No, not here in Redding, but in the high country all around us, frost and freeze warnings abound. Temperatures are expected to drop to 30 or so tonight in Burney and Mount Shasta. Protect your plants and pets!
In the valley, it looks like one of those weeks when people call in “sick” a lot. Highs in the 80s, sunny skies, light breezes. Frisbee weather. Sacramento River Trail weather.
Starting to see some fall color around town, too. My “signal trees” for autumn are some sweet gums that grow along South Market Street near where it curves under the railroad tracks. They’ve all started to turn red.
- Nothing says “October” like pumpkins, and Vintner’s Cellar is sponsoring a pumpkin-carving competition for Saturday’s ArtHop. Pumpkins must be delivered on Friday. Winners will be chosen by ArtHop visitors on Saturday night. Rules and details here. For info on other ArtHop events, click here.
- In Shasta County, this is Mental Illness Awareness Week, when the public is educated about what the mentally ill and their families go through, and what resources are available to help. A bunch of events are scheduled, including a lunchtime banquet on Wednesday, free mental health screenings on Thursday and an ice cream social on Saturday. For details, click here.
- Monday Morning QB: Niners rock. Steelers rock. Saints (?) rock. Raiders suck. (Sorry, Phil.) Big matchup tonight when Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings take on Favre’s former team, the Green Bay Packers. I plan to not even blink for three hours.
- Movies, Movies Movies: We’ve watched a lot of DVDs at our house lately, squeezing them in between football games. “I Love You, Man” was a very silly comedy, and whether you’d like it depends entirely upon how much you enjoy the deadpan delivery of Paul Rudd. We found it hilarious. “Sin Nombre” is a terrific movie about a Central American gang-banger who flees trouble by joining the scores of illegal immigrants riding northward on top of a train. “Nothing But the Truth” is a Washington journalism drama that looks very much like the Valerie Plame CIA case. I saw the movie’s “big surprise” coming in the first five minutes, but Alan Alda delivers a nice performance as journalist Kate Beckinsale’s attorney.
Tips appreciated: Send news tidbits to steveb.anewscafe@gmail.com.
