Alley Finds and Musings

Strolling through the alleys sometimes feels as though I’m invading my neighbor’s privacy. I see a part of their lives they don’t intend to display. Worn out furniture and appliances, forgotten swing sets, three legged dogs and discarded building materials abound. Sure. There is the occasional back yard that is all neat, tidy and well maintained. But this is the exception, at least in my neighborhood it is the exception. Backyards are like the family room, i.e., where real living takes place. My own backyard has a gas grill - - that doesn’t work; A broken flower pot I intend to mend one day; a stack of wood for when I go camping (although haven’t been in six years); and an old bicycle that was a piece of crap the day I bought it.

This jacket is too damn hot. Would selling helicopter rides over the lake be a good idea? Walking in the dirt is much easier on my sciatica.

 

How people discard their trash is telling.  There is the throw-everything-out-not contained-in-a bag and hope no furry animal gets into it before trash day.  A mish-mash of cans, boxes, wrappers and half eaten food dots their alley space week after week, while other houses have no trash to speak of until trash day.  For these houses, their trash appears in a securely covered trash bin, its contents never to be revealed.

She is home from work early today.  What’s her name again?  Danielle?  Darlene?  Marlene?  Crap. 

 

I’ve begun to carry some of my neighbor’s discards home as my treasure. 

So far, I’ve acquired this. 

Great for a small herb garden, don’t you

think?  I’ve never grown herbs before.
But now I have the pots… if I ever get the urge.

I've also acquired two of these:

 

 
 

















                                             In hopes of turning them into this:

 

I love the sky in the morning. 
Winter mornings it can be harsh and foreboding, while the evening’s sky is often lush with soft colors.  I listen as birds fly overhead, dogs bark, children cry, wind chimes tinkle. 

That picture frame is still there.  Hey look over there….. what’s that leaning up against the fence?