In spite of the slow daylong drizzle on June 6th, we now know and can feel in the air, SUMMER. On the 5th there was the collective sound of grills being fired up for the Saturday night barbecue. The sound of beer bottles in the ice chest, the clink of wine glasses, and albeit a light sweater was needed in the evening, you could sit outside and watch the blue, blue sky with its few white puffy clouds that added a special dimension. We have waited for this moment throughout most of the less than merry and very cold month of May. Cold and damp and with major rain moments, our vegetable starts and sunflower, herb, and nasturtium seedlings often failed, while our trees, shrubs, and perennials thrived and grew lush.
Now when I walk through our communities I see other walkers and runners having to bob and duck away from this lush profusion. The time has come again to do a 'walk-about'. On a regular basis we to and fro from our homes on a fairly prescribed path. However, other people interface with our homes in different ways. The meter readers, the postman, the UPS or FedEx delivery people, this year the census takers often use paths that we do not normally use and their way may be blocked by the vigorous new growth. On my sidewalk out front I got slapped in the face by a tree branch that was not there just a few weeks ago! What a surprise! And my rose bushes have thrown their barbed stems into the path of the walkers in my neighborhood. Time to wield the pruners!
Speaking of roses I have two neighbors with beautiful rose bushes. They are healthy and prolific with their blooms, but they block the sidewalk and I worry about someone getting a thorn in their eye. I am so tempted to take my pruners and create a wonderful bouquet for my home.
The city included with their utility bills this month a flyer explaining the rules. Yes, they can impose fines for any blockage impacting their workers, whether it is meter readers or garbage, recycling, and yard waste collectors. To save yourself some money it would be prudent to check out those areas where the city interfaces with your property. The city is hungry for money. Have you noticed that you can no longer expect any sort of grace period with parking? I was 3 minutes late when parking in Ballard recently. There were many empty spaces for parking in the area, but the 'meter' dude got his ticket count up that day.
I fumed. I was shopping, and therefore supporting a local small business - an entity that is known for creating jobs here in America. I think everybody knows now that we will not have any economic recovery if jobs are not created so that money will flow back into our municipal coffers. I understand the city needing to collect on their fines in a rigorous way, but in areas still filled with locally owned businesses, perhaps they need to think further about their zeal?
With a good pair of pruners and loppers, take your walkabout before the city imposes their fines. After the walkabout we now need to replant or re-seed our vegetable patches - and soon the temperature will skyrocket - and these drizzily days will be lost in the mists of time.
Of course, as maritime Pacific NW citizens, we will then be complaining about the heat![[In-content Ad]]
