What??!!

Heard a car horn in our driveway this morning as I was getting ready for work -- maybe 6 or 6:30 or so.  Went to the door and there was a police car with flashing lights, a truck belonging to the fire chief and a couple other cars - not sure who they were.  I threw open the door to see what the heck was going on and the guy on the porch said "You have a red and white horse?"  Oh, Lord! . . . DUKE again????  But when I looked over to the Plaisances' house next door, there was a paint horse -- white with red markings -- NOT Duke, thank heaven!!

But apparently Duke HAS made it seem likely that if there's a horse out running around, it's probably ours! 

Actually, I didn't get too distressed this time, even before I saw the paint, because I had bathed our horses last night when I got home, so they were all closed up in their paddocks so they couldn't go roll around in the still-muddy pond in back until they got good and dry.  (Lizzie has been rolling around back there to the point where she had begun to look like a cardboard horse! . . . solid mud from head to tail.)   And it did pour down rain for a short time last night, too -- not for long, but enough to make the ground soft back there yet again. 

But anyway - I'm hoping that since it was NOT Duke tramping around leaving hoof prints over on Shelley's property this time that we won't be considered the always-irresponsible owners from now on.  Hopefully.  (But on the other hand, it IS good that if any of ours DO get out, they'll let US know immediately.)