Quaint

Hey, I told you my town was quaint. Looking up the local town website (yes, we have a website) to check if there was any 'official' news (not particularly), I wandered into the list of town officials. Check this out. THIS is how quaint we are, and oh my God I am NOT making these up:

Fence Viewer
Inspector of Milk
Town Physician
Measurer of Wood and Lumber
Moth Superintendent
Field Driver/Poundkeeper whose job is 'to "take up horses, mules, asses, neat cattle, sheep, goats or swine going at large in the public ways, or on common and unimproved land within his town and not under the care of a keeper" and to impound the same. The poundkeeper, who ... is the same officer, is then charged with feeding and providing water to the "beasts" which are in his custody.'

Seriously. NOT MAKING THAT UP.

Here is a quaint picture from the center of town, where the local river runs through. Now, you have to understand. This house is a local landmark, an old colonial turned into a saltbox at one point or other; and as far as I know it's always been cantilevered somewhat precariously over the river on a couple of lollycolumns. Usually, of course, the river is much lower, by several feet. Astonishingly enough, this house does have a cellar, on the more landward and less rivery side of things.

And here's one of the other drystone bridges in the town, right by the same saltbox, this one a triple arch, though you can barely see them for the water. The bridge itself was closed to traffic, because the water was so high.

And here, to give you an idea of the major PITA this is all going to be in my neighborhood, is the satellite view of the area. The blue circle (blue for water) is where the bridges over the mill streams gave out (the white in the upper right is water reflecting the sun). As you can see, there are a LOT of people on this side.