City/Country Double Exposure

Aside from the constant beeping, I think the reason I am so annoyed with the earth moving next door is the fact that they are rearranging the landscape, flattening a hill that was largely rock. Early on, when the list of fire destroyed properties was published, John ran into a contractor down on the street who was looking at the ruins of the property with an eye to bidding on debris to removal. He told John that he 'wouldn't touch it with a bargepole' And that was just debris removal. Somebody should have told them that it wasn't possible to build a new home, consistent with current building code requirements, on that site. It is shocking how much earth they have moved from one place to another and back again. All we can do is speculate since the property owners have gone off somewhere in their RV, but my theory is that the move a lot of earth, there is a pause while they wait for an inspection, they don't pass inspection and they resume digging and shifting  and smoothing and tamping and then digging the whole thing up again. It seems like nobody knows what they are doing.

Today they had the big digger and the little earth mover going at once and not even managing to beep in unison! On the brink of stomping over there and asking them what the f*** they are doing, I fled instead.

I enjoyed my Pilates class in the studio...such a nice group of people and good to back with them in person. Working on a reformer is different but in many respects almost easier than on a mat on the floor. More expensive too, but I have renewed my monthly membership and plan to try to go twice a week.

After class I went to my new favorite home store in search of some nice liquid soap for the guest shower. They had several good ones with adult fragrances but they were all in glass bottles which sort of defeats the purpose of liquid soap in a shower. I bought a new pillow for the TV room couch instead. I told the woman that my husband just didn't get the point of throw pillows and always either throws them on the floor, rearranges them so he can put his feet on them, or turns them over because they're 'too scratchy' for his face  (which is actually scratchier than any throw pillow). The woman in the store, who remembered me...always good for business, said,' I can't tell you how many women I have had this conversation with. It is obviously a Mars vs. Venus thing....'

I stopped on my way back to the car to take a picture of a very intricate metal grate around a tree. I couldn't find a date on it but I don't think anybody goes to so much trouble for things like that anymore. A lot of the old sewer manhole covers are also works of art. I might have to do a series sometime. I played around with snapseed  and came up with a double exposure combining a mundane but pretty street grate, and a lupin which are in full bloom in all the fields around us now. The picture of the original urban grate is in extras.

The beeping was still in full flow when I got back but our gardener has now arrived with his lawn mower and leaf blower so we get to make some noise of our own. Spike doesn't like it. He's sitting in my lap....