GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

Yesterday I was expecting a courier delivery. Sometimes the courier doesn't pull into my driveway because it's hard to back out again. When the online tracking system reported that it had been delivered and it wasn't at the front door, I decided to go and check my rural mailbox across the road to see if the package had been crammed in there. To my amazement, my mailbox was standing upright again. I was shocked. Someone had replanted it vertically, and they'd done a very nice job of it too. Sadly my package was not inside, but I was pretty pleased with that vertical mailbox. Who could have done it? The first suspects were Liz and Linda, excellent neighbours, good friends, and very sneaky. But Linda said no, it wasn't them, and it's a boatload of work to do that, so I narrowed the search down to Harry, the brother of my next door neighbour, Dick. Dick doesn't live there any more but Harry keeps an eye on the property and does some logging while he's there. I confess I like hearing Harry working over there, and he sometimes ploughs out the entrance to my driveway when the snow is deep, so Harry is pretty much up there in my books as a swell guy. Scotland Yard suspects Harry at this point. If not, it might be Mark, a young guy who has an organic gardening business nearby. Mark built my raised vegetable beds. The issue of my missing courier package was solved today when there was a knock at the door. It was Mike, who lives two streets over (but miles away). We have the same house number, so this isn't our first time at the mail delivery rodeo. Mike had my package. That's the good news. The bad news is....

...a tree just came down and wiped out a whole section of cedar split rail fence between my place and Dick's. I figure it's 30 feet tall and maybe 30 inches in diameter at its widest. 30 feet is nothing. I've taken down trees twice this tall. This tree is already down, though, and it's the 30 inches that's the problem. My chain saw is not nearly big enough for a tree this thick. I'm thinking of baking a nice pie. I wonder if Harry likes pie....