This is a very common scene at our house. The kids like to spend time in the front yard together. There’s a good deal of shade and a little sun, and a variety of textures and trees and plants and shrubs and sloping terrain. We have deer, rabbits, plenty of birds including turkeys, butterflies, bees and all kinds of wild animals that come through our yard at various times. Once I opened the front door to see a rather large snake on the sidewalk just before the porch. That’s about the only time I just slammed the door and we waited before going outside. A raccoon has been on our back porch a couple of times over the years. Water features are great, but wild animals think they are convenient too. A possum gave birth on our back porch a few years ago. Libby spotted the Mom and babies between the house and our water feature and she barked nonstop at them. Normally I don’t allow barking, but this time we let her in hopes that it would run off the visitors. Within 24 hours, the Mom had relocated the babies thankfully. Speaking of Moms, you can see Cali in the second photo in the window just watching the other kids just like they are her babies. No matter where she is in the house when it is time to take the dogs out, she will find her way to the foyer and be there waiting and watching for them. Even if it is an unscheduled walk not at their normal times she will come and watch over them. They are a very tight knit community of four. We are lucky to have them in the family.