I need a laugh, Jack

Jack the 6-month-old Aussie pup makes me happy. Here he is grinning at Maria yesterday morning at Puppy School.

I need a happy image right now because:

1. The neighbors, who bought the lot between their property and ours, have begun raping the forest with a bulldozer and a backhoe. We were relieved when we heard they were buying the last unsold lot in the subdivision because prospective buyers/builders were checking it out. We supposed they would leave it wooded to preserve the natural habitat for deer, coyotes, turkeys and other critters. So imagine our surprise this morning when the bulldozer showed up and started cutting swaths through the woods. I haven’t worked up the energy to go ask them what their plan is, but my guess is that it involves building a third garage or more parking space for their fleet of boats and trailers.
2. I started doing our taxes this afternoon and discovered I didn’t have enough deducted last year when I cashed in my retirement annuity. It will be a very painful check to write.

So I need something like Jack’s smiling face to dull the pain.

On a positive note, the Wallace China El Rancho plate that got detoured to northwest Arkansas from the USPS Little Rock Sorting Center finally appeared in our post office box yesterday morning, thus completing the five-plate purchase I made on Ebay a couple of weeks ago.