Heat, cold and the social order of Cheshire

Cheshire, Connecticut is a very civilized place.

Neighbors wave and talk to each other across fences.

People let you out in traffic (traffic and garden supplies are two constants in Cheshire).

Even total strangers smile and say hello in the stores.

A very civilized place.

But extreme heat and cold break down the social contract in entirely different ways.

When it's cold and snowy everyone keeps sidewalks clear but (and a big 'but') people don't pick up their dogs' poop! Along the snowy canal where many walk pets, there's poop everywhere....

Heat and Humidity, like the last few days, seems to keep people from putting grocery carts in the spots reserved for them. On normal days it's what people in Cheshire do--roll their carts to the place designated and even keep the small carts and large carts separated!

But when it's 92 with 80% humidity. the normally civilized people of Cheshire dump their groceries in the car and leave the carts right there, making the job of those who collect them and take them back in Big Y or Stop and Shop a nightmare.

Extremes are hard on the social contract we've come to expect here in 'the Shire'....