| I live on a farm - nearest neighbour about 1/4 mile away. No Home Owners Assoc'n. to make rules about clothes drying. But in the heat wave of the last few days, our local electricity agencies have been begging us to find ways to use less power - they've had record usage. Buying from other jurisdictions at up to 26 cents per Kw. To operate people's air conditioners. I have a couple at home, one of which doesn't work, and haven't a handy place to install the other (in case it works). With energy supplies running out, and prices going up, it seems to me foolish that we have this rule in many areas that refuse to allow people to dry their washing in the simplest, most energy-efficient way - letting the sun and wind do it, either on a long line, or an umbrella type. I recommend that people living in such areas lobby their associations to change the rule - and their legislators to pass laws that, forthcomng energy shortages being what we can expect, that such restrictions are not permitted. Perhaps some of you read over on KT of my little adventure the other day - en route home from returning daughter's canine (being female, it isn't strictly the three-letter word, but he five-letter one that rhymes with "itch") I was driving on the freeway downhill on a long bridge over a river when I saw a scoop shovel lying beside the roadway. Stopped at the bottom of the hill, found the aluminum scoop shovel (that farmers use for moving grain) was pretty well intact,and picked up a few pop cans and a couple of beer cans on the return trip to the car. One was rather heavy, tipped it down to drain liquid, no result. Shook it, as often there's a snail in them (but this was as heavy as three or four smails) - no rattle. Must be mud, I guess. Noticing that the flap was pretty well shut, I pushed it open with a finger. Out shot a thing like an arrow or a piece of rope, at high speed! Splotchy! A snake - one of the harmless little garter snakes, no doubt. There was quite a lot of vegetation there, and I was startled, so did not track its progress. It was in no mood to stick around and become better adcquainted! But ... if you'd been shut up in a tiny, hot prison cell, then had the deuce shaken out of you - when someone opened the cell door - you'd waste no time in gettig out of there, either, I'm sure! Just glad that I could help him/her get on with life - likely it had pushed the flap shut after entering: possibly it would have been unable to have opened it, on its own. So just possibly I saved its life. Maybe one day someone's generosity may save mine - who knows? Like leaving your clothes in the washed for a while, to get partly dry ... ... when you're planning a joke, do you let it gestate for a while - and then have your humour come out rather dry? Well, half-dry, maybe! (Not all wet, at least). ole joyful | 
