Our Farmer's Market

Farmer's Markets are the best. We have one of the best ones in the area across the street from us every Saturday morning. I want to get there today before everything is cleared out, so I will have to keep this short. You can get personally grown fruit and vegetables, local coffee and pastries, homemade soaps, and so much more. A lot of local artisans will have stands too, selling their hand-made crafts and jewelry. It's a way to get to know the folks in the area and really feel like you're contributing to the community. It can be a bit crowded, lucky for us parking is never an issue. The Waverly Farmer's Market is a top five reason why I love our neighborhood, now I just have to come up with four others.

Having (and Being) Good Neighbors

It's a quid pro quo situation. Neighborly relations are developed over time by rational people interested in the welfare of others and community peace. You can't expect neighborly behavior from others if you aren't willing to be neighborly yourself. Not over the long term, at least. We had that type of relationship in spades with our neighbors back in Towson. We looked out for each other and tried, as best we could, to be considerate. Living in row homes, you need to be extra alert since you and your neighbors share walls.

There are a lot of rentals where we live now. In fact the two houses to our left and the one (at least) to our right are rentals, and the two left-hand properties tend to rent to college kids. Not good neighbors. Last night our directly adjacent, and newly moved-in neighbors threw a huge party with loud music, screaming, chanting, and probably fornicating with ancient evil entities from a reality parallel to, but not "of" our reality. Having just shed the previous tenants who were really big partiers, we were disappointed.

When this new batch of kids was moving in Kate had been neighborly to them, lending them hammers and screwdrivers and a drill. And with this party we were willing to give them slack. If it was just a house-warming party, not to be followed by others every other week, no sweat. We'll see. Once you don't have good neighbors, you really realize what a positive thing it is.

So try not to take good neighbors for granted, if you've got them. Be friendly and watch out for each other. An amiable, neighborly environment is more likely to keep the sorts of neighbors you want, so try and establish relationships with more distant neighbors you don't already know. For our part, we're going to start going to neighborhood association meetings. Try and get to know the good neighbors we have but haven't met yet. If we all work together we can hopefully "snuff up" the less "exemplary" members of our community. We like where we live...it just needs a few modifications.

The Sound of One Dog Barking

I'm not sure why, but I've always loved the sound of a neighborhood dog barking off in the distance. It must be one of those sounds I associate with my childhood, growing up in a safe and secure environment. It's one of those sounds that makes a neighborhood feel complete, as if I'm living in some sort of "Leave it to Beaver" wonderland where the paperboy is still a kid on a bike with a little bell instead of some creepy middle-aged person chucking papers from out of a slow moving van.

A lone dog talking to himself off in a yard too distant to see encapsulates a simpler time. It makes me feel like I'm home.

Now if the dog is right next door and won't shut up, that's a wholly different scenario. So really the warm, fuzzy feelings are a matter of proximity more than anything else.