Thursday, September 18, 2008


Clearly, there is a family of raccoons living someplace very close to my house. I've seen as many as 3 at a time scurrying away from my porch as I pull my car into my driveway.

A few weeks ago, I discovered a little one sleeping in the bottom of my big empty city-issued trash can one morning. Don't know how long he'd been stuck in there, but thank goodness he hadn't starved to death. I just tipped the big can over and off he went! Not long after that, I found 2 young ones in my neighbors trash can. When my nabe shone his flash light into the can at them, they just reached up with their nimble little fingers and try to play with the light.

Then last night, I heard something fidgeting at the cat door, which is installed in a window and therefore not at ground level. Was it Maggie, attempting to deliver to me her 3rd dead mouse of the evening? No, it was a big ol' raccoon, with his nose pressed right up to the swinging glass door. I must say, he was very cute! And not shy at all. I pressed my face right up to his and loudly told him to get lost! He didn't even flinch. He just looked at me like he was saying, "Hey, sorry to be a bother, but can I come in and have a snack?" You know, he looked kind of friendly. Not like he had rabies.

So tonight, after I get home from yoga class (I just like to say that. I really suck at yoga.) I'm going make sure my camera is standing by so I can get some pictures. Am I supposed to be trying to catch these things and take them to the woods? I have no idea. If they figure out how to get in my house, then it's ON.

5 comments:

pnlkotula said...

When I was in Junior High or so, a friend of my dad's (a hunting buddy) found a litter(?) of homeless baby raccoons (no, he didn't make them orphans), and he took them in to bottle-feed. As a result, I was given one to raise as a pet. Rocky drank from a bottle in my arms and liked to sit on my shoulder and play with my hair. He would hug me with his little arms around my neck like a human baby. Sadly, he grew to adolescence and left me for a woman.

TDEC said...

Raccoons are great. Also, is it possible to suck at yoga? I thought the point was just to try.

JB said...

Wow - I am going to say Raccoons in the house were a bad idea and then I read Lisa's comment and now I want one of my own.

Jacquie O. said...

This weekend for tech of RIII we found a baby raccoon in the dumpster sleeping in a box. We were worried it would freak and bolt out at us if we threw trash in, but one of us took the leap and started putting wood and such in...it just watched us with little to no concern.

I don't get this kinder friendlier version. The Raccoons in NY would kill ya if you looked at them the wrong way!

Amy Gethins Sullivan said...

You know we lived in the country for a very long time.
But~ you see more nature here in the city. Not just the land critters, but~ the flying kind too, eagles, hawks, geese.You can get out & enjoy it better here too~ with all the parks. You would not dear take a lovely stroll in the woods, especially at this time of year~ unless you like wearing neon orange.
~Amy~