I find this really dissonant.

I prefer to see wildlife in trees.

But what I see is an amazing thing, indeed: people buying land, clear-cutting and bulldozing it, then spending big $$ for landscaping with non-native species and a) complaining of the cost, b) advertising this as a feature, to people who are looking for another house. In Florida, this is especially ironic on the barrier islands, where the bulldozer kills species not found at all otherwise north of Cuba.

Then the owner buys products advertised as "green".

Okay, there's a little charm now after the damage is done. OK.

I prefer to see wildlife in trees.

The birds aren't going to be picky about whether you have a classical birdfeeder or a piece of art in your tree.

Yesterday on our hike we saw an otter playing in the water in the Spokane river... I have never seen one in the wild before.

I love that! None of my neighbors have reached this level of creativity yet. Well, there is the guy on the edge of town who has a whole yard full of creatures made from discarded metal and made his house look like a castle - sadly though he's sold off the land and they'll have to move everything.

My barn swallows would build nests on it and poop on everything, or everyone, below. I still love them.

Those cars are collectors items. They could have used something else for color, since it's up in a tree.

I like that. Non-native landscaping, not so much. It wouldn't go with my house though, we're red brick classical. I've always wanted a bis concrete hippopotamus for our yard (one can find these things in a town near us). Maybe some day.

Hey momof4, why not just a huge boulder. I know they grow those in Texas, just as we do here in Minnesota.

The birds aren't going to be picky about whether you have a classical birdfeeder or a piece of art in your tree.

Correct.

Now, count the trees in your neighborhood, and then compare to what used to be there. That's what I'm getting at, and the process is still going on.

Looks like a fun creative project.

Reminds me of somewhere around the Bay Area where they have an artist in residency at the city dump. They make mosaics or sculptures out of people's junk.

There's probably someone in New York who would pay a million bucks for 'em. Who knows.

"The house I rent was built in 1907, and I wasn't born until 1964."

Sorry - this isn't personal. I just got back from Florida, where apparently the copy machine is in full cry. Put in another minimall, Lowe's, 7-11, gas station, WalMart. Because the next one is too far away. You can't see it from your house!

In Orlando, you can literally go from one side to the other without being out of sight of a convenience store. Wow.

To me, this indicates a serious problem with the ideas of financing, money and civic planning.

On the one hand, your house would probably sell for millions now, but it would be abandoned, worth merely thousands somewhere else. I find population pressure fascinating at the same time I worry about habitat destruction - which doesn't go away with age.

Eric: Yesterday on our hike we saw an otter playing in the water in the Spokane river... I have never seen one in the wild before.

You are near Spokane? I live in Liberty Lake! My old house (now ex-hubby's house) is right behind Tim's Hot Rod Shop, which incidentally is located in a very pretty part of the trail. We've seen beaver on several occasions, as well as eagles and moose.