Dear Friends,
One of my greatest enjoyments is a daily walk. I see things in far greater detail than when I am driving by. Naturally! The beautiful architectural design of a particular home and its landscaping, for example, are always of major interest to me.
Today was incredibly beautiful, with a crackling-hot feel to the air. I was awed by the deeply-hued, stately pines and glossy-leafed, black oaks, set against a sky of deepest blue. In the foreground were well-rounded oleanders, whose scarlet blossoms and snow-white blossoms filled the air with their heavy, sensuous perfume. I even spied a novel specimen with salmon-colored blossoms. Far in the distance proudly sat, bolt-upright, the world's smallest mountain range: "When God was creating the mountains, some mud fell out of His hip pocket," so the legend goes.
An hour-and-a-half never passed so quickly; I was exhilarated.
What's it like in your neck of the woods?
CoCo
The Altamonte Springs, Florida man, dubbed Seminole County's "Annoying Neighbor," has been sentenced to spend three years in jail for his junk cluttered yard and violation of probation from an earlier junk felony conviction. Alan Davis's yard on Alpine Street -- where he'd accumulated more than a decade's worth of trash, scrap parts and old cars -- might have been declared a folk art treasure elsewhere in America. But neighbors regarded it as an unsightly pile designed to drive them crazy, and the judge agreed. He was fined over $200,000 for continuing littering and nuisance violations, and the legal battle continued, with Davis ultimately serving time in prison. Davis transported his giant butt sculpture to court at one point, so it's hard to understand why the judge wasn't more lenient... [01/31/2005]