Updates

The van that one of the Menonnite volunteers had planned to haul her belongings to Indiana with was stolen out of our parking area a couple of nights ago. That culminated a series of thefts in which someone stole a number of my potted plants in broad daylight. Someone had also rummaged in our garbage cans tearing open a garbage bag full of paper. One wonders if these incidents are all linked.

On a positive note, our neighborhood continues to improve and look better and the force for change appears to pick up momentum. As far as I can tell, there are two others neighbors who have adopted empty lots near their homes - Brian, on Linden Avenue and Mrs. Brown on Brookfield. (I am fixated on litter because I believe the cleanliness of a neighborhood streets and sidewalks is an indicator of its health.) Mrs Brown also does her litter patrol along the stretch of Whitelock near her house and Brian does his block of Linden . Sometimes Mrs Brown picks up bigger items and hauls them to the dump in her station wagon. I think they were doing this before we adopted our own vacant lot.

Jose, the handyman for the building across from us on Whitelock was whacking weeds this afternoon and has been picking up litter. The vacant lot on the corner of Whitelock and Brookfield, which was once a weed patch, has been converted into a vegetable garden and now bills itself the Whitelock Community Farm, complete with a sign. Corn grows on one corner (although they don't seem to be doing too well), sunflowers, squash and lot's of other stuff that seem to be flourishing. The area continues to look better and I wish there is a way to capture this progress the way you can see a seed germinate in time-lapse photography.