It's been a long road for Piper to acclimate herself to this new neighborhood since moving here last August. The next-door neighbor had a dog and a cat, and if Piper can't be the queen of her yard, she just stays inside. Well, the neighbor moved and gradually Piper has come to realize that she's free to roam about now.

Lately she has just been going outside and hanging out in the bushes next to the house for most of the day. The big backyard was just something she kept an eye on from the perch of my desk. Today I saw something walking down by the edge of the creek and I grabbed my glasses and sure enough, there she was. I was so proud!