Doves' Nest in shelter of palm outside my window

Wow .. Knock me over with a 2×4.  I’ve just experience the worst of gringo hubris

While away, my neighbors – Roger Calvin and Susan Gordon – went to the Municipality and got a permit to clear cut the narrow canopy of foliage that had been planted in the community walkway next to my house.  The foliage was a bird habitat, provided a modicom of privacy and shade.  The reason for their permit (as presented) was to access the beach with their boats – while there is a new, wider, smoother, firmer access 1/2 block to the south.

The act was vicious and cruel, and taken while I was in the United States.  I replied to an email request to trim the tree on the front, that I would arrive on Friday and would take care of it – bring it down to the roof level of the house.  Knowing that I would remain absent, they rushed the process … and now, all is gone ..

Hubris ..

To them I say :

Without understanding the value of habitat – shade, oxygen, shelter and food sources, you clear cut a narrow habitat.

You never saw the doves nest, repeatedly, and the tiny birds fledged from the tree outside my bedroom window.

You never heard the finches and sparrows as they fluttered inside the tree to keep cool under the burning sun.

You never saw the cardinals dance on top of the branches, their flashy yellow bodies like golden arrows in the morning light.

You never witnessed the ruby throated hummingbird flittering from golden flower to golden flower.

You never experienced the woodpeckers chattering, bouncing, tree to tree.

You never saw the butterflies, the mariposas, fanning themselves in the shade .. again, shelter from the brutal sun.

You just arrived, stripped away a greenbelt, and  removed a narrow canopy of privacy.