THEY'RE HERE!

Here's what's been happening in our neck of the woods lately.


First of all - They're here! Each year toward the end of May, one of us locals will come home, throw down the car keys, and announce, "Well, they're here!" and the rest of us will heave a collective sigh of resignation and say, "It's started, has it?" And we shake our heads. Tourists represent the economic life of our area of course, but most of us don't look forward to that aspect of summer. We start marking off days on our calendars until "They" are gone and we get our normal lives back again. Humans on vacation are often inconsiderate, demanding, and something less than the good citizens they are at home the rest of the year.


And birders, God bless 'em!, are often the worst offenders, suddenly stopping in the middle of the road when they catch a glimpse of feathers, or driving right up onto someone's property to follow a birdsong. They seem honestly surprised when someone might object to strangers invading their space or holding up traffic. Fortunately, those are the exceptions.


Personally, I'm not a big fan of crowds anyway. I prefer quiet and a slower pace. I enjoy entertaining a few people at a time. One on one is best. Guess I'm just not a party girl.



The holiday weekend started with a bang in our neighborhood. I lay in bed Sunday night, listening to vollies of illegal fireworks. I do enjoy fireworks, but not when rockets and cherry bombs are being set off in a neighborhood like this one, over rooftops. And I don't really feel that Memorial Day is an appropriate time for them. It's expected on the 4th or on New Year's Eve. Memorial Day should mean quiet contemplation.



Monday morning brought the blast of the buzz saw. As soon as that began, the phone rang and Villas Girl was asking about it. A short conversation, since we couldn't hear one another. The tree guys made short work of my neighbor's tree that was lying in my back yard. The stump remains on her side of the fence.



Said neighbor has yet to give any indication that she is aware that her tree came down. I guess my landlord decided it wasn't worth an argument, and had it taken care of himself.


So begins our summer.


The seeds I planted have sprouted and it looks as if the butterflies are going to find my garden this year. The lettuce looks promising. Is there anything prettier than new lettuce? Both the lettuce and flowers are happily emerging through the wire mesh I put down to thwart my other neighbor's cats. (I never before lived in a place where I had a problem with neighbors. There was always one odd ball, but everyone else got along fine. On this block, there are just way too many strange people.)


Speaking of Villas Girl, she unearthed some photos that she swears I took . Cannot for the life of me remember it. They are from a Whale Watching cruise we took at least ten years ago. Looks like we had a really nice time. Sure wish I could remember it.