The People In My Neighborhood

Since I've been taking our dog for a walk (almost) every day off and on for the past couple years, I have come to recognize, if not actually know, lots of my neighbors. Most of them I know from their dogs, or by the cars outside their house, so here is a rundown:

• People with rottweilers who decorate their house like crazy for Halloween. These people often say hello, and I have seen them at the store before.
• People with a herd of collies. Like four or five of them. But they are very well-behaved collies, and Abby likes them, so it's okay when they swarm all around us. Lots of smells, and then they go back inside.
• People with the mystery dog behind the fence. They have gorgeous flowers, but I have no idea what kind of dog barks at us every day.
• Guy with the classic Mustang convertible in the garage. I think it's a '65. He often waves.
• Group of 20-something guys who all live in a house together. Most of the time they are sitting outside smoking. They have a little yappy dog, but if it barks, they yell swear words at it, so we try to be quiet past this house.
• Lady who is almost always watering her grass with a hose. She must not have much going on, because she is out there all the time. Nevertheless, she is very nice and calls Abby a "good old boy." Abby is obviously a girl, but I don't want to hurt her feelings. The lady's, either.
• Kids who are out playing every day, mostly on scooters. They sometimes pet Abby, but they are usually too busy.
• House with the little gray poodle (I think) that never barks, but he gets so excited that he runs around and around a tree in his yard. This never fails to make me smile.
• Lady with a tennis court  in her yard. I don't know. She also has a bunch of glass butterflies.
• Another mystery dog.
• House with teenager who works on his car a lot.
• Yard with three big dogs, one is a German Shepherd, and another one looks like a younger Abby, the third, I am not sure. They bark a lot.
• House where the pug steeplechase used to happen. There were two pugs here, one with a hilarious raspy bark that sounded like an old man. I loved them, but I think they moved.
• Pit Bull house. This dog never barks, only watches us. He (or she) is a very good dog.
• House with two corgis, but I have only seen them two or three times. The people are also very friendly.
• House with an amazing classic red Saab, which is almost completely restored.
• House with cars with political/smutty bumper stickers. Some are funny, and the guy is sometimes out jacking with the car engine.

That's about it. Those are the people in my neighborhood, the people that I meet each day!

</Mr. Rogers>