Let's give reins to imagination and pretend..we give a party for various members of wildlife. The seating arrangement might be a bit precarious, but this will be "a getting to know you party..." Open House! People give neighborhood parties. This one is on the wild side! The red carpet is out, the food tables are set. Creatures can walk, fly or crawl in; all are welcome!
  Among the first arrivals is a choral of peepers.  They immediately make themselves at home and hop up on the piano stool and burst into their favorite familiar songs!
  A deer cautiously enters the midst all decked out in reddish brown; however not before pruning some shrubbery in the front yard!  He cuts a handsome graceful figure.  Being quite large compared to the rest, he squeezes his way through the door and finds his way to the platter of greens and a special dish of arbor vitae.  His antlers become entangled in the chandelier and briefly the lights go out...
  A happy little arrival, a chipmunk, known for its striped face and back, quickly fills its cheeks with food.  (Its own doggie bag!)  With helpings of nuts, seeds, fruit and skedaddles out as fast as it skedaddled in.  A woodchuck with his stocky body chugs in from the woodlands.  He looks somewhat like a little bear.  A catbird who has been hobnobbing with a woodchuck can't wait to ask the woodchuck what plans he has for next February 2.
  The raccoons amble in and look around as if they are casing the place.  The black masks around their eyes fool no one.  They are quite social and immediately begin to gloat about their best garbage can breakthroughs.  Like goats, they love to eat anything so everything is yummy!
But true to raccoon custom, they neatly wash their paws before diving in.
  A box turtle slowly leads his lovely domed shaped body to the dining area but needs a lift to see what is offered.   The turtle takes his time deciding what is worth a snap, and hen slowly savors a salad of field greens.  He has all the time in the world.  He can live to be a hundred.
   A family of cottontails hops in.  Their ears twitch in unison along with their noses which lead them to a big bowl of tossed salad.  They are immediately in clover.
  A large crow flies in from the cornfield dressed in glossy black with violet reflections.  Lovely, brazen and fearless, he swoops about the room completely upsetting the atmosphere, dives in and spears a cherry, spreads his wide wings and flaps out.
  An opossum lumbers through the door, jubilant and feeling blessed; getting here he made it across the road without getting hit.  Ever so shy, he wishes he had the savvy of others.  He hates to be called the "goof of the woods."  No matter, while dipping into some fruit, a mole taps him on the head and asks him about the latest grub situation.
  A pair of squirrels leave their trees long enough to attend the gathering.  They dart and run, full tilt among the guests and zoom head on towards a box of mixed nuts.  They are familiar with all the faces having seen them many times pass below all their tall branches.
  The party comes to an end when a red fox slinks in on the tips of his toes.  What a sophisticate!  The long bushy tail swishes along the floor behind a graceful body, pretty as a picture, in spite of being a den mother.  She will eat anything except the platters!
  After the last guest walked, flew or crawled out into the wild, and the red carpet was rolled up, a covey of ducks waddled up the path. They looked all around and then lowered their heads almost into the ground in deep disappointment. They thought they were coming to a pool party. To soothe their feathers they announce"why not, let's just pretend again!"

Barbara Hotchkiss Posener