Bird’s Eye View (Aug 5, 2015)

Greetings one and all. Are you are sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin.

Public Service Announcements. (Lots of them this week.)

#712. This coming Saturday, August 8, Guitar Shorty returns to the Navarro General Store. Opening acts begin at 3.30pm with The Mighty T-Bones, followed by The Thorn Petals at 5pm. Shorty goes on at 6pm while the bbq featuring grill master Guy Kephart will be going all day long. Sounds like a classic Deep End Day.

#713. The 37th Annual Wine Competition Awards Ceremony and Dinner is this Friday, August 7 at the Boonville Fairgrounds Redwood Grove at 6:30pm. The competition is open to any wineries whose grapes were grown in Mendocino County and awards will be presented in 21 categories. This year’s dinner features Chef Janelle Weaver who will be opening The Bewildered Pig restaurant at The Floodgate sometime soon apparently. Tickets: $60.

#714. That same evening, August 7, is the First Friday Film Club’s next presentation at The Grange. Social hour begins at 6pm, (please bring a snack), films start at 7pm. No admission charge. The first is a locally made 2014 short documentary called “Fish-friendly Wine” followed by 2015’s “The Russian River,” an award-winning documentary movie about the value of an American watershed.

#715. The 15th annual Boonville Aviation Knowledge and Folklore Convention. aka “Airport Day,” is this Saturday, August 8. Festivities begin at Noon. If you are staying for dinner at 5pm please bring a pot for the potluck; drinks provided. Corner of Estate Drive and Airport Road at the Boonville Airport — a free fun day about mostly small, old airplanes. For safety concerns all dogs must be leashed. Further info: Cindy or Kirk at 707/895-2949.

#716. The AV Grange’s second Sunday Pancake Breakfast is August 9 from 8:30-11am. Prices from $5-$10. Kids through hungry folks— a delicious, locally-sourced breakfast. Choices include pancakes (gluten free available; gluten extra is not. Somewhat discriminatory one has to say), eggs, and bacon, with a choice of juice, tea or coffee included.

#717. No second Wednesday drumming circles at The Grange until October.

#718. The Vets from the Mendocino Animal Hospital will visit the Valley twice this month: back-to-back Thursdays on August 13 and 20 at the usual 2pm-3.30pm, at the AV Farm Supply on Highway 128, north of Philo.

#719. A special Senior Center benefit will be held Saturday August 15: the annual Summer Roasted Pig Luau. Happy Hour at 5pm — dinner at 6pm. Featuring Molokai Shrimp salad, Roasted Pig, Potato and macaroni salad, Asian slaw, and Pineapple Upside Down cake. Mai Tais and Strawberry daiquiris plus local beer and wines available. Tickets are pre-sale only for $35, includes dinner and a complimentary drink plus your donation to the Senior Center. Buy them at the Center, Rossi’s Hardware, Lemons Market, or the AV Market.

#720. The Bookmobile returns to the Valley on Tuesday, August 11. They are here on alternate Tuesdays for 45 minutes at: Navarro Store 9am (for 30 minutes); the Floodgate 12.30pm; Philo 1.30pm; Boonville (Apple Hall) 2.30pm. Phone 463-4694 for further details.

#721. The AV Museum is open every Saturday and Sunday, from 1-4pm in The Little Red Schoolhouse next to the Elementary School on AV Way, a perfect thing to do in the Valley when you have a couple of hours spare on a weekend afternoon. Generally regarded as “The Best Little Museum in the West.”

#722. An early heads-up for the next Lions Club fundraising bbq at the Fairgrounds in Boonville on Sunday, August 23 from 4pm-7pm, a benefit the AV Volunteer Ambulance.

Here is the menu for the Community lunches and dinners next week at the Senior Center at the Vets Building in Boonville. The Center asks for a $6 donation from seniors for lunches and dinners and $7 for Non-seniors for lunches and $8 for the dinners. Tomorrow, Thursday, August 6, the lunch, served by Marti Titus and her crew at Noon, will be Chicken Curry, Brown Rice, with Raspberry Whip for dessert. Then, next Tuesday evening, August 11 at 6pm, the dinner will feature Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Cream Cake for dessert. Second Tuesday dinner, so Bingo will follow at 7pm. All meals include vegetables, salad bar and fruit, plus milk, coffee, tea, and lemonade. What a deal! The best $7 or $8 you’ll spend all week! Hopefully you will be able to attend, and remember. ALL ages welcome! Hope to see you there.

Topics and Valley events this week at The Three-Dot Lounge— “Moans, Groans, Good Thoughts, and Rampant (yet surprisingly reliable) Rumors” from my favorite gathering place in the Valley.

…In today’s world, it seems that we all know too much about each other. Social media has some benefits certainly, but in terms of human development and interaction it’s dumbing us all down, in my humble opinion of course. Do we really need to be constantly reminded what a fantastic time someone is having while eating a ham sandwich?

…At the end of a largely unintelligible conversation with an AT&T customer service representative sitting in an office somewhere in India, I found it somewhat obnoxious of the man/woman (difficult to tell) to advise me not to text and drive.

…Why do so many young people have so little time for their grandparents? Of course there are exceptions, but a large section of the next generation choose not to take advantage of an often wonderful source of advice and wisdom. In so many cases they are missing out on some valuable “stuff” and it appears to me that many of them can ill afford to do so given what they apparently do seem to value as important and useful.

… good thoughts and reliable rumors. Hummingbird joined the regulars at the Three-Dot to share with us what a lovely time was had by all at the pre-wedding bbq and pond party up on Gschwend Road in anticipation of the special day for Jesse Smith, the younger of Val and Tom Smith’s two sons, and his new wife Katie. Of the many positive things she had to say about the event, one that stood out to me was that Tom, who tragically died following a car accident with a drunk driver in 2010, would have been very proud of his family and the hospitality they provided for many family and friends. We still miss you around here, Tom.

... Several folks talked in similarly glowing terms of the memorial for Hayes Brennan held on Sunday afternoon at the grassy area behind the main hall at The Fairgrounds. Like Tom Smith through his involvement with school sports and the Variety Show, Hayes was a major contributor to the Valley community during his almost 40 years here in which, apart from teaching at the Bachmann School, he was a volunteer driver for the AV Ambulance service, served on the Elder Home Board for ten years; was on the Health Center Board, and was a docent at the AV Museum and a board member of the AV Historical Society. His “send-off” at the weekend was a well-attended gathering by the many people upon whom he made such a positive impact. Good to know you, Hayes. have fun with the Pomo’s.

Well now I think it’s time to take my leave. Besides I’ve got see a man about a sheep. So, “take me drunk, I’m home” and until we talk again, please “Keep the Faith’; be careful out there; stay out of the ditches; think good thoughts; be wary of strangers with more dogs than teeth; please remember to keep your windows cracked if you have pets in your vehicle; and may your god go with you. Oh, and of course, one final request, “Let us prey.” Sometimes poking, often stroking, but almost always humbly yours, Turkey Vulture. thinking you should know that we Turkey Vultures are monogamous and mate for life and sometimes, to prove our loyalty, we like to indulge in an “erotic” display dance on our nesting grounds. Stop by some time.

p.s. You can contact me with words of support/abuse either through the Letters Page or by e-mail at <turkeyvulture9@gmail.com>

p.p.s. Missing the Venerable Pheasant everyday. On the sheep, Grace. Keep on humming, Hummingbird.