Columns

Ongoing through 2012 – Healdsburg Senior Writing Project, Senior Center, every Tuesday 10 a.m. to noon. Call 431-3324 to register.

Busy season

One of my favorite summer reads was “Wild,” by Cheryl Strayed which I got from my neighbor, Sally, a dedicated backpacker, who got it from her cousin Caroline who lives on Orcas Island and is an avid hiker. I’m no endurance outdoors woman but I do share Sally’s, and apparently her cousin’s, tastes in books and was indeed fascinated by “Wild’s” fearless trekker.

Look back — Go forward

Public School Success Team (PSST) is looking for tutors and volunteers. Please contact them at 473-0902 or email [email protected].

Last night, a lone coyote howled nearby under the new moon. His compadres in the hills called in reply. We often hear packs yipping in the distance, but this one coyote was fifty feet from my open window. At first, I was alarmed; Our DNA is set to fear for our safety when we hear wild creatures in the dark. As I once heard Doris Lessing say, we still have more fear of the saber-toothed tiger, than we have fear of driving on the freeway, because millions of years of evolution trump recent evolution. My next thought was of the small flock of chickens and the goat duo that we lock up every night at sunset; Fort Clucks requires a daily ritual of locking doors with numerous snap hooks and carabiners, one for each door, a total of nine.

Feast for the intellect and  the Senses: The Italian odyssey in Sonoma County

Squirrels are chirruping and elbowing each other out of the way to grab loose acorns. Send your autumnal items to “IDlewood 3…” - your “who, what, where” column. “Hedda Healdsburg” wants to know all!      

I have 178 connections on LinkedIn. I have no idea if that’s a lot or a little, since I didn’t initiate any of them and I never use it. LinkedIn is an online social networking site, where professionals go to, well ... network, I guess. A fellow writer talked me into signing up a couple of years ago, telling me it would be good for business. I filled in a few innocuous facts about myself and immediately began to get requests from other LinkedIn people who wanted to “connect” with me.

Friends of the Healdsburg Library are always seeking book donations for the three book sales they hold yearly. Books, videos, CDs can be left at the library.