Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

View from the west edge of our yard.

I've written about the property next door twice, once last fall and again a few weeks ago when maple tree and lilacs were eliminated from the landscape. The project has had a happy ending after all.

I always liked Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and I vividly remember my pre-schooler inviting me to see "my show" when he heard the familiar song Won't You Be My Neighbor on TV. When I saw an unfamiliar woman with a girl of about eight walk up the sidewalk toward the new house, I rushed out to introduce myself. I realized as we talked how long we've been without a next-door neighbor to the east and how lovely it will be to have a family living next to us.

My notions of pollinator and butterfly friendly plantings were well received and, in fact, as J. is an experienced gardener, as well as an expert on butterflies and many other issues of interest to environmentalists. Good news for me, a gardening novice.

 

Lines of the Fred Rogers came into my head: "I've always wanted to have a neighbor just like you. I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you." This is a neighborhood of pleasant people and the new neighbors fit right in.

 

I've added the last photo to the album.

World Lion Day

I know nothing about astrology but I've always enjoyed being a Leo, a big bonus for someone born in the Year of the Tiger, according to the Chinese Zodiac. Lions, of course, have fallen on hard times, with diminishing populations and the recent scandal involving a Minnesota dentist who killed Cecil the Lion.

Using a dead animal for bait, hunting guides lured Cecil to private land from his usual home, Hwange National Park, a preserve in Zimbabwe, where a bow hunter shot and pursued him for 40 hours before killing him off with a rifle shot. Twin Cities news media identified the hunter as a Bloomington dentist, and the story soon went viral. Like most Minnesotans, I was horrified and chagrined that one of our own could murder Cecil and other endangered animals.

I felt a little less disheartened this morning when I read that today is World Lion Day, and I enjoyed looking at these beautiful lion photographs. It is also my 65th birthday, and it seems like a good time to be grateful for all these years of life and the prospect of good days ahead. Today is a milestone of sorts and I have a brand new Medicare card to prove it.

As is almost always the case on August 10, the sun is shining and the weather is beautiful. It's a good day to share with the King of the Jungle.

Demolition Derby - Part II

Removal near the beginning

 Last fall, I wrote about the sadness I felt when demolition equipment arrived to tear down the house of our longtime neighbor to make way for new construction. In the beginning, I posted photos of the process almost every day but haven't posted any new pictures until today. The house sold recently and the new owners are expected to take possession in a few weeks.

New restrictions in the city of St. Paul on such projects came too late for this property, but I actually felt fairly happy with the new house and was told my next-door neighbor that it's beautiful inside. Open floor plan -- what I'd like in my own house. We were delighted to learn that one of the residents will be a girl exactly the same age as the lovely little girl who lives in the house just west of ours.

 

End of the job

This morning sadness crept into my happy little world. A landscaper working on the property told us that my beautiful lilacs are right on the property line and will have to be removed to make way for a retaining wall between the properties. I felt tearful most of the day, but tears gave way to rage when we arrived home this afternoon after being out for several hours. Most of the limbs had already been sawed off the striking maple tree in the yard next door. It will be replaced by a patio in the bit of yard that remains on the lot.

The maple was the prettiest tree in this neighborhood of stately old elms, maples and oaks. Now, it will soon be a memory preserved in many seasons of pictures I've taken over the years. It's a sad evening on the street.

Photo album.