It seems there is a lot of booing and hissing going on regarding property taxes. Our area has been hit hard. On my street, there are five houses for sale, pretty much one right after the other, all in a row. In all fairness, except for one, they went up almost at the same time a week or so before the mailman brought the bad news (anyone up for biting the mailman besides the dog. No, he's just the messenger).

So let me tell you about the Sunday open houses (it was nicknamed "the Parade of Homes"). One realtor posted an "open house" sign and then a homeowner posted her own because the realtor hadn't. Then the For-Sale-By-Owner neighbor did his. The other neighbor got ticked off by taxes and decided it was the day to join in and planted his For Sale by Owner sign. It was almost like the Meridian Kessler Home Tour all over again (as a matter of fact, one of the new For Sale homes was just on the tour in June).

Our one neighbor left during their open house thinking their cat would hide under the bed. The dog got to go out for a ride. We got an S.O.S. call that the realtor had called them to say that the cat was at the top of the stairs hissing violently and wouldn't let anyone up the stairs. People are left without a complete tour of the home. Could we just go down and shoo her under the bed? The realtor said the cat is "violent" and she was afraid of it. The neighbors were in Castleton shopping and time would be lost. My husband went down and, sure enough, the cat was terribly upset. I don't blame her. Ultimately, she got rounded up in a cat carrier and carted out. These darn taxes are upsetting to all of us and the nerve of people coming into her domain. She was promised there would not be another open house as it was upsetting to all. It's not just the people who might have to move... Think of the pets. The good news is that she got to go for a ride. Or in a cat's mind, was it good news?

By the way, if you (or the dog) do feel like biting the mailman, we have dog biscuits at the store in those shapes. Do I dare mention we have cat shapes, too? You gotta love a cat!