Culinary Note
For supper tonight
   Grilled Haddock filets
   Fresh Pear/Papaya Salsa
   Steamed Broccoli
Oh yes, warm peach cobbler with pistachio/almond ice cream.
Cooking is so much fun and tasty too.

On Yards and Neighbors For the first time in my life we have a backyard with a six-foot privacy fence around it. It is also the smallest lot I have ever had. We live in a subdivision that was built in the early 1980's. Ardie and I sit out on our small deck and watch the squirrels run along the fence. They occasionally stop to peer at us. The nice young family behind us built a fort on stilts for their kids which provides a perch looking over our fence. No problems, just a new experience. Some of our neighbors along the block have placed chairs out front on small patios, or porches. The neighbors we relate to regularly are our front yard neighbors (no fences.) The 1930's neighborhood where I grew up in southwest Minneapolis had four yards front and back without any fences. Great for half block long games of tag, hide and seek, and kick the can. We pretty much lived in the back yard of our home in lower North Mankato. It was built in 1900. To be sure it was fenced, but with a chain link fence for Chloe our dog of 12 years. Like all of the houses on our block, our back yard backed up to an alley. Whether raking leaves, shoveling snow, gardening or simply relaxing with a kanupper, conversations across the fences were natural and easy. Perhaps we will need to add a porch or patio in the front yard for neighborly conversations as well as for more openness.