NATCHEZ &8212; Linda Harper saw an opportunity when she moved from Morgantown to 907 Washington St. a couple years ago.

She started work on her garden right away, and she transformed her yard into the urban paradise it is now. It&8217;s very labor intensive, she said, but good stress relief.

&8220;I&8217;d just rather be outside,&8221; Harper said. &8220;Even in the summer, I&8217;m sweating, but I&8217;m outside.&8221;

Her favorite season is fall, Harper said.

&8220;I love cold weather, cuddling, big pots of soup and sweatpants,&8221; she said. &8220;I do a bit of winter landscaping, but for the most part, I get a much-needed yard break.&8221;

Harper&8217;s other great love and occupation is animals.

She now plays a strong role in the Natchez-Adams County Humane Society.

When she was a child, her grandparents had animals, so she developed a love and appreciation for them and learned some difficult lessons.

&8220;My grandparents had pigs and cows,&8221; she said. &8220;We would name them.&8221;

&8220;But I was traumatized as a kid,&8221; she joked, referring to meals at her grandparents&8217; house. &8220;The pigs would disappear.&8221;

Once she and her husband, Ronny, moved from their downtown Natchez home to Morgantown, several dogs adopted her.

One, blind and deaf, took a while to trust her.

&8220;I sat on the front porch with dog cookies and bribed her,&8221; Harper said.

She eventually became part of the family, and Harper named her Dollie.

Another dog, one-eyed Luke, climbed the fence and joined the clan.

Now back downtown, Harper has five dogs and two cats, and probably won&8217;t adopt any more anytime soon.

&8220;It&8217;s a good thing Ronny&8217;s an animal lover,&8221; Harper said. &8220;He says, &8216;Linda, you can either help the humane society, or you can be the humane society.&8217;&8221;

And as the dogs look up at her when she talks, it&8217;s obvious they love her.

&8220;They just know you saved them, they really do.&8221;