Instead of drought shaming, why don't we try drought praising? A local writer seems to have the answer. And heaping some praise on a local plumber after a nasty flood in an old home

  * ... DROUGHT: Kelly Damian works for Kern Green, a local environmental non-profit, but I know her as a gifted wordsmith who has penned some memorable essays. Recently she contributed a thoughtful post on "drought shaming" to a blog called 'afloweraday' and it's worth sharing. Said Kelly: "If we stop

pointing fingers at our neighbors, how should we fill the void that is created in our lives? I propose we do something radical. Let’s start drought praising. Let’s post pictures of beautiful drought-tolerant landscaping. Let’s compliment our neighbor on the lovely golden shade of his lawn. Let’s say thanks to the woman driving the dust covered car. And… What should we do when we see our precious water being sprayed onto the street? We should get out our phones, put it on selfie mode, check to see if there’s anything in our teeth and then go walk up to the person in charge and say, 'Hello. How are you today? I Just wanted to let you know that your water is running. Have a good day!' Being direct and polite might not provide the self-righteous tickle that drought-shaming does, but it might be just what we need to come out of this drought with our relationships intact."

 * ... SPOTTED ON TWITTER: "Some people pass through our lives just to teach us not to be like them."

* ... BAD FORM: Ever wonder about all those yard sales that pop up on vacant lots throughout town? Cynthia Williams does, specifically one on a vacant lot west of Valencia on Niles Street. "He had at least eight tables of tools and equipment. He didn't even clean up the debris. He left a truck load of trash for the owner of said property to clean up. Apparently the owner of this lot is fed up with weekend yard sales on his property because Thursday he placed 10-plus metal signs on his property that read 'private property-no trespassing' thinking this would do the job. On Friday someone removed all the signs he had bought and Saturday and Sunday there were at least five more yard sales set up and again left all their trash for the owner to discard. This is an ongoing eyesore and something needs to be done. What will the owner have to do next... put up a six foot chain link fence to keep people out? Where are code enforcement people that should be monitoring illegal yard sale use every weekend on other people's property?"

 * ... GOOD FORM: They say if you live in a old house, you better be comfortable with imperfection. Well, I got my dose of imperfection recently when the original galvanized steel pipes of my 1935 downtown bungalow blew, flooding my basement and triggering a complete repiping of the house. This is no small task (carving through walls of plaster, replacing corroded steel with flexible PEX color-coded piping, digging up the yard etc) but I was in good hands with Tony Warren and his crew at Bakersfield Plumbing. I have dealt with Tony, and before that his late father Jerry, for more than 20 years and his is the type of company you want in your corner when the wheels come off.

 * ... MISSING DUCKS: Mary Durham asked me to pass this query along. Said Mary: "My friends called my attention to the fact that six of the eight white ducks that are always at the Hart Park lake are missing. I made phone calls to the city and county recreation departments and they directed me to the Fresno Fish and Wildlife Department. Their response was that the ducks are domesticated and therefore didn't belong to anyone. All three of the ladies I talked to about the ducks were very nice and helpful but the ducks are still missing. Does anyone know where the six missing ducks are?"

 * ... OILDALE: There's another Oildale clean-up day set for this Saturday at 8:45 a.m. right behind Trout's. It's sponsored by the Oildale Foundation and organizers say they won't need more than 90 minutes of your time. Gloves and trash bags will be provided.

A reader takes on those who abuse dogs and show a lack of decorum, while I praise the personal connections that make Bakersfield home

 * ... ANIMAL ABUSE: If you want to get someone's attention, turn the conversation to how some people treat their pets. This note from Jean Hughes Gutierrez hit home: "Your recent comment on dogs being dumped on Breckenridge Road and being attacked and eaten by wild animals was typical

of what is going on in this town. Add that to the impatient driver who ran over a mother duck and tiny babies because he got tired of waiting for them to move on Truxtun, and the father who attacked and threw his infant for too much crying. What is in common?  These living, feeling beings are helpless and dependent on powerful humans to be caring and kind. Spaying and neutering is only a small part of ending the dumping of pets who are considered throw aways when they become big, boring, or costly. The real problem is  the mind set of Bakersfield residents, combined with the systematic taking away of reasonably safe living space for both abandoned domestic animals and wild animals.  This is done because man thinks he is entitled to anything he wants, any time he wants, at any cost. Babies and animals are of little concern. The unspeakable final travesty? People gripe because domestic and wild animals eliminate on their property. And the solution, in their sick minds, is to not feed them if starving.  I guess the animals are supposed to hold their stool and urine, and ignore their hunger pangs, until they die. An we are the "superior" species?"

 * ... OUR TOWN: One of the benefits of living here is the ability to making lasting connections and friendships that withstand the test of time. I am not referring to close friends (although certainly those are important) but rather the local businessmen and women on whom we rely to furnish our homes, repair our appliances and paint our homes. I did business with Jerry Warren and his company, Bakersfield Plumbing, for years until his untimely death in 2011. Along with his wife, Jennie, I was always afforded fast, efficient service, always with a smile. (I spent more time chatting with Jerry about his family and life than he did working on my plumbing) Thanks to a stubborn drain in my old home, I recently got to meet Jerry's son, Tony, who carries on the family business and does it with his father's charisma and honesty. It's that small town feeling, and it is something to appreciate.

* ... DROUGHT: Sue Castro weighed in on the woman who confronted a neighbor for washing out his gutters. "If one of my neighbors came to my door and told me to 'please not do it again' regarding some water crime I committed, I would tell her to mind her own business. She's all proud of what she did when she should be embarrassed at being a rat fink. This drought fracas is getting out of hand.  It's like mass hysteria.  Really, people, God will open up the clouds in His time just like He always does after years of keeping it dry to show us who is boss! Remember all the other droughts we have gone through? The only difference with this one is a little old smelt.  I say kill the smelt and send us the wasted water going out to the ocean. And guys, somebody has pulled an Orsen Welles on you all.  Stop freaking out."

 * ... TAKE MY WIFE: And speaking of the drought, Don Kurtz added this: "Trying to comply with the orders from Gov. Brown on saving water, I told my wife we could shower together. She told me she would rather pay the $10,000 fine!"

 * ... COUNTRY CLUB: Up at the Bakersfield County Club there is a lot of work being done to make sure the club uses as little water as necessary. Dr. C. Allen Anderson wrote to praise the club’s president, Kevin Small, and his board of directors and ground superintendent, Steve Scarborough. "I was recently invited as a member’s guest to play golf at BCC. I was pleased to see several large and strategic areas of the course had been renovated into drought resistant landscaping. Evidently, these measures have been underway long before the media and government directed us all to conserve. These areas are beautiful and yet require very little water. We could all take a lesson from BCC."