new neighbors.  There are four of them and at first I was a bit leery that they are now residing on my street.  My introduction to them was a conversation I was having one morning while taking my morning walk.  It went something like this..have you heard about the  Lyons up the street…no, what about them?  Oh, wait until you see them.  See them?  Why, do they look funny?  With that we rounded the corner heading for home and there they were.  They are not Lyons, they are lions.  Two large stately lions, a little shorter than I am and I’m 5″4″, sitting regally at the end of my neighbors driveway.  I was in shock, oh no this can’t be happening.  As we got closer we saw two more guarding the garage door, one on each side.  They are much smaller, but still very large.  My first thought was to laugh, then I felt bad for the people that had to look out at them, and I think I was even a little mad that someone would feel they belonged in our neighborhood.  I walked past them in silence,  afraid that if I talked they might come alive and chase me, after all I was making fun of them.  As if their size is not enough they sit on a small platform and have been painted a bright yellowy gold.  Of course they were the talk of the neighborhood and not in the most flattering way.  The next morning as we rounded the corner there was their owner, sitting on the ground next to them, paint brush in hand giving them another coat of yellowy gold.  I could hardly wait to talk to him, not knowing exactly what I was going to say and hoping I just didn’t blurt out..are you crazy??  As I approached him I couldn’t help but feel the love that surrounded those lions.  He was so proud of them and he was painstakingly putting on a primer (yellowy gold) that would be the base for the real color which he explained will be like real lions, darker brown mane etc.  He asked us with great enthusiasm do you know where these came from?  My mind was racing who could they be.  The MGM lions…the one that roars and his stand-in, or they guarded the Chicago museum, or they stood at the end of  a long driveway in New Jersey that needed guarding.  You’ll never guess,  he said again even more enthusiastically when he realized he had piqued  my curiosity. Who, who are they I couldn’t wait another minute.  His excitement was contagious and I could barely wait to hear.  They are the lions that you saw every time you came out of Spanish Springs Town Square, heading south on Del Mar Drive, they resided at the home on the corner of Panama Place and Del Mar Drive.  Oh, those lions….not really what I was thinking, but again his affection, love and pride of ownership for these concrete creatures was contagious, and they became just as important to me as if they were the MGM lions.  I asked how did you get them over here and he pointed to his golf cart with a platform on the back…one at a time he said.   He went on to explain how he was going to be painting them, and all of a sudden I was touched by the passion he had for them.  I walked away with a smile on my face and a warm fuzzy feeling for our new neighbors.  Later that day I noticed two large black garbage bags over them and became concerned for their well being.  It was then that I realized that they stole my heart.  I really love them.   Welcome new neighbors.