I am awake most mornings between 3 and 5 A.M. I am always out with Snug (the youngest Maltese) at that hour. We don’t usually venture far from the house, especially in this cold, but yesterday we discovered another reason to stay close to home.

We were just finishing our loop around the house and were standing by the light pole at the edge of our driveway when the shrieking started.

At first I thought it was someone in trouble. Then I saw them crossing the road about a hundred feet in front of us. Snug and I beat a hasty retreat back into the house. Country livin’…….Time to start carrying a big stick I guess.