Some of the first stories in this anthology sent as Christmas cards or published as little chapbooks for the family and close friends. Early stories were inspired by letters from my mother while she and Dad were in Texas building a house. Other stories were inspired by calls in the night to come rescue opossums from a friend's backyard or a ferret from her woodpile. One was based on a cat that showed up in our garage one day and disappeared on the exact same day a year later. During that year, she never once ventured outside the house, even though she had every opportunity to do so. Through the years, there was a succession of dogs and cats that found us. Some stayed for the rest of their lives, some were transient. After living a while with them and watching their unique personalities, habits, and thought processes we were amazed and it was often hard to keep from personifying them. A couple of these stories involved the grandchildren and their interaction with fowl and animals. They were fantasy and did not happen in real life.