The Long and Short Of It

This is the width between my house and next door.
Now, I wasn't suffering from a rare malady that obstructed my sight the day I bought this house.I was blinded by the thought that it was the neighborhood I coveted and this was the best of the bunch on sale at that time.

You might question my sanity, though, when you see where my deck is located; smack dab next to my neighbor's tiny deck, a twin to mine, with only the fence between us.


My son the carpenter raised the height of the fence so at least we can't see one another. Did I mention that they smoke over there?

We work it out in the summer-- I have people over for a barbecue and we start early and move indoors so they can do their thing.

In the winter the snow is an acceptable height everywhere else but it settles into my little canyon with a vengeance and never lets go until spring.

That's why I can't keep the bird feeders filled all winter; it would be like scaling Everest seniors style to reach them.

Okay, it's winter and I'm cranky. On a sunny day I am content here and the neighbors are fine.

And since there's no point in further self-recrimination, I would like a word with the idiot who planned the houses on this street.

Close Your Eyes and Pretend It's Summer

Okay, enough of this cold air,snow, sleet, black ice and other winter abominations.
I'd rather hang out with old pictures taken in warm sunshine.
Here is the deck shortly before I moved in.

And here it is three summers later

You can bet the farm that the giant saucer is gone; there is a lovely high private fence separating me from the neighbor's deck on the other side and there is table space to feed a dozen people at a time.
My kind of deck.
If I could just train the neighbors not to smoke it would be perfect.