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| Down came the apple tree...Terribly wet weather for several weeks now, combined with a night's high wind, and this is the result. The neighbors old apple tree finally gave up the fight, split down the middle, and feel to the ground in both directions - one of which happened to be directly across the dividing fence between our two properties.
This might be seen as somewhat disastrous, but it did in fact, create an opportunity for me to have one of my only too infrequent chats with my neighbor. We sat, with a cup of tea, and caught up on what had been happening for us over the last far too many months. She has a very busy life, as Housekeeper of Highclere Castle, so that we rarely, even though we live next door to each other, meet by accident. Strange that it is only when adversity strikes (even though it be ever so mild, as this event was) that we are reminded of how insular we can be these days. Journal prompt. How well do you know your neighbors? How often do you SEE your neighbours? 50 years ago, it would have been thought very strange indeed not to see my neighbours on a daily basis - and alarm would certainly have been raised if it happened two days in a row. Write about the neighbours you had back in your childhood - and the change in frequency or familiarity of seeing them that has happened since then. What do you think of your neighbours now? How do you get along? What do you do for each other - or do you speak as little as possible. Consider the reasons for your answers, and ponder how you could make it different - or do you like it just as it is? |