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Another of the young chicks got weak and died late yesterday, so there are just 3 new ones left now. These three seem healthy, as do the six older ones.

It's hot and muggy / buggy, and I let both groups of chicks out; they appear happy, pecking & scratching for bugs (Can dumb animals be 'happy'? Or 'unhappy'? Or are such states unique to humans?) Anyway, I bury the dead chick, and bury a few more potatoes as well. Then I work up a good sweat mowing the yard and driveway, and even caulk & paint a bit on the south wall where I had patched around replacement doors and windows in chilly weather.

Pat drives up to let me know that tonight is 'open book' at the town hall. I wonder why the assessor didn't reveal this to me. So, early evening I corral the chicks back into their respective homes, and bike over. Two other parties are ahead of me; they sound angry and frustrated... I peruse the 'open book', and easily find that a relatively small number of properties, including mine, have been assessed way above neighboring land, for no apparent reason. So, when my turn comes, I ask why. The assessor feigns surprise, asserting that adjoining land should have similar assessed values. But the book clearly shows otherwise. She asks to see what I'm talking about. When I randomly point to my neighbor Cathy's place in the book, her 'surprise' turns to 'shock', and she says, "Oh, my! I guess that parcel needs to be reassessed higher!"

Now I'm really fuming. "So, that's your ploy, is it? Turning neighbor against neighbor, when you know damn well that none of this land is worth what you're claiming! Just what's in it for you?!?" She sweetly tosses me the dry bone she has been dispensing to others: a labyrinthine appeal process as a token to democracy. I have no stomach for this, and just walk out and bike back home. Do bureaucrats realize how their heavy-handed programs and taxes can crush peoples' dreams? Do they care? How is this land suddenly triple the assessed value in one year? What becomes of the plain life if the county forces me to choose between going back to a payroll job or confiscating my land?

I'm exhausted. I check on both sets of chicks, who are settled in for the night, just an occasional soft 'cheep' or ruffle of wings. They know nothing of assessors.