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7:15 p.m. - 2002-08-03
New Neighbors
We've been meeting the neighbors!

Yesterday I met Mr. and Mrs. Stickbug, who were big and green and hanging out on our patio wall. They were not very friendly but fascinating none-the-less. So very...stick-like.

Today I was busily tearing out the noxious cup leaf plant when I noticed a yellow streak flitting around. It was Mr. Goldfinch! Unfortunately, Mr. Goldfinch really loves eating the noxious cup leaf, which puts me in a moral dilemma. Do I tear it all out and ruin the goldfinch feeding grounds, or do I leave patches of it even though it's noxious and I can't stand it? Since it's a native plant, I can't even use the native plant garden thing as an excuse to get rid of it.

Damn! I really love goldfinches! I guess we'll just have to have discreet patches of yucky, sticky, stinky plants.

The other neighbor we met today was Mr. Groundhog. Actually, Mr. Groundhog was not friendly at all, in fact, all I saw of him was his rear end as he beat a retreat into his hole. It was a cute rear end though - a big, fat greyish brown one. I would say Mr. Groundhog is living quite a bit beyond the poverty level.

The only human neighbor we've met is Preston, who lives next door. Preston is the neighbor that Beth accused of being a Republican because he had two American flags! Actually one of them is sort of strangely charming. It's made out of little Christmas lights and hangs from a pole just like a real flag. I've come to be rather fond of it because our house is so dark at night and Preston's flag is like a little beacon in the wilderness. It's strangely evocative.

Anyway, Preston is a retired rocket-scientist-turned-high-school-physics-teacher who looks unbelievably young for his age. He has lived in the house next to ours....I don't know, for ages I guess and his parents lived there before that. I was sort of instantly charmed by him because he was so sweet and helpful and he has turned his very boring little ranch house into a rather endearing cottage-y type place by adding on a porch and a little tiny cupola on the roof. And he has a fabulous little garden.


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