The Trouble With 'Coons

One of my great joys of our garden is viewing the wildlife... I am not making reference to some of those late night, all male parties in the Boys' Fort. I have done it on purpose, planning & planting the garden to attract birds, bees & other critters. We live within blocks of the mighty Columbia & the Willamette Rivers, & we have had a Bald Eagle & a Red Tailed Hawk visit the back garden. I think the eagle had his eye on a Jack Russell Terrier for an appetizer.

They are not that unusual at all, we had them in our garden in Seattle, but our current family of raccoons is especially brazen. We had company for dinner enjoy the thrill of a raccoon fall from an overhead tree right into our meals. It was raining 'coons! This morning, in the very early hour of daybreak, a nursery (this really is the term) of raccoons traipsed across the roof of our bedroom, waking me & alarming the terriers. Their steps were not a gentle patter, but big clops. I let the fearless Junior into the garden & to my horror, the raccoon that he had treed was 3 times his size (these are not cute little Disney animals) & looked none to pleased to be in that position. The poor mammal was forced into our large White Pine, the home to a murder (again, really) of crows with chicks. The bodacious, bold, brassy birds made a terrible racket & were not happy about the raccoon in their space.

By now, the plucky & determined Junior is barking & putting up a valiant front & the Husband is standing in his boxers on the hot tub deck, spraying the raccoons with the garden hose. What a comedy of errors & all before 6am.

Junior is exhausted after his morning of 'coon hunting.

Junior looking for the culprits... after the fact.

I discovered later, from their wet paw prints, the raccoons had been into the front fountain.

Larry opts to sit out all the action, letting Junior & Daddy do all the work. He doesn't care that much about the critters in the garden, but he cares very much about having breakfast.