Raccoons!

[wesleysgirl]

When the boy and I came downstairs this morning, I glanced out the side window that overlooks the driveway and saw a flash of something moving low to the ground. At first I thought it was a dog, although there'd been no sign of a person or leash -- most people in our neighborhood are responsible dog owners, but there's one guy who lets his two dogs walk unleashed -- and then when I went back for a second glance that maybe it had been a cat disappearing behind my car. Waited, and a raccoon appeared at the front of the car. Then another and another! Three chubby not-small raccoons!

I had to pick the boy up so he could see them (OMG he is so big and heavy, ow!) and then they went around the corner of the house, so we ran to one of the windows that overlooks the back yard and watched all of them running around. The boy hoped they'd go down his new slide, LOL.

They were cute!

Now, I need tea.

Comments

[tsavoritegarnet.livejournal.com]

That sounds like fun!

The one in my icon was one that, evidently, had been eating in our compost pile when one of the dogs went by. The tree is about a foot from the compost pile. The dogs finding it very exciting now routinely go bark at the compost pile in case something interesting might come scurrying out of it, previously unnoticed.

I hope you enjoy your visiting wildlife and get to watch them some more. :-)

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

I don't think our yard is very interesting to them because it's too open, but it was fun to see them this once, anyway! We see bunnies all the time.

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

What a fun start to the day!

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

It was! :-)

[squashed.livejournal.com]

That sure beats what I found in our backyard last night.

I heard something scratching around the backyard and told hubby, who came up and turned on the flashlight and there was a little (we're pretty sure it was a young one, not a baby, but not full grown) skunk tooling around in the backyard. Now it was cute as heck, but those things can stink a place up but good, so it's not exactly something I want hanging around the backyard!!

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, skunks are really very cute, but you don't want them hanging around because of the stinkies. Yugh!

[elliotpp.livejournal.com]

If they do happen to go down the new slide, I expect that one of you will be waiting with a camera to document it. Because if raccoons are going down slides and I miss it, I will be one sad kid. :)

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

I know! Wouldn't that be awesome? :-)

[murielle.livejournal.com]

They are such cute little critters. But, I've heard, they can be real trouble. Still, they're so adorable with those little masks and rascally natures. ;-))

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

They're just adorable. Fortunately, our yard doesn't seem to be very desirable to them, since we're very aware of the wildlife around the house and this is only the second time I've seen a raccoon in 9+ years, but it was fun to see them once. :-)

[xylohypha.livejournal.com]

Hi. I lurk occasionally, but I'm really very harmless. I've decloaked because of the raccoons. They're cute little--or not so little, sometimes!--guys, but raccoon droppings can carry a parasite which can be really hazardous for people. Just sayin'--if there's a possibility that the boy (or anyone, actually) might come in contact with raccoon poo while playing outside, thorough hand washing afterwards is a very good way to be safer.

Xylo, whose work acquaints her with the oddest things, sometimes.

*relurks*

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the warning! I think the chances are extremely remote -- this is the second time in all the years we've lived here we've seen a raccoon, so I suspect these guys (which weren't babies but didn't look big enough to be full-grown adults, either) might have been moving through the area. While there are some small wooded areas nearby, including one back behind our house/our neighbor's house, our street has a lot of houses quite close together etc. We do try to be good about hand washing anyway, but I'll make sure we're even more careful. Thanks!

[ruthless1.livejournal.com]

I know she is on hiatus but DON'T TELL SWMBO about this. It will cause her great heartache. Has anyone heard from her at all? I miss her postings.