Eye Sore or Sight for Sore Eyes?

Pretty, huh? The gently falling snow as it settles lightly on the nearby roof and boughs of trees. You can almost hear the whisper of the flakes as they float gently past the open window...

Such an evocative image this shed generally is NOT.

We moved into our house in 2002. Right next to it is a garage, the one in the above picture. Unfortunately, it doesn't belong to our deed. It belongs to the house on the street below us; their yard runs from one street to the next.

The building in question is little more than a shed though the former neighbor used it as a garage for his rusted out pickup truck. How the floor didn't collapse under its weight is still a mystery to me. It also housed myriad tools, bit of junk, car parts, and until the neighbor's arrest a few years ago, a thriving drug-dealing business. Who knew? It was (is) such a nice neighborhood!

Rats, robins, and raccoons have made it their home. A few stray cats have wandered in and out. A few stray people have wandered in and out, too, looting it after "Larry the Cable Guy" (the old neighbor looked exactly like him) went to jail.

We called the code enforcer a few times. They changed the lock and little else. The lightbulbs are still smashed. The shingle siding is still peeling. The drainspout is still gushing water onto our sidewalk.

When the house was sold a couple years ago, we rejoiced. Surely the new owner would attend to the back of his property! Perhaps, dare we hope, he would even tear down that eye sore! He even said as much the one and only time that we ever saw him.

It sits there still. Holding its own against the odds of Mother Nature and my own fervent curses demanding its demise. It mocks me.

The other day, however, I stole upstairs with my camera. I pushed open the screenless bathroom window. I snapped...a picture.

Turns out the damned thing is pretty photogenic.

So, now I have a new muse. I hope to capture it in all seasons, all weathers. I hope to catch the squirrels on it as they use it as their playground. The blue jays like to taunt my cat from the trees nearby, so maybe they'll let me snap their pictures, as well.

If you can't beat 'em, take their picture!