I live in pretty nice neighborhood. My neighborhood is actually a small town that was a village 30 years ago. At that time my neighborhood village was composed of a central shopping area and some small outlying clusters of new homes in developments. The village residential property was mainly winter housing for Snowbirds and an eclectic mix of artists, one-boat commercial fishermen, and work-a-day people who travel elsewhere in the county for their jobs. There is still an active railroad spur that crosses Main St.

In the last 20 years there has been a lot of development both in the business area and annexed former unincorporated county areas. I have lived in apartments, owned condos, and conventional homes. They have all been within a single mile of each other.

I was visited this past week by a representative of the Village zoning and housing board. It seems that they are concerned that I have a snag of a dead pine in my back yard that they would prefer that I remove. I told them that I would certainly comply just as soon as the woodpeckers are finished brooding this years crop of young peckers. That was in the morning. By mid-afternoon they are back with a citation for some sort of non-compliance. They said that my tree, full of woodpeckers or not, presents a danger to the community and could fall under some provisions of the Patriot Act. They asked rhetorically, "What if we suddenly had a storm like Katrina come through, blew your tree over and endangered the middle-school?" (eight blocks away) Their very words. Tuesday, I am going to the town council meeting and plead my case for the woodpeckers.

I may take my chicken with me and check on her status? Her name is Paris.

LB

Spring is coming your way

I just got the news.

My friend Jan has been visiting FL from AK since Yule. She left yesterday. She flew to Indianapolis. It is 27 degrees there and spitting snow. Here it is 80 and just on the verge of needing a little A/C.

I have to go cut my front lawn now.

LB

OK. We consent to make a comment.

I have been on other very serious projects. I have corresponded with some of you by private message. Thanks for not forgetting about me.

Here is a very telling turn of events.

Saudi King Abdullah Denounces US Military Presence in Iraq




By VOA News


28 March 2007

US 'Surprised' by Saudi Comments on American Role in Iraq

By David Gollust


State Department

29 March 2007

These headlines speak volumes about the trajectory of the Bush administration and its hand holding diplomacy with the Sauds.

This is not directed at the Bush family, but rather at the young bumbler W. The ground is being dissolved between his well shod feet. The dissolving agent is a fine spittal that is being directed at him by the Sauds.

This is the end of the delusion that was the grand alliance of the Bush Empire and their supply of juice from the desert kingdom.

The Sauds would like nothing better than for the Iranians to be cinderized by American conventional and non-conventional methods.

If I were in the remaining gimpy minority that is still voicing Bushivikism, I would have to seriously consider hiding up some holler until the "Happy Times" return.

We are quickly coming upon the day, May 1 that was the day that the unpleasantness in Europe ended in 1945 with the announcement of the death of "herr Decider". It was the high point of Soviet Bolshevism and end of National Socialism in Germany.

I would like to say that I was pleasantly relieved. I am, however, not. Now comes the time for a very aggressive adjustment team of State Department folks to step in, but is it just not going to be possible. They have all been "Turd Blossomed". or maybe it's a jelly baby.

The Bush era is on the way out. May it slide into a category of a good "bad example" or into the micro citations of other poorly executed experiments.

Ils n'ont donné aucun plaisir

LB