ensure a safe removal Bambie woke up and wasn't pleased with her new surroundings. With the vehicle still running and the drivers door opened first thing to go was the rear window followed by the right passengers window as well along with the front windshield. My good Samaritan kept screaming, "What the Beep, What the Beep, What the Beep" and I couldn't agree with her more especially when the disorientated deer kicked the car into drive causing it to jump the curb and come to a complete stop with the help of a eucalyptus tree. During all this commotion the deer disappeared behind the backseat allowing me a perfect shot to the hindquarters and at the same time I turned off the car engine and handed the owner the keys. Her eyes bulged in disbelief and her face was cherry red with veins popping out in several directions. She was on her perhaps fortieth what the beep but you could hardly hear her because I think the poor thing strained her voice. The deer would take approximately five minute to start responding to the tranquilizer so we covered the vehicle with blankets and sat the woman in the front office lobby while someone called her husband. Her eye's were now fixed and empty and she started to mumble something like, " new car, insurance won't cover this, husband, kill, why? am I dreaming, please". I was more concerned for her than the deer at this point who was removed and quickly seen by our veterinarian and wildlife staff. Well the Fire Department arrived as well as the Police and just after the car was towed the woman's husband showed up to picked her up. Zombie like he lead her out of the building to an awaiting car and as they drove off all I could see was him shaking his head violently until they drove out of sight and I don't think he ever said a word. The good news was the deer recovered and showed no signs of internal or external injuries or any additional trauma which resulted in a return to the wild that very same day. I didn't have the heart to notify that woman of the outcome believing somethings should remain unspoken?

Iguana Sitter

 Wanted Iguana Sitter or Iguana B.B Que? Some of the most colorful characters I've ever met were one such couple who at one time managed an apartment building right next to my house. Bill and Barbara were an odd couple to say the least and they lived in a tiny studio apartment rent free in return for managing the building. Barbara was a tall gal with board shoulders and tree trunks for legs she towered over her husband Bill who liked drinking a lot more then working. Barbara wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but she had a heart of gold and a soul just as bright and the things in life that she really cared about mattered. One afternoon I noticed Bill staggering out in front of my house and holding up a sign as cars passed by? It was until he fell down on my front lawn that I was able to read the sign, " Broke and Drunk, Wife refuses more money, Will work of Booze". Out of nowhere Barbara appeared, she scooped up Bill like a fumbled football and neatly tucked him under her arm, within seconds I heard their front door slam and Barbara's voice, "Your drunk Bill, again"? Barbara and Bill were childless but the love of Barbara's life was her pet Iguana named, "Twinkles". Barbara would parade around the apartment building with "Twinkles" draped over her shoulders dressed up in doll clothes and every time "Twinkles" laid a egg Barbara threw a party with cake and ice cream. One day Barbara called out to me from over the fence and mentioned she and her husband would be out of town for a week and would I be interested in babysitting "Twinkles". During our conversation I noticed Barbara was holding a raw steak in her hand so I assumed she was in the middle of preparing dinner but before I could answer she took a huge bite out of the center of that 2 inch thick cut of beef sort of Bob St. Clair style. Taking another bite she looked at me and said, "I never did learn to cook"? I told Barbara that unfortunately Catherine and I would be leaving for New Mexico at the same time so I suggested she asked our other neighbors or perhaps place an add in the newspaper. Barbara told me there just wasn't any time left so I suggested posting a sign in front of the building. Barbara took another bite of the half eaten T-bone and grunted something like, "sounds good". Well her first attempt at sign making was questionable with a painted caricature of "Twinkles" that looked like a cross between Big Bird and Godzilla on a large piece of cardboard. There were a few misspelled words but it read, " Wanted, Iguana Sitter, $2.50 per hour.  I helped Barbara clean up the sign some and together we made the portrait of "Twinkles" more respectable. Barbara seemed pleased and she stood proudly in front of my house holding it up to every car that passed until the sun went down. Overnight I began to think about my travels in Mexico and their native wildlife. I didn't have the heart to tell Barbara that Iguana's are eaten in that country and many times you would see several tied up at the market place for someone's dinner. The next morning my fears came true when I heard a bloodcurdling scream that sounded like Barbara. "No, no, no", she yelled, "Bill, they want to eat "Twinkles".? Apparently a car had stopped for Barbara's sign, however; due to a language barrier the interested motorist thought "Twinkles" was for sale and at $2.50 cents a steal. Barbara yelled at the stopped motorist," Get out of here, Iguana's are for loving not eating". I'm happy to say all is well with Barbara, Bill and "Twinkles", they won a lottery for a new apartment complex through affordable housing and I understand "Twinkles" has a large sun room all to herself.

Roosters in Daly City?

 There's something afoul here? Discharging a firearm withing the city limits is against the law and Daly City is no exception. I was investigating a case regarding a dispute between two neighbors over a crowing rooster in a seedy part of the city. Maybe it's the constant fog or the on again off again light drizzle of rain with some periods of sunlight that irritates folks but it can be at times depressing. Now my compliant a thirty something guy just new to the neighborhood took issue over a elderly woman who lived next door and owned two chickens and a rooster. To make matters worse my thirty something's balcony overlooked my poultry owners yard and it was alleged he was taking pot shots at the foul with a high powered air rifle. Nothing ever good comes out of bypassing the law and settling the situation your own way and hopefully my intervention into this matter could be abated without any bloodshed. I met with my thirty something first, however; you only get one try at a first impression and smelling like beer and weed with some white powdery residue around your nostrils is not a character builder? He said the habitual crowing throughout the night was annoying and swore up and down he never shot at anything? My rooster owner lived on one of the few remaining large parcels of land still in the city. The property was surrounded by large cypress tree's and the residence was a small cottage located in the middle of the property. As I approached the house two hens ran by and before I could knock the front door opened.  The owner was a sweet grandmother type with long gray hair covered with a bandana and she was neatly dressed and the house was tidy and well kept. I asked her if she owned a rooster and told her they weren't allowed within the city limits. She replied she didn't any longer and told me she give it away just recently to friends that own a farm. I was just getting ready to leave when suddenly a rooster began to crow from inside the house. Grandma's face flushed red and her blue robin's egg colored eye's welled up with tears, she quickly went into another room and returned holding a large red rooster with a bandaged wing. "I think he'll make it", she said,' but he just needs a little rest'. She told me, 'I was born in this house and never left it even with all the new houses going up all around me'. I told her not to worry and I'll check with the city planning department for a possible exemption. I recontacted my thirty something with a update and advised him his elderly neighbors son who resides on the bench as a superior court judge for North San Mateo County would like to speak with him to resolve the matter. My thirty something's face began to contort and he stood somewhat frozen like he just stepped in a very large cow patty? "I'd like to drop my complaint", he said, "I'm moving anyway", and silently crawled back into his house like a crosseyed sewer rat. Well, weeks past without a word and somehow I never did contact the city planning department and while in the neighborhood on a unrelated detail I heard a rooster crowing coming from a property surrounded in numerous cypress trees. The skies were clear what day something unusual for Daly City at this time of year. So I look up, smiled and said to myself, today is going to be a good day!

Bacho #4

That evening the entire outpost was on full alert in preparation of an attack by the Apaches over the befriending of Bacho who was nowhere to be found. In all the commotion no one noticed that my father was missing from the stockade. I now shared the quarters with Captain Thompson and his wife and I overheard the Captain asking if my father had somehow escaped from the stockade. “It's unlikely Sir”, reported one of the soldiers who brought the troubling news. “And that's not all, Sir”, continued the soldier who opened his hand exposing the broken tip of a thin metal knife blade. “We found this wedged and broken off inside the padlock, Sir”. Captain Thompson turned away and said, “Bacho's handy work indeed”.  What little I know about the Apaches are they take great stock in their animals and some are almost revived as gods or magical spirits containing the souls of lost loved ones or parents. Captain Thompson turned to the soldier and said,” there's nothing we can do now for the poor bastard Taylor, he brought this upon himself and placed this entire post in danger”. Captain Thompson ordered a double guard around the post and asked his wife to fetch me from an enjoining room, he was unaware that I overheard everything. 

Before the Captain could mutter a word I told them what I had heard and almost felt a sense of relief that my father was probably dead. Mrs. Thompson took issue and confessed to me that no matter how bad a person was there was still some good left in them. I didn't know what to think or how to feel about anything presently and felt more concern for that motherless pup than my father who brought this upon himself. I knew what Apaches did to their enemies and the stories were gruesome but just a little part of me wanted my father back alive and unharmed. The Captain told me come morning he'd send a small scouting party to search for my father but we were short on men and supplies. Mrs. Thompson hugged me tight and said, “We'll find him young William and with God's will he'll be safe and sound”. I returned to my room and prayed, something my mother had always encouraged me to do, but it wasn't for my father. I slept very little that night and just before daybreak I heard a small party of soldiers ride out heading west but something inside me told me it wouldn't be good.

Sergeant Smith lead the men toward a rocky stretch of sandstone cliffs very near the cliff dwellings were the child's skull was discovered but with vultures circling overhead the men prepared themselves for the worst. It was there that my fathers body was found and as the men approached they dismounted and drew their sidearms. All around was silent except for the slapping sound of wing beats as several black vultures took flight to escape the approaching soldiers. My fathers body was stripped of his clothes and spread eagle fashion while tied down to some nearby Mexican mesquite. His head was missing as well as most of his innards but the strangest of all was the motherless pup, she was still alive and tied next to my fathers heart. Red fire ants covered the body like a blanket but none near the pup or her offering of meat. One of the soldiers quickly cut the pup free and offered her water from his canteen while other members of the scouting party scratched out a shallow grave and covered my fathers body with a thin sheet of sandstone just to keep the animals away for now. The men quickly returned to the post where I was handed a sack with something moving inside and it wasn't until much later when I was told the story of my fathers demise.

New House

 Redwood City - Back in time? Prior to purchasing my house almost 20 years ago the residence sat vacant for a couple of years, so considering the neighborhood I wasn't surprised to discover a young family with their elderly grandmother living in our potting shed? We had been forewarned by our real estate agent about the situation, however; circumstances dictated we move in immediately. In my youth I traveled through Mexico and saw many things I had never experienced before so I was somewhat prepared for this situation. The home next to mine was also vacant with a larger backyard allowing my tenant's access for their several goats and numerous chickens. The family was aware our new home had been listed on the market and had prepared to move out when that day came. Chickens in our kitchen was almost a daily occurrence and one evening I woke up in the middle of the night staring at one of their goat's chewing the local newspaper it found in our living-room, to this day I still can't figure out how it got in? One late morning after returning from the dump I noticed a very large congregation lined up in front of my house leading to the backyard. The mood was somber and my backyard family appeared very distraught. As I made my way through the crowd and livestock leading toward the  backyard I noticed a local catholic priest preforming a ceremony. Sometime overnight the elderly grandmother had died and was now being laid to rest in my future tomato patch. I'm pretty much open to a lot of things but I do draw the line regarding a cemetery in my backyard, at least nowadays. Well after numerous phone calls and some wrangling with the city grandma was removed and is now peacefully at rest in a local city cemetery. My new family got jobs at a nearby recycling center and found an apartment through the church. You know, I never did plant those tomatoes in that spot because from that day on I always felt it was sacred place.

Whales

 

Squirrels and Chipmunks

 

Small Mammal

 

Signs

 

Sea Lions

 

Scenery