CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DAY

Today is just lovely. There are clear blue skies, a light breeze, and it is in the mid 70's. The windows and doors are open and all you hear are the birds. Doesn't that sound like something the Chamber of Commerce would put out? For the moment it is the truth.

Any second the quiet will be shattered by our neighbors' dogs and chickens. The dogs bark most of the day, and when one starts the other one has to challenge it. And then there are the chickens. They cluck all day long. (I have checked Oakland's laws, hens but not roosters are legal, as long as they are 20 feet from a residence.) This was bad enough in the winter with the house closed up. But now with the windows and doors open, the noise is going to be bad all summer long.

We had a dog who was a big time barker. Duke would run the yard/patio yipping and barking all the time. So we put a bark collar on him. It made a big difference and he barked a lot less. Dogs bark, and we live very close together in the city. So you have to be tolerant. That said, I don't think I have to hear the barking and clucking 10 to 12 hours a day.

Marty and I are thinking about buying a couple of bark collars and giving them to the neighbors. As for the chickens, all I can hope for is a fox (yes we have them in the neighborhood) or raccoon to get in the chicken house.