Cute Lil' Darlins'

Dear Jo,

In the middle of a major city, we found Mom and her 2 kits wandering up the hill that led to my Momma's place. Our dog was a hissy fit and was having none of this "the front yard tonight" stuff!

I was more worried about Waldo, my desert tortoise who lived in his own condo (a heavy wooden tea box) on the patio and who like to attempt to climb our Japanese mable because he loved the flavor of their leaves. (A gourmet turtle . . . go figure!)

Did the black widow bit in southern CA -- law, they were everywhere! Did my personal bit for medical science by getting bit by one pissed off spider. This was not fun, so I steer clear of any spiders nowadays. (Naturally, all the spiders in the neighborhood know about me and have decided to descend en mass as it were upon my dwelling whenever possible. One brave and hearty critter established quite a spread for itself by the time I looked up and gasped. But, for any PETA members and/or other sympathetic souls, I give all critters to understand that bothering me is tantamount to ending the visit in a most uncivilized fashion. Most figure it out; the rest . . . well, listen to the sounds of the surf!)

Wild life is always interesting . . . so long as it's on PBS.

Cheers!