Blow Winds and Crack your Cheeks...

Raved crazy old King Lear as he pranced about naked on the moors, baring his soul and skin to the "hurricanoes"(but then Lear had three daughters). This morning the wind whips across the Valley, lingering a bit on the hills to the west and then rushing full tilt across the flatlands. Ranting is on my mind, and I can rant as well as any crazy old King--and with only one daughter, too. But then just as a horse likes a good startle, I welcome a good rant.The DOT's turn lane project on SR 203 at Tualco and N. High Rock Roads, five years in the planning (or procrastinating) is underway. A couple of days ago we heard a gentle "tap, tapping" across the road, opened the shades and were blinded by a day-glo orange fence that stretches two or three hundred yards north along the shoulder of the east side of the highway, the harbinger of construction noise, road delays and general aggravation from now until October. This mockery to the eye (the color alone is enough to deter litter; couldn't they have used "camoflage" to accomplish the same objective?) is called a "silt fence" and purports to keep construction debris from sensitive areas (the slough east of the road is designated "wetlands," a word loaded with all sorts of environmental implications and impediments). I wonder at its effectiveness. This morning's gusts have blown down a couple sections already, and if the fence can't even keep out the Valley's zephyrs, it won't stand a chance against a chunk of asphalt.

Looks like, too, that construction may very well be round the clock. We could be sleepless in the Valley for eight months.You might want to call the number on the garish sign posted by the horse paddocks to see if you'll need earplugs and blinders to get some shut-eye come summer nights.

Road construction of any kind is so commonplace that it's hardly news, but when it occurs almost in your front yard and creates a disruption on par with the Great Valley Flood of '06, it warrants mention. Besides, for Gladys and me this highway project is certain to hinder access to the Valley. And it will be a frustration to the Valley folk who leave and return here during the day. This is big news. And I shall report it. Just don't expect a non-biased reporting. There's nothing objective about a rant.

(Note: maybe nocturnal peace and quiet will be ours after all. The sign above is NOT the one posted earlier in the week. I am certain it read "call about night work.") Print this post