Elementary, my dear Watson

You know how sometimes your dogs bark really loud and you go out and realize it is because there are cops in your neighbors' yard with guns drawn?

Yeah, me neither....until last week.

Our dogs bark a lot but this particular barking was different. It was non-stop and clearly a warning to someone. So I went out to tell them to shut the heck up. Our neighbors are very elderly and I didn't want my dogs to disturb them. When I got out to the deck, I noticed they were looking toward the neighbors' backyard. Expecting to see the neighbors' dog egging them on, I looked up and saw something I hadn't seen before: 2 police officers lurking in the neighbors' yard. Upon closer inspection, guns were unholstered.

Quickly calling the dogs inside, I told Leni about it and sent the following text to several friends:

Should I be concerned that there are cops searching the neighbors' backyard with guns drawn?

Within a few minutes, I received the following responses:

Josh: Wow. Pic?

Nick: Yes

Andy: I might not stand by the window

Laura: Ooh is COPS filming by ur house? Are you gonna be on TV?

Tonia: Nope, better grill something for lunch

Megan: Ha, we haven't had that problem here since Blake left :) Keep me posted ~ (It should be noted that Blake is a former employee at camp who was practicing shooting his handgun when he accidentally shot the neighbors house. Cops soon paid us a visit!)

By the time I was done sending and receiving these texts, the backyard showdown had moved to front yard. Guns were now holstered and there was just some standing around and talking with our elderly neighbors. Soon it turned into the search of a car across the street. Still not wanting to go outside, I was peeking out of windows and through screen doors. The police officers stood around this car for about an hour talking with a young man who looked to be in his early 20's.

Before too long, the young man was placed in the back of a squad car and driven away. I tried to get a picture of this with my cell phone to send to Josh (see his comment above) but the photo through the closed window did not turn out well enough. I tried, Josh!

My expert investigation hunch tells me this was probably drug related. I have no idea how all the pieces fit together. If it was just drugs, were the guns necessary? Why the poking around in the backyard? Were we ever in danger? Even worse, were the dogs in danger and the cops didn't warn us? I may never have the answers to these questions. Perhaps I'll pick up a local paper and see if there is a crime report section.

And I thought we'd moved to such a nice, quiet neighborhood.....

Keep It Real!