One of the Reasons I Love My Neighborhood...

...is because there are frequent opportunities to say "I saw the peacock again." According to one of the neighbors, a nearby farm went out of business about a year and a half ago and left the peacock free to saunter through suburban streets. The last several times that I've seen it, the peacock has been entranced by a large mirror that one family put in their front yard, and was pecking compulsively at the threatening yet oddly handsome stranger in the glass. Not that I find it easy to pull my eyes away from such a striking creature either - between the brilliantly colored feathers, reptilian legs and thoroughly improbable tail, it seems like the bird found its way here from some less sensible but more interesting world. (Photo by Jessica Merz)