I Tilt At Windmills: Therefore I Am

Not too many cities in the world can boast a civic center with grounds that look like this. 

A friend and I handed out more of my leaflets this morning--telling my neighbors in Los Altos what are the plans for our historic apricot orchard. That is--to demolish it, pave it over, and build a bunch of city buildings where the trees have stood for half a century.

Meanwhile, the local paper hits my mailbox each Wednesday and makes me grind my teeth. In it, our mayor is quoted as saying (this week): " It [the orchard] will be preserved in some fashion." This is like saying your dead grandfather will be "preserved in some fashion" when you have him cremated and place his ashes on your mantlepiece.

New Asphalt, or An Old Orchard?

The grounds of the Los Altos City Hall, with our library in the distance.

I've been to two presentations now on the plans for a new $81M city hall, police station and community center for my hometown, Los Altos, California. The presentations are excellent as are the plans.

And then, yesterday, I had to run an errand that took me by our City Hall. The apricot trees are not yet in bloom, but the spring sunshine has brought out the wild mustard. The acreage is so beautiful--at all times of year--and it is especially beautiful in the spring.