End of Mosquito Huntin' Season
By Howard Williams
Last year, the Mosquito Abatement Courier season closely paralleled the baseball season in San Francisco. On Friday, October 30, 2010, we dropped our last packet of larvicide into a catch basin and three days later, the San Francisco Giants won their first World Series.
This year the injury plagued but gritty Giants were finally eliminated from the playoffs in September while our mosquito abatement season continued well into autumn.
As we approached the end of October, the team heard different dates for the finish of the season. In previous years the last Friday of October had marked the season's completion. And since 2008, that day had also been the last weekday of October. But this year the last weekday was Monday the 31st. So would we finish on Friday the 28th or Monday the 31st ? Or would we work into November ? That had happened before but it was rare.
On the 24th we learned that the season would go at least to the 31st.
In addition to being very strenuous, mosquito abatement courier work requires early rising. By the end of October, the sun is rising after 7 AM while we are still getting up before 6. This combination of waking in the dark and then working hard all day can be tough. The Old Veteran noticed this but so did the younger riders. As October continued, our productivity took a slight decline. Yet morale stayed strong and our accuracy actually improved. Still, a few riders admitted that they were looking forward to "those lazy, hazy, crazy days" of winter, those days of turkey, pumpkin pie and mulled wine.
And why not ? Autumn and winter are natural times of rest and slowed activity. Trees lose their leaves, plants become dormant, animals retreat to their lairs and hibernate. Even that great storehouse of energy the sun, seems to work less. It gets up late, stays low in the southern sky and "rests" early. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the ancients really thought it was taking a break but we now know it's just moving summer to the Southern Hemisphere. Nevertheless, this time of year, the sun's energizing presence is seen and felt less in these parts. So it's only natural that we humans also find more time for rest. What energy we have is often offered to or received from each other, either in the form of food or in conversation and entertainment.
Mid-October saw a brief Indian Summer when mid-day temperatures climbed into the 80s. But by late October, the air had cooled with no more hints of summer, Indian or otherwise.
The last full week of October went by routinely. The Old Vet conserved his strength but still worked enough to keep pace with his colleagues.
On Monday the 31st, the team rode together to various parks in the City to find "tricky" catch basins. Tricky CBs are those that are well hidden, sometimes under shrubbery or in places where they are not usually found. By working as a group, we all would see CBs that some of us might not find on our own. By learning as a team, each of us could then find these tricky CBs in the future.
We started from our base in Bayview - Hunters Point and rode north along the waterfront. In the Dogpatch neighborhood, we stopped for coffee and pastries at the Jolt n' Bolt, a small cafe in an office building. To the Old Vet this cafe was special for something that had happened almost ten years ago. He had been a bicycle messenger at the time and on a sunny afternoon had delivered in the office building. He went downstairs to the cafe and was finishing a snack when his dispatcher called and ordered him to the Bayview. For some reason, he hesitated. He wasn't feeling lazy and had no qualms about the order. He just didn't feel like going at that moment. He took his time, then left to go to the Bayview.
As he rode south on Third Street, he saw two police cars parked near another car. The third car was cordoned off by a strip of yellow tape reading "Police Line - Do Not Cross." He swerved around the obstacle and continued on without any more interest in the scene.
The next day he read in the paper that two men had been fatally shot in that car ... at about the same time that he would have been there had he immediately responded to his dispatcher's call.
We finished our coffee and pastries and resumed our ride along the waterfront, finding a few tricky CBs. At the Ferry Building we turned inland, passing Occupy San Francisco and going to Victoria Manalo Draves Park in the South of Market neighborhood. Named for San Francisco's Filipina American Olympic gold medal diver, the small park is notorious for its tricky CBs. Except for those familiar with the park, it was extremely challenging to find some of the catch basins.
Before leaving the park, our supervisor Bryan received a text stating that Monday, November 7, would be our last day. We finally had a definite schedule. Some of the crew had given notice so this was the last day in 2011 that we would all be together. For the rest of the week, there were only four to six of us each day.
We spent the rest of the day locating CBs in other parks, including Golden Gate. On the way back we stopped at the bike mural near Market and Duboce Streets. This mural by Mona Caron portrays a variety of San Francisco biking scenes and even depicts a CB with a MAC crew mark. Former crew member David Kimberling reported that when Mona was told about the MAC team's work, she painted the mark herself.
The next day, Tuesday November 1, was bright and pleasant. But the Old Vet noticed some differences. In mid-morning, a gentle but cool wind blew in from the east, temporarily chilling the air. And as he headed into base he felt a chilly breeze from the north. Most winds in San Francisco are westerlies, especially in summer. Cool winds from the inland and the north are changes of weather and of the season.
And this day the sun's warmth began to feel different. It's difficult to describe the warmth of autumn and winter sunshine. Recently, the Turkish-American writer Elif Batuman of San Francisco cited a poet whose verse was about "how you're never sure what nature is telling you but it's definitely telling you something." Maybe the sun's warmth in colder seasons is something like that.
Near the end of year, the sun drifts across the southern sky in a low arc. Its light is usually mellow, almost tempting us to stare right at it. But this mellow winter sun can be deceptive; in late afternoon, as cyclists and drivers proceed west on Market Street, it shines straight into their eyes.
Wednesday the 2nd was also sunny and pleasant. The day was routine except for another sign that the season was changing: Christmas decorations in a store window.
On Thursday the 3rd, it drizzled. It was uncomfortable but not enough to stop the day's work. It seemed much like a San Francisco summer drizzle but reminded us that, unlike summer, San Francisco would get much more heavy weather in the coming months. Friday was sunny again and our last full day. The Old Vet surprised himself - and probably others - by setting a personal record for CB inspections.
On the weekend we turned our clocks back an hour and were able to get up easily on Monday morning and charge into work. But it was only a half day. Around 12:30 we were called back into base. By 1 PM we had all clocked out.
Mosquito abatement season was over.
In 2011, the Pestec Mosquito Abatement Courier (MAC) team reached a new pinnacle in our history. We worked from February 15 to November 8, one of our longest seasons ever. By the end of the season, we had completed 13 rounds (coverages of San Francisco). Well before November, we had completed more rounds than any other previous MAC team. We had accomplished this even though we had endured more rain days than most previous MAC teams.
The season's final days reminded us that despite all the impact humans have on the environment, weather can be strong even in subtlety.
Last year, the Mosquito Abatement Courier season closely paralleled the baseball season in San Francisco. On Friday, October 30, 2010, we dropped our last packet of larvicide into a catch basin and three days later, the San Francisco Giants won their first World Series.
This year the injury plagued but gritty Giants were finally eliminated from the playoffs in September while our mosquito abatement season continued well into autumn.
As we approached the end of October, the team heard different dates for the finish of the season. In previous years the last Friday of October had marked the season's completion. And since 2008, that day had also been the last weekday of October. But this year the last weekday was Monday the 31st. So would we finish on Friday the 28th or Monday the 31st ? Or would we work into November ? That had happened before but it was rare.
On the 24th we learned that the season would go at least to the 31st.
In addition to being very strenuous, mosquito abatement courier work requires early rising. By the end of October, the sun is rising after 7 AM while we are still getting up before 6. This combination of waking in the dark and then working hard all day can be tough. The Old Veteran noticed this but so did the younger riders. As October continued, our productivity took a slight decline. Yet morale stayed strong and our accuracy actually improved. Still, a few riders admitted that they were looking forward to "those lazy, hazy, crazy days" of winter, those days of turkey, pumpkin pie and mulled wine.
And why not ? Autumn and winter are natural times of rest and slowed activity. Trees lose their leaves, plants become dormant, animals retreat to their lairs and hibernate. Even that great storehouse of energy the sun, seems to work less. It gets up late, stays low in the southern sky and "rests" early. Here in the Northern Hemisphere, the ancients really thought it was taking a break but we now know it's just moving summer to the Southern Hemisphere. Nevertheless, this time of year, the sun's energizing presence is seen and felt less in these parts. So it's only natural that we humans also find more time for rest. What energy we have is often offered to or received from each other, either in the form of food or in conversation and entertainment.
Mid-October saw a brief Indian Summer when mid-day temperatures climbed into the 80s. But by late October, the air had cooled with no more hints of summer, Indian or otherwise.
The last full week of October went by routinely. The Old Vet conserved his strength but still worked enough to keep pace with his colleagues.
On Monday the 31st, the team rode together to various parks in the City to find "tricky" catch basins. Tricky CBs are those that are well hidden, sometimes under shrubbery or in places where they are not usually found. By working as a group, we all would see CBs that some of us might not find on our own. By learning as a team, each of us could then find these tricky CBs in the future.
We started from our base in Bayview - Hunters Point and rode north along the waterfront. In the Dogpatch neighborhood, we stopped for coffee and pastries at the Jolt n' Bolt, a small cafe in an office building. To the Old Vet this cafe was special for something that had happened almost ten years ago. He had been a bicycle messenger at the time and on a sunny afternoon had delivered in the office building. He went downstairs to the cafe and was finishing a snack when his dispatcher called and ordered him to the Bayview. For some reason, he hesitated. He wasn't feeling lazy and had no qualms about the order. He just didn't feel like going at that moment. He took his time, then left to go to the Bayview.
As he rode south on Third Street, he saw two police cars parked near another car. The third car was cordoned off by a strip of yellow tape reading "Police Line - Do Not Cross." He swerved around the obstacle and continued on without any more interest in the scene.
The next day he read in the paper that two men had been fatally shot in that car ... at about the same time that he would have been there had he immediately responded to his dispatcher's call.
We finished our coffee and pastries and resumed our ride along the waterfront, finding a few tricky CBs. At the Ferry Building we turned inland, passing Occupy San Francisco and going to Victoria Manalo Draves Park in the South of Market neighborhood. Named for San Francisco's Filipina American Olympic gold medal diver, the small park is notorious for its tricky CBs. Except for those familiar with the park, it was extremely challenging to find some of the catch basins.
Before leaving the park, our supervisor Bryan received a text stating that Monday, November 7, would be our last day. We finally had a definite schedule. Some of the crew had given notice so this was the last day in 2011 that we would all be together. For the rest of the week, there were only four to six of us each day.
We spent the rest of the day locating CBs in other parks, including Golden Gate. On the way back we stopped at the bike mural near Market and Duboce Streets. This mural by Mona Caron portrays a variety of San Francisco biking scenes and even depicts a CB with a MAC crew mark. Former crew member David Kimberling reported that when Mona was told about the MAC team's work, she painted the mark herself.
The next day, Tuesday November 1, was bright and pleasant. But the Old Vet noticed some differences. In mid-morning, a gentle but cool wind blew in from the east, temporarily chilling the air. And as he headed into base he felt a chilly breeze from the north. Most winds in San Francisco are westerlies, especially in summer. Cool winds from the inland and the north are changes of weather and of the season.
And this day the sun's warmth began to feel different. It's difficult to describe the warmth of autumn and winter sunshine. Recently, the Turkish-American writer Elif Batuman of San Francisco cited a poet whose verse was about "how you're never sure what nature is telling you but it's definitely telling you something." Maybe the sun's warmth in colder seasons is something like that.
Near the end of year, the sun drifts across the southern sky in a low arc. Its light is usually mellow, almost tempting us to stare right at it. But this mellow winter sun can be deceptive; in late afternoon, as cyclists and drivers proceed west on Market Street, it shines straight into their eyes.
Wednesday the 2nd was also sunny and pleasant. The day was routine except for another sign that the season was changing: Christmas decorations in a store window.
On Thursday the 3rd, it drizzled. It was uncomfortable but not enough to stop the day's work. It seemed much like a San Francisco summer drizzle but reminded us that, unlike summer, San Francisco would get much more heavy weather in the coming months. Friday was sunny again and our last full day. The Old Vet surprised himself - and probably others - by setting a personal record for CB inspections.
On the weekend we turned our clocks back an hour and were able to get up easily on Monday morning and charge into work. But it was only a half day. Around 12:30 we were called back into base. By 1 PM we had all clocked out.
Mosquito abatement season was over.
In 2011, the Pestec Mosquito Abatement Courier (MAC) team reached a new pinnacle in our history. We worked from February 15 to November 8, one of our longest seasons ever. By the end of the season, we had completed 13 rounds (coverages of San Francisco). Well before November, we had completed more rounds than any other previous MAC team. We had accomplished this even though we had endured more rain days than most previous MAC teams.
The season's final days reminded us that despite all the impact humans have on the environment, weather can be strong even in subtlety.
Howard Williams is a Vetearn MAC Team Member.
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