Late last night, I heard some noises outside the sliding glass door, but, I just thought that the garden cats were being a bit rowdy. Then, I thought it might be the possum that sometimes comes to eat leftover cat food. It sounded like more than just one possum, so, when I got up from the sofa to get something from the table, I looked out the door and was confronted by not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR raccoons! I quickly went back to get my cell phone to take some pictures - sorry for the glare on the glass door, but, I wasn't about to open the door to get a better picture!
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| Raccoons! |
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| One, Two, Three, Four! |
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| Washing Their Paws in the Water Dish! |
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| Masked Bandits! |
Tapping on the glass didn't seem to scare them away! They ate all the kibbles the cats had left and one of them got inside the dish of water! After a little while they went away and then, I heard them coming back! This time, they were in a playful mood as two of them wrestled when they both wanted to get into the water dish, another one rolled a glass jar around, trying to get at the avocado seed that was inside, and the fourth one tried to climb up the porch pole! They spilled all the water from the water dish!
I've seen raccoons in my front and back yards, before, but, there were only one or two, earlier. This is the first time I've seen four of them, together!
I didn't see any of the garden cats when the raccoons were here - maybe they were hiding (they don't hide when the possums visit). I wondered if the raccoons will visit again, tonight, but, so far, they haven't (typing this at 2:00 a.m.)
Today was spent doing some health insurance related paperwork. It was rather stressful, but, I made a start and the rest can be done, next week or so.
Later, daughter and I spent several hours chatting online. The air purifier I ordered for her arrived today and she set it up and has it running. She says she can feel the difference and she's breathing more easily! I am considering getting one for myself, now.
Today, I am grateful for:
- What I was able to accomplish where the paperwork was concerned
- Being able to give lemons from the garden to my cousin
- Long chats with my daughter
- Having a printer at home (and being able to print documents!)
- Raccoons!
What are some of the late night visitors you find outside your backdoor?
Sounds like you had some fun watching a raccoon circus. Raccoons are very clever, but can eat a lot.
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, I enjoyed watching them and their antics. I even got my daughter on video chat and held the laptop up so she could catch a glimpse of them, herself. :) I wondered if they would try to eat the oranges on my tree, but they didn't. I'm glad they didn't visit when the peach tree was full of fruit!
DeleteYour little visitors will be back, once they have found the cat food. I wonder if you left a light if they would come and you could get a better picture. LOL. Be safe. Blessings, xoxo, Susie
ReplyDeleteWell the back porch light was on, but, I suppose I should have turned off the family room light to cut down on the glare. My cell phone camera doesn't have a built-in flash, so night time pictures come out very dark. I do hope they come back - they were fun to watch! :)
DeleteThey are so cute. I had some stray kitties i would leave food out for on my back porch and half the time I would look out and see the raccoons and cats all just chillin together and not thinking anything of each other.
ReplyDeleteOh, that would have been a cute thing to see! Maybe the kittens thought that the raccoons were big cats and the raccoons realized that they were not a threat. :)
DeleteRaccoons are so cute and so mischievous and playful! While RV camping we had a band of them scamper up and down our RV at night. The sound was terrifying until we realized who the culprits were. So interesting that you have them in your well populated area.
ReplyDeleteI, too, am surprised that they are roaming around suburbia! But, I suppose there are enough gardens and fruit trees (and trash cans) and places of shelter for them to adapt?
DeleteWill the raccoons keep coming back now they've found a source of food and if they do, will that be a problem? I'm not sure if they are seen as pests.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear that your daughter is feeling the benefits of the air purifier so quickly.
They might come back, although, maybe not every night, as they tend to roam a wide area. I won't mind them coming back, as long as they don't eat all the fruits and any vegetables I might be growing (apparently, they favor sweet fruits and vegetables, such as melons and sweetcorn). However, they do carry rabies and a type of round worms that can be transmitted to humans, so, I'd have to be careful not to dig around in the garden without proper gardening gloves, etc. I think I might put out less food for the cats in the evening, so there won't be a lot leftover to encourage possums and raccoons.
DeleteI was surprised to hear that she felt a difference after a few hours of having the purifier running. I guess the smoke from the fires was really thick in her area.
I know they are considered pests by some but raccoons are so funny to watch. They can be very playful and sometimes mean to one another. Fun to watch though!
ReplyDeleteYes, I guess they can cause a lot of damage to a home garden and one has to make sure the trash cans are closed tightly, plus, they do carry transmittable diseases, but, they are fun to watch! :)
DeleteWhat fun, your own free raccoon show! We haven't seen any lately but I can remember them a few years ago rolling the trash can around trying to get the lid off. When our shed light comes on in the night, if I am awake and see light through the drapes, I go to look out of the window. I don't often see anything but one time there was a porcupine waddling across the driveway!
ReplyDeleteHa, ha, I enjoyed watching them! But, I was very glad that they didn't come over when there was fruit on the peach tree, especially on the night when it fell over! I could just picture them feasting on all those ripe peaches! Oh, wow! A porcupine! I remember my sister having a box covered with porcupine quills when I was a little girl. I was fascinated by it and always wanted to play with it. :)
DeleteI haven’t seen raccoons in my yard, but they are very common here. They look funny, aren’t they? I like to watch them as long as they are not too close to me. Once I saw a family of raccoons at a Walmart parking lot. The little ones looked so adorable.
ReplyDeleteBless, could you please let me know what brand of air purifier you got for your daughter? I’d like to get one and a friend recommended Febreze. The one you got sounds like a good one.
Hope you are having a relaxing weekend. 😊
It's probably a good thing that they haven't come to your yard, with all the lovely fruit you have growing!
DeleteI will ask my daughter for the name/model of the air purifier. It was she who looked for them and then, called me to discuss the merits of the ones she found. She was going to buy herself a small one (sufficient to clean a small space, about 100 sq. ft.), for around $50, due to the cost, but, I told her to get this bigger one to clean the whole studio apartment (it is one big room) and I will pay for it (somewhere around $150).
Thank you; hope that you, too, are having a good weekend and take some time to relax. :)
I'm so glad the air purifier is helping your daughter with the air in her apartment.
ReplyDeleteYou are a good mom to get it for her.
No
No
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on the raccoons! lol
Having them there would scare me but they don't seem to scare you so that's good.
You have such a kind heart, you will probably be leaving out extra food just for them.
I'm kidding - I think ;)
Well, she was considering getting a small one, because the air quality was so bad due to all the fires, but, I wanted her to have one that was big enough to purify the whole apartment, so, I said I'll pay for it (she did the selecting and ordering, etc.)
DeleteHa, ha, I guess raccoons had better stay away from your house! I was fine with them being here, as long as there was a glass door between us! Well, I seem to be overfeeding the cats, anyway, because they often leave some food. Sometimes, the possums come by and finish the leftovers, and now, apparently, the raccoons, too! :)