Giles Snyder

Our little tuxie was nowhere to be found this morning. At least, not immediately. I wasn't worried. I figured she was busy living up to her MO - murdering small rodents. She may appear to be a cute cat, but make no mistake, this cuddly kitty is a serial killer. I guess she's just doing her job as a mouser. But if she were anything other than a cat, she'd be serving a life sentence. Instead, she's free to whine for food at my front door when she hasn't been able to find anything better to eat.

I should probably take the newcomers a gift. It's the Christmas season, after all. It wouldn't hurt to be generous. Would a fruit basket be okay? Nothing says "welcome to the neighborhood" like a fruity arrangement of fresh apples, oranges, pears, peaches, mangoes, raspberries, strawberries and cantaloupe. In this case, however, maybe a simple loaf of white bread would be the better option. The Duck family recently moved in where the neighborhood deer used to make their home - in the open field in the lower part of the neighborhood. I can't say that I miss the deer. They made a habit of coming over late at night, unannounced, and helping themselves to the flowers, shrubs and whatever else my wife tried to grow around the house. They really weren't very good neighbors. In fact, having them around eating everything they could get their hooves on and leaving the yard a mess is a lot like having your college son home for the holidays - nothing in the f