Summer Afternoon

I walked out to get in the car to run an errand Saturday, and thought that the trees against the blue sky and the cotton ball clouds looked like summer as I remembered it from childhood. So I captured it with my iPhone.

Around the Neighborhood

Pet Peeve

Today Gus, Cotton and I set out for our arctic stroll. Tundra trek. Oh all right, I'm exaggerating about the cold. Actually by the end of the walk I removed my scarf. It was a long walk.

Anyway, the subject of my post is a pet peeve. I live in a neighborhood full of dog-walking, kid strolling, bike riding, runners and kids playing.

This morning, for the nth time, I was nearly run over by someone who refused to slow down for a pedestrian. It was a cab. It seemed as though the cab picked up speed after I was certain it saw us, but perhaps that was just a perception because it was a little scary.

I do all I can to be visible at night: I wear a reflective vest, and until the blinkies' batteries died, the dogs sported little lights.

But during the daylight, I say an adult plus one normal sized golden and one gigantor golden waving his fluffy tail high and proud should be pretty visible (illustration of normal and gingantor above).

Is anything urgent enough to run down people in a residential neighborhood where one should be driving the speedlimit anyway?

Black Cat

This little girl is a feral cat that hangs out near my house. She makes Gus ga-ga (not in a good way). She was playing in my monkey grass just before I snapped this. I've been trying to figure out how to feed her but not the nasty, mean, gray tom that I've seen around. I know that's not a good thing to do, but I hate that she isn't inside on cold or wet nights.

More green paint

Duh.

Green paint, manhole covers and hot water heaters

Last November, after several leaks by my not so old but no spring chicken hot water heater, I got a new hot water heater. That episode included the new hot water heater having a defective pilot light, and coming home from the company holiday party - a hoedown - and having lukewarm water courtesy of the new hot water heater. I share this with you to enhance your appreciation for the story I'm about to tell.



Last Friday morning, I was in the last stages of walking around the house before leaving for work: where's the cell phone? where are my car keys? where are my house keys? where's the dog's leash? come here other dog and get your leash on...you get the picture.



I heard



beep



beep



beep.

Followed by dogs BARKING.



What now, I wondered? After all, the metal plate was uncermoniously dumped into the street in front of my house less than 12 hours ago.



What it was were two trucks intent on disturbing the peace. See the pattern forming? Dogs were BARKING at the people standing in the street. While I was looking at the people standing in the street who were feeding orange hose into the manhole in the street directly in front of the front bedroom window, a terrible, awful gurgling sound began. Coming from my bathroom. And then just as I got to the bathroom, certain the commode was going to shoot off the floor,

water, yes water, shot out of the commode.



I went downstairs and looked at the gauge that the plumber had attached to my new hot water heater recently because, strangely, the brand new hot water heater had leaked just last week and they couldn't understand why. The found no leaks. It read 150 pounds. Which means that my presesure control valve, the one that regulates the water pressure coming from the street, is shot.



Yes, Molly is coming to believe there is a scheme to prevent her from realizing her right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Disturbing the Peace

Yes, yes, you've seen a photo of Molly's house before. Recently, in fact. But that was before the peace was disturbed, possibly even destroyed.

Perhaps you notice the hieroglyphics on the street? And the jarring metal plate on the road in front of Molly's house?

It all began last Thursday night, when Gus and Cotton stood bolt upright at 9:15-that's pm-while Molly was reading I am Bossy. Odd, Molly thought. That's when Molly heard the

beep

beep

beep.

Odd, Molly thought. That's a noise that big trucks make when they're backing up. It's dark. People are parked on both sides of the street. How could a big truck get down the street moving forward, let alone backward? Well. It didn't go down the street where big trucks have gone before. Oh no.

It stopped dead in front of Molly's house. Gus and Cotton were beside themselves. [Beside themselves means BARKING at full volume] Then there was a chain noise. Odd, Molly thought. Well, that sounds like a tow truck. Some neighbor must have a car problem.

Seconds later there was a big clang. It was so loud it stopped the BARKING. But only for a minute.

The clang was a metal plate being carefully lowered to the road to cover the hole that has been in the asphalt in the street in front of Molly's house for all the years she has lived here. 2 and a half years. Okay, this must be a sign that the City of Atlanta plans at some point in our lifetime to repair the street.

[For the record, most of downtown and midtown Atlanta roads are a patchwork of metal plates. Some just put down on the road so that drivers are optimistic the plate is there only for a short time. Some are edged in asphalt to minimize the change in grade from the street to the plate, meaning the plate is here to stay for a while.]

So. Back to Molly's street. If you look at the picture you will notice that the metal plate does not match the slight curve in the center of Molly's street which is planfully put there to help the water runoff the street. You know what that means don't you?

Every time Molly's neighbors or the people who think Molly's street is not a dead end as it is clearly marked drive down Molly's street, there is a clang. It took Gus and Cotton 3 days to accept that racket as normal. That meant BARKING every time someone drove over the metal plate.

Molly wonders if this is an infringement of her right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Perhaps getting rid of the plate is the pursuit of happiness?

Note: Molly wrote this in the third person a la Bossy because she was reading I am Bossy when the plate arrived. Molly enjoys I am Bossy. Bossy would so know how to deal with metal plates arriving in the middle of the night.