Ramble 8: Christmas lightings and bird sightings

It had been a good, if cold, day out on the shore. Sergei had managed to talk a very cold Marge into “just one more ramble” along what was once Sunny Cove to review what birds were about. They knew at least two male Black Crowned Night Herons frequent the area but they did not expect to see either.

But there one of them was. Actually, the cold and the wind had the bird so fluffed up that, at first, it wasn’t easy to identify the heron. This photograph proves it.
(Editorial correction: Sergei says, "NOT a black crowned night heron-- it's a great blue heron.  Marge, you weren't listening to me." Oops, sorry Sergei. Thanks for paying attention!)
Then, Marge thought to press home that she’d been a good sport braving the cold for Sergei, and that surely he could do the same for her and find the street in Alameda that features the Christmas lights bonanza.  

“You are quite correct, Sergei, that we could be on a wild goose chase since I don’t remember the street name. But, today we unexpectedly found and photographed that gorgeous thought to be a Night Heron but actually a Great Blue Heron. I’m sure that luck is still with us and if you just drive down Fernside Avenue we’ll find that street.”.

Yes, driving again. Marge and Sergei would much rather be known as ramblers who bicycle as backup than as the “cold weather weenies” who drive when the going gets cold. For, indeed, when the temperature drops 50 and below they bundle up and opt for driving their less-than-a-la-mode vehicle. This night, one of the coldest so far this winter, certainly fit the bill. Then, since they were driving and they needed to feel less guilty about that and they also wanted to have a handy excuse if they ran into any of their more fervently dedicated anti-fossil-fuel politically correct friends, they also dropped into Daiko $1.50 store for last minute holiday gifts then into Trader Joe’s for a few grocery necessities (including their favorite dark chocolate treats: Lacey Cookies. Yum! Nothing like a Lacey in-hand when on a potentially frustrating hunt to view Christmas lights).

Fernside was the correct route for Sergei cried, “This must be it, Marge! You were right, as usual: I am glad you talked me into this extravaganza. (Also be sure to read to the end of this post to see another extravaganza, this one in Texas - with 32,000 lights sync'd to music.)

As “they” say, a picture speaks a thousand words and we’ll let these photographs give a good sense of Thompson Avenue during the holidays. 

A sign reads:  

Welcome to Christmas Tree Lane

Median tree lighting provided by:

The residents of Thompson Avenue,
Alameda Municipal Power

And your donations*

(To donate, please visit Santa’s Mailbox)


Over the top...or just right?

And, to stimulate further Christmas Lights creativity - or not -  here is a link to another Christmas Light Extravagance ...in Texas. Well, Houston area's League City to be exact. The house uses approximately 32,000 lights and over 5,500 feet of extension cord with lights sync'd to music and owners' explanation on 107.1 FM on the radio dial. It also has its own song! [listen with our embedded link] They control lights using computer software (Light-O-Rama) and144 separate channels.  Each song is individually programmed to the lights on the house.

With this much electricity on the ground, they can't operate if it is raining or if the ground is wet.

Check it out: Halina and Frank Rossi welcome you....