Home, back to work and peacock feathers

Off to work this morning early... I had a Bay Area Historic House Museum meeting at the Pardee House in Oakland, and needed to go to work, check email and messages, and transcribe my notes for the meeting (I am the president of the group, and needed notes... The Secretary/Treasurer would be missing the meeting, on account of emergency family babysitting duties, so I was on my own) I arrived to find a peacock feather on my office steps... A reminder that this is molting season... Once peacocks hatch, the males lose their showy tail feathers... Their tails are all about sex, and with babies about, that is no longer an option, and the tail feathers fall out... I walked about, I found The Spot... And collected 20 some feathers... Returned to my office, transcribed my meeting notes, locked the office, and headed north towards the Pardee House in Oakland, collecting Barbara, my assistant along the way. The meeting went well, Pardee House  was fascinating, full of the families extensive collections... Collections made possible by the son's prominence as mayor of Oakland, and later governor of California...  I think it would be a difficult site to interpret... so many stories, so many artifacts.... Back to the office, trying to coordinate park and house programs and house tours... While Barbara is making up this weeks tickets, I walked over to the park office to pick up mail... Finding additional peacock feathers on the way, and on the way back... A bit later I again leave my office to check in with the acting lead ranger... He tells me that we have a visitor, a one time ranger in our park, a friend,  now in a different EBRPD location, here to pick up a truck and trailer... Walking over to see Paul, I find an additional peacock feather behind my office... Then find another 20 or so walking back...  All in all, a 50 feather day... The flower arraignments at Patterson house will benefit... My camps will have feathers for crafts...  Now home, checking my email, checking on the Fish fire... (80 % contained, likely any danger averted), reports on the accident, on the other hand are not good, the woman died at the hospital...   So far the local news agencies don't link the accident and fire, but logic suggests that two things occurring at the same time in the same place are likely not a coincidence.  I suspect a highway flare got away, or someone, stuck in the highway closure was smoking and might have discarded something, or a car in the backup may have pulled over, hot exhaust meeting dry grass...  So far CAL-Fire says the origin is "under investigation" Meantime, I am without my laptop... It's in the shop... It died late last week... The shop  says the hard drive died...  I have some back ups, but everything is saved... I am concerned... Meantime I am using an I-Pad... Later I will steal my old Vista laptop from my daughter, who adopted it rather than having her's repaired... I need Excel to work on Dad's estate... Dad may havee left the building, but the accounting goes on... Randy