Animal Yard

This afternoon I looked outside to check on my kids and the neighborhood kids who were playing in our backyard. Everyone was playing nicely. Then I did a double take. Walking around on the back patio was a fat guinea pig. What the heck was that thing doing there? Didn't it know there was a dangerous cat lurking nearby?

"Hey kids," I called, "Where did this guinea pig come from?"

"Oh, that's mine," called one of the kids.

"You might want to keep an eye on him," I said as I watched the little fur ball investigate a chipmunk hole.

"Mama," my son called, "Can Croaky come out?" Croaky is our pet African Clawed Frog.

I thought about that for a minute. The weather was warm enough. "Okay, but Croaky has to stay in his tank."

I hauled that tank down to the picnic table. The kids were delighted to play with the frog.

Meanwhile, in the other yard, the Huskies were howling. They had spotted the cat.

I think I must be living in a zoo!