backstory

(This is a blog entry by phone – forgive the typos.)

So, the long story is this:

It has been a hard winter and my yard looks really rough. It’s true that there is a 4x6x10 landscaping timber that is protruding from my fenceline like a ramp.(Long story)

This morning, I saw a police car park at an angle to my house and sit there for awhile. I felt like maybe the officer was looking at the chickenhouse sculpture. The only reason I suspected this was because I noted that the spot where the car was parked was the perfect across-the-street-angle spot for viewing the hand. Because of the negative space created by the fencing wire the sculpture is made of, the form is sometimes hard to see.
I recall that in Portland, on an early summer day after a long winter/spring, I got notice to mow my grass. There had been complaints. The patrol car made me realize that I really need to get my yard back together before the Association (SFNA) or some realtor decides to complain.

Note to My Neighbors:
It’s been a hard winter. Likely for you as well. I am taking care of the chicken issue and I hope you will be patient as, over the next several weeks, I figure out what to do with the hedgeline this year. I may do some elemental topiary. Bring out the structure of the trees.

It is likely that many of you moved to this neighborhood after I had removed the kudzu, malt liquor bottles, and rats from the property I consider home.

If you think my yard looks awful and my chicken coop is an eyesore, come talk to me. I am a nice person and I seek to offend NOBODY…

give me a chance to explain, help me cut the high-branches or build raised beds. I’ll return the favor.

But, please don’t fine me. I can’t afford it.(True story.)
The best foundations for healthy neighborhoods are tolerance and helping…not rules and fines.

So, I’m working on it…