THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE NOT SO PRETTY

We live at the end of a private lane, unpaved, surrounded by very old trees. Many of them are live oaks and are in need of either, radical trimming, or removal. To be truthful, when the wind blows more than 20 mph, the house is in danger of being eradicated by trees at least 75 feet tall and 100 years old. It's quiet here though, if you don't count the hum of the road nearby, the chatter of the squirrels, or the barking of my dogs. Since our neighbors moved to rural Alabama, there is one less annoyance because their very tiny, but loud, dogs have left the scene.

Something new is on the horizon here at Anchor Lane. Actually it is not the horizon, but the other end of the lane. What used to be a large empty lot filled with old trees - pine, oak, palm - is now bare land, scoured by bulldozers and cranes. The trees have become a large pile of mulch, which I hope they will use to landscape when they are finished building.


We have heard that the property is to be a cluster of high end apartments, perhaps for senior citizens. That would be nice, would increase our property value, and provide a place for us to move in a few years. It would also increase the clientele of the Publix (Supermarket) that most of us from this area, use. One potential, and very real, problem that will affect our daily life, is the traffic that the development of the property will create. I wonder where the entrances and exits for the new construction will be. There is only a short left turn lane leading to my street and it requires crossing two lanes of a very busy thoroughfare. During rush hour, it is only by the good will of a few drivers that I get across those lanes alive. It won't work to have several hundred cars trying to make that life or death crossing with me.


The trees are gone, the vines that hugged them are no more, the wildflowers and colorful weeds have been plowed under or shoved into piles to be removed. It is just plain ugly at the other end of the lane. Lest you should think that today's blog is only words, I have some ugly art to add.