Let There Be Light
In a harbor, there are stanchions with lights on them - one side of the harbor is red, one side is green– the lights guide the boats in and out of the harbor. From time to time the stanchions need to be replaced, either from old age or if a sea captain gets a bit wayward and knocks them over or down. Jeff Thompson from CS Marine came in several weeks ago to talk with me about finding lodging for the crews that would be replacing the stanchions. One bright sunny – semi smoke filled morning- in floated a huge tug guiding a crane with a 120’ boom. Boy that’s tall!
Truckers from Pio Trucking trucked in the 50’ long poles that would be used for the stanchions. They also trucked in the aluminum cages that hold the signal lights. The poles are 18” in diameter, and 3/8” steel. They are welded into one pole from 3 sections. The poles weigh about 4,000 pounds each, the cage weigh 600 pounds and are constructed of welded ½” aluminum. The poles have a good 30 year shelf life.
The project took about a week to complete and cost $30 - 40,000. The Coast Guard determines which stanchions need to be replaced, they contact marine firms for bids, and the marine firm brings in the crews to replace the poles. The poles are lifted into place by the crane, and then from the barge gently vibrated into the muck of the bay 30 feet down. 20’ of the pole remains in the air. The vibration method is used to place the pole as it’s quieter and less disruptive to the sea life.
The cages are placed on top of the pole. The marine crew also places the cage on the pole. The wiring and lights are completed by the Coast Guard ANT crew. The function of this crew is to do all the electrical wiring.
A Quiet Refuge in Bodega Bay
I often forget that just a few hundred feet away there’s one of the most beautiful gardens in Bodega Bay. Compass Rose Gardens, on East Shore Road and Bay Flat Rd. This is a private garden created by Donna Cook Freeman in honor of her mother. I found this delightful garden when we first moved to Bodega Bay about 7 years ago.
Since then the trees and plants have more than grown and are beautiful. What’s in bloom depends on the time of the year. This year the one rhododendron was in its glory. Blooms abound. The public is welcome to visit if no event is going on, the gate is open and the small black truck is out in front. Please be sure to find Clarence, Donna’s husband. He can be found tending the garden. If you don’t let him know you’re in the garden, he’s been known to decide to go home, and whoops – lock the gate leaving visitors inside side.
Looking around, in every nook and cranny, there’s a bird house. Tradition is that when a couple gets married in the Gardens, they leave a bird house. Some are simple gourds made into bird houses, some are quite elaborate bird mansions. As of count there appears to be over 98 hanging and about a dozen more to be lifted into the branches of trees. There’s also chairs here and there for those quiet moments.
Fourth – Fly In
Weekend of the 4th of July not only did we have fireworks over the bay – which were unfortunately this year hard to see due to the ever present summer night fog, but Tippy Hedren star of the move The Birds, came into spend the weekend at the Tides Wharf – signing autographs or pictures. She comes to Bodega Bay once a year to raise money for her wildlife refuge Shaballa - down in the LA area. Hundreds of people must have “flocked” to meet and greet her, as she raised over $15,000 for her preserve. Check with us next year if you’re interested in meeting with Tippi. The movie must be popular, as over 8,000 people a year come to the visitors center just to find all the “spots”. 
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