R is for....

Rowdy. Rambunctious. Resourceful. Rotund. Raccoon.

They are back. As sure as Autumn follow Summer, these vermin will return. For the last three years, we have had problems with them nesting in our solar system on the roof. This morning around 4:30 am, as I was about to step out the door to switch vehicles with husband so he could go to work, we heard a thud. Follow by the shape of a raccoon shimming up the post of the deck onto the roof. It's like a curse. They climb up there and pull of the side panels on the solar system and have babies up there. It must be nice and warm up there.

How they can tell that there is a nice warm nesting area up there from three stories down in the back yard is beyond my comprehension. It must be marked. Maybe if I search hard enough, I'll find a trail of peanut-butter pawprints. Or maybe there is a big red "X" on the back of the house that is only visible at night. Or maybe the spirits of the last raccoons we had trapped have returned from the afterlife and are leading new raccoons to the Mecca of all things nocturnal. Whatever it is, it has to stop! The odd thing this year is it decided not to take the normal raccoon path up the waterspout and instead went to the other side of the house to climb the porch.

And unfortunately, it is illegal in our state to catch and release raccoons on anything but your property. So if we were to try and save it's life, we would only be able to bring it a half acre away from the starting point. It probably travels further than that on it's nightly food hunt. So that leave the only other option. Call our exterminator. That's right, we have an exterminator who we are pretty much on a first name basis with! Of course, that would cost $$$ just to come put the traps down and then an additional $$ per coon. Not fun when we already have looming medical bills from Meenies recent hospitalization.

And as much as I hate killing animals, it has to be done. The first time it happened, I hated it. Especially since there were babies that essentially had to starve to death on the roof as they could not be reached. And I know there are babies again. I heard them mewling last night shortly after mom made her jaunt up the house.

And what does our part Rottie dog do while these vermin are invading her space? She doesn't even bat an eyelid as she continues to lay snoring at the foot of my bed, a mere 10 feet away from where the intruder is prowling outside our bedroom window. Maybe this is the reason she won't go outside lately, as there is a strange scent in the air. Whatever the reason, she seems content to let them stay.