SAGUARO CIRCLE — A herd of seven javelina was sighted near the recycling bins on the east curb at about 6:10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 9, the first confirmed sighting on the Circle since the Courier began publication.

The animals were seen by Kenneth Rivas, who was returning from the night shift at the hospital, where he is a respiratory therapist.

"They looked at me, and I looked at them, and I went inside," Rivas said. "I have been awake since four o'clock yesterday afternoon and I was not prepared to negotiate."

Rivas counted five adults and two young. The herd overturned the Cawley household's trash container, which had been set out beside its recycling bin the night before, and consumed one cantaloupe rind and part of a box of crackers before moving off south through the wash behind the Moya property.

The recycling bins themselves were not disturbed. "There's nothing in a recycling bin a javelina wants," said Anthony Cawley, who cleaned up the scene before work. "Apparently there's plenty in the trash."

One further sighting, unconfirmed, was reported the following week. Ryan Cawley, 8, reported a javelina "the size of a refrigerator" in the wash on Sept. 14. The Courier was unable to verify the size.

The Courier recommends that households set out trash on the morning of collection rather than the night before, and keep the lids on. The Courier recommends this to itself as well.

SAGUARO CIRCLE — Victor and Elizabeth Rooks of the corner house installed a new mailbox on Saturday, Sept. 4, replacing the box that had stood at the head of the Circle since 1980.

The new mailbox is black, with a red flag, and stands on a post of pressure-treated pine set in 50 pounds of concrete. Rooks dug the hole himself, beginning at 6 a.m. to beat the heat, and finished at 7:40 a.m.

The old box had been dented by a trash truck in 1996 and had not closed properly since. "We'd been meaning to do it for three years," Mrs. Rooks said. "Then our grandson visited in August and asked why our mailbox was broken, and Victor took it personally."

The Courier has inspected the new box and confirms that it shuts.

The old mailbox has been retired to the Rooks garage, where it holds seed packets.

SAGUARO CIRCLE — Rain gauges on the Circle recorded the following totals for the summer storm season through Sept. 20, as reported to the Courier:

* Cawley gauge read by Ryan Cawley, 8, to the nearest tenth.

Summer storms in the desert fall very unevenly, and one side of a street may get an inch while the other gets nothing. Even so, the Courier has been unable to explain why two gauges 40 feet apart should differ every month in the same direction. Roger Fulmer attributes the difference to the Goulette gauge's position under the eave. Charles Goulette attributes it to the Fulmer gauge's position "near a sprinkler and a man with an imagination." The Courier takes no position.

Sept. 4, 8:15 a.m. — Dog at large. Duchess, a retriever belonging to David Rosenow, was located in the Michel backyard, unharmed, in possession of a tennis ball that was not her own. Returned to owner. Tennis ball held for claim (see Classifieds).

Sept. 12, 2:15 p.m. — Garage door left open approximately 40 minutes at the Hinds residence during the heat of the afternoon. No loss. One lizard entered and was escorted out by Isabel Hinds, 10, using a dustpan.

Sept. 17, 10:05 a.m. — Suspicious vehicle. A white van circled the Circle twice at low speed. Upon investigation by Mrs. Rooks, it proved to be the pool service in a new truck.

Sept. 18, 11:40 p.m. — Noise. Music audible from the rental house. Resolved by telephone. The residents, graduate students who had completed an examination that day, delivered a plate of cookies and an apology to each adjoining house the following morning. The Courier has sampled the cookies and found them satisfactory.

It has been a month since the residents of the Circle, meeting in the Daniel living room on Aug. 14, agreed that leaf blowers would be operated only from 9 to 11 a.m. on weekdays and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, and never on Sundays.

The Courier is pleased to report that the accord has held. It has been tested once, on Sept. 1, when a gusty storm left the Hinds driveway under a heap of palo verde twigs at 7:30 in the morning. Harold Hinds, who owns the Circle's most powerful blower and was its loudest critic of the accord, stood at the end of his driveway with the machine in his hands for what witnesses describe as several minutes, then put it away and fetched a broom.

That is the whole of civilization, right there.

A desert has few leaves. It has palo verde blossoms in the spring, mesquite pods in the summer, and at all seasons an astonishing quantity of gravel that would prefer to be somewhere else. These must be moved, and the Courier does not object to the moving of them. But there are residents of this Circle who work at night and sleep in the morning, and there are residents who have earned the right to drink their coffee on the patio in peace. Two hours a day is a fair price for both. We commend the accord, and Mr. Hinds, and his broom.

The October issue marks the Courier's first anniversary. The Moyas return from the mountains Oct. 1. The Michels report that they will be away Oct. 8 to 17 (see Classifieds), and the Courier will forward any news.

FREE: Mesquite firewood, split, about half a cord. Bring your own truck and gloves. Daniel.

FOR SALE: Exercise bicycle, used twice, excellent condition, $40 or best offer. Goulette.

WANTED: Someone to water plants and feed cat, Oct. 8–17. Will pay in money or lemons, in season. Michel.

LOST: One gardening glove, green, left hand. Last seen near the new Rooks mailbox. Sentimental value only.

FOUND: One tennis ball, yellow, well used. See Blotter, Sept. 4. Inquire at the Rosenow house. Duchess would like to keep it.

FREE: Two dozen clay pots, assorted sizes, some chipped. Rooks garage, left of the old mailbox.

WANTED: Ride to the airport early morning Oct. 8. Will provide coffee. Michel.

SERVICES: Mother's helper, experienced with lizards. Afternoons and weekends. References from my mom. Isabel Hinds.