Hide N' Seek with New Neighbors

As you know, we own a hotel – Hotel NOLA – for wayward, lost, homeless, or visiting animals. We've built and maintained it through our own money. Money we collect from our Jeopardy winnings or from charging People on TV (or Mommy and Daddy) for using colorful language.

But what happens to our guests, if they need a new start? Warm-blooded animals can start in our park, since our Hotel exists in Teddy Bear World, right smack in the middle of FDR Park, in Philly. (Come and visit, if you're an animal. Sorry, if you're People, you can't see it. That's how Teddy Bear World works.)

If our guests are stuffed animals looking for a new home, we discovered groups of People, who are always looking for stuffed animals to give to children in crisis. (This is true in People World, so, if you need to find new homes for some of your stuffed animals, clean them up and send them to these People. They always need more.) Firefighters, the Police, and Crisis Counseling Centers give stuffed animals to scared kids. (Smart ones give them to scared grown-ups, too.) Think how important those Stuffies become to their new mommies and daddies.

But there are more kinds of lost, homeless, and wayward animals than these. Some are figurines, statues, and Christmas tree decorations. We don't discriminate. We take in all kinds of animals.

We've been bringing home many of those lost and wayward animals (and some gnomes) through the years. You've met our Christmas tree neighbors during the holidays. Others guard our garden. We consider them our neighbors and play with them. Today we played Hide N' Seek with some old and new neighbors.

Here we are sitting with Yankee, Dandy, Doodle, and their pet, Gauge, the Turtle. Gauge used to be a rain gauge, until his glass tube broke.

Meet our newest neighbors – Mama Bear holding Baby Bear, with Sonny and Sunny next to them. This is where they stay in storms. We've invited them in, but they prefer outside. You can tell it was cloudy out. That's when the Tradescantia blooms the most.

But that's not how we first saw them on our garden. At first, we exploring the garden, when we discovered Mama and Baby under our Hens and Chicks. We sat with them to see how they were doing.

Our sons got bored and decided to relax in the Hens and Chicks. The black cat is Teddy's son, Tee, with GI Ding in his action-figure carrier. The Teddy Bear is Spaulding's son, Ding, with GI Ding in his action-figure carrier. (They told us to make sure everyone knows "they are not dolls! They are action-figures." If their sisters "borrow" them, they like to play dollies with them.)

Ding and Tee got bored of relaxing, too, so they hopped over to the next container – our spinach. They heard someone counting, so they peaked over and met Sonny, ready for a game of Hide N' Seek.

They shouted, "Hide N' Seek!" We did what comes nature for Teddy Bears; we hide. Is Sonny peaking?

Spaulding found a good place to hide. Well, he thought it was a good place, until he found Sunny counting. She likes Hide N' Seek, too.

"I tried here next, but I don't think it's a good place to hide, if Mommy can take my picture." Sleeping Gnome isn't hiding. He sleeps.

Teddy and the boys tried here, but had the same problem. "It can't be a hood hiding place, if Mommy takes our picture."

Spaulding tried another spot. "It's tough being so big!"

"This really is a good hiding place! Grandpa was just taking a picture, and never saw us."

We hide behind the broccoli. It was a great place to hide, until Spaulding shouted when he spotted the chamomile starting to sprout.

 We'd show you our really good hiding spots, but then Mommy would just take pictures of us, the next time we played.

We love our new neighbors. They're lots of fun. We'll show you how else we play in our garden, too. Until next time,…count to ten! Kehehehehehe