My neighbor is a concert violinist and tends to take extended trips during the summer. Among other things, I take care of her garden, making sure the grass and plants are watered, trimming and tending to the shrubs,and so on. Several years ago her red-leafed Japanese maple started its long death spiral. Here follows a series of email correspondence centering mainly on that poor tree. These are basically conversational with Anecdotes, Conversations, Way Out

Hi Pandora, I enjoyed your post about the outdoor theater. The reference to camping wasn't that farfetched. Check out my article about the death of camping here. We finally gave up on camping when a big RV arrived next to us at a quiet mountain campsite. The couple got their generator going then folded a huge flatscreen from the side of the camper and watched soap operas. Al  Hi Al. Ha ha! Anecdotes, Conversations, Stories

Heh, made me think of armadillos. Or as I like to call them, nature's speed-bump. They are low to the ground, impossible to see against the asphalt, slow as hell and already have a tire-track across their backs. A lot less damaging though. More nasty cleanup. One of my favs..."Why did the chicken cross the road? To show armadillos it can be done".:) Except chickens get it right... My area Anecdotes, Comment Threads of Interest, Conversations