After being cooped up in my home-office in front of the computer all day, I ventured out to my deck with Topper, Bobcat, an ice-cold glass of chardonnay and my first issue of Modern Cat Magazine. I so enjoy extended daylight in the summer time. It was 6:00 p.m. and the sky was still a dazzling blue. A soft breeze cooled the unusually hot balmy air for just a moment as I turned the pages of my new magazine.

 I raised my glass for a sip of the refreshing chilled wine and noticed that Bobcat was distracted by rustling in the bushes on other side of the deck. He sat motionless, gripping the deck railing and staring down at something. It must be birds, I thought to myself.

Topper suddenly jumped off of his cozy spot on the cushioned rattan chair and sauntered up to the deck railing. His concentrated stare got my attention. “All right, guys, what is goin’ on?” I said as I put down the magazine and made my way over to the side of my deck.

I carefully leaned over the railing and spied what they saw—and it wasn’t birds. “Oh my goodness,” I whispered to myself with a strained effort to keep quiet. I didn’t want to scare off these critters, as it was a rare sight. Four baby skunks were nosing around the base of the eucalyptus tree looking for dinner. They were climbing over one another, frolicking in the leaf-covered grassy ground. They were so darn cute and carefree. I reached for my camera and that broke the spell. I was caught mid click. The skunk clan gingerly made a turn away from the direction of my deck just in time for me to capture their behinds mid-turn as they headed off to a safer place to feed.

Topper jumped back onto his spot on the chair to catch the last few minutes of sun before it sunk behind the canyon hills.

 He nonchalantly looked at me before resuming his sunning position.

Just another day in Laguna Canyon.