Seasonal Complaint

The following post is written by my friend Debbie Fickett-Wilbar. We went to Middle School together. She had the most perfect handwriting and she was a voracious reader. She once basically dared me to read "Gone With the Wind" because I pooh-poohed it. (I went home and read it in a weekend. It was much better than I expected.)

Debbie and I found each other again on Facebook and have been enjoying a new-found friendship as adults. She has a granddaughter. I have a blog. Her granddaughter is undeniably cuter than my blog. When I read this yesterday I immediately asked permission to run it as a guest post. Although it was written in New Hampshire and not locally, I think it will still connect with folks in Howard County, Maryland. Enjoy!

*****

Dear small animals who hang out in my yard,

I do not begrudge you an occasional strawberry, a carrot, or a radish. But, taking a single bite out of each and every strawberry the night before I predict they will be ripe is unacceptable. For all that is Holy, just pick a strawberry and eat the whole darn thing.

I’ve lived here 9 years and have always tried to protect you. I don’t use pesticides, I don’t use fertilizer. I’ve bought a special skimmer so that, if you fall in the pool, you have a good chance of escaping. When one of you fell down my chimney, we paid to have someone rescue you. I keep an eye on your homes when you go on vacation.

But, YOU aren’t being good neighbors!

This morning you broke the last straw. You picked the first strawberry of the season that was starting to ripen. Seriously?!? I’ve been waiting for that since last summer! I saw one of you Chipmucks running across my yard. If I could have caught up with you, I suspect I would have smelled strawberry on your breath.

That’s it. You are no longer welcome to take reasonable amounts of food from my garden. You are no longer invited to any parties in our back yard. I’ll no longer pick up your mail or feed your pets. If you are prepared to apologize and stop your behavior, I’ll reconsider.

Chipmunks have Facebook accounts, right?

Comments

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents. When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else. Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday. Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018. 2018 . But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest. In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog