Life goes on in suburbia...

We've been talking to some neighbours who live near the blogstation. One of them had just chased a drug dealer away from the street corner. Dealers are a constant presence in the area, although usually down the street rather than outside our house, but we do occasionally see addicts staggering along our laneway.

In talking to pirate neighbour down the street ("pirate" because he has such a menacing appearance with a shaved head and one eye but is the nicest guy you'd ever expect to meet), there is a sign for the dealers - a pair of boots is hung outside the drop house. So now I'm on the look out. Its funny because in the past I have picked up old shoes left outside houses in our area, thinking they were garbage, maybe I inadvertently messed up a drug exchange.

Just now I was walking back from the store along by the blogtrain. I stopped for a few minutes to sit in the park, and noticed a woman lying in the corner on the grass. Her purse was open in disarray beside her and her shoes were some distance away. She was lying with her face planted in the ground. I went closer to see if she was breathing and after a few moments confirmed that she was. I noticed the soles of her feet were very dirty. I couldn't see her face. Drug addict ? Maybe. Maybe not.

This is the woman. I've doctored the picture to cover up her backside as it was revealed for all to see. Including any local children who might have been playing in the local playground a few feet away. Which reminds me, the playground was totally empty when I walked by, and probably with good reason. Anyway it did not look like a normal scene, but because she was obviously in the land of the living and just appeared to be sleeping something off, I did not call the police.


Talking of playgrounds - this is the one I was talking about. When I was a kid, you just had a swing or a roundabout, but just take a look at this labyrinth of adventure. I think I want to be a kid again just to be able to experience this with a child's eyes.

Late last night as Gregoire and I were sitting in the living room, the outside deck light came on. "I bet it's ElsieSkunk," Gregoire cried. And we both leapt up and looked out the window. It was hard to see anything as it was so dark in the bushes. At first nothing appeared, but then we saw ElsieSkunk scratching around on the grass. We've grown quite attached to her and were very pleased to see her. As long as she doesn't live with us and doesn't spray us, we don't mind her nocturnal visits.


I took this picture last week in an alleyway on our evening walk. OK, I doctored it a bit. We're actually on the lookout for an ironing board, but this one was about half a mile from home, and embedded in undergrowth. Nature covers up almost all sins eventually....


This is my current favourite tree - I've published pictures of this before. Its just so unusual, and stark. Winner of the Tree of the Month picture.