Saturday, August 22, 2009

Saturday Morning at 7:54am


I heard raccoons howling in the night. Thumping on my roof. They must be climbing up my elm. I haven't even looked to see if they went after my pond plants again. Like I said, this will be a long battle. Sometimes victory is simply continuing the fight. Hearing night howls as no more than a sign that, in the morning, you may have to get wet. Knowing that as long as you keep up the fight, you will have pond plants.

You will also be wet. And muddy. Again. Only you know if pond plants are worth it. Me, I'm doing it for the papyrus.

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13 Comments:

Blogger indigo said...

stalker raccoons. i've seen this before.

*pulls pin out of hedgehog.*

*throws into elm.*

August 22, 2009 at 10:02 AM  
Anonymous Jan said...

Boy, this is making me more fond of the Evil Fluffy Bunnies by the minute...

August 22, 2009 at 10:04 AM  
Blogger materfamilias said...

One of my island neighbours had a Jack Russell terrier which successfully and summarily dealt with his raccoon problem -- Max was once timed at 17 seconds in dispatching an unwitting masked bandit. Probably too violent a solution for you.
If you just want to strike fear, my immediate neighbour used to use a slingshot (with my aim, it wouldn't strike much fear at all, but that's my problem). A story that still makes me chuckle is from a long-ago summer when the albino raccoons were making the round (yes, really, albino -- naturalists were writing about it in the local paper, but I can't remember the biological details). One evening, entertaining on their deck, Mike startled the dinner guests by yelling to his wife "It's the blonde, Carol, get my slingshot!"
Another island legend is about someone who used The Joy of Cooking for phase two of his raccoon problem.
As you might be gathering by now, there's a way for the raccoons to win and you too. The win-win is that they might have sovereignty over your pond, but you'll have a repertoire of stories to tell . . .

August 22, 2009 at 10:25 AM  
Blogger Little Bow Prep said...

I must admit that I don't know what raccoons sound like.

Hope your plants are okay!

August 22, 2009 at 10:31 AM  
Blogger Princess Freckles said...

Keep it up!

August 22, 2009 at 11:29 AM  
Blogger Maureen@IslandRoar said...

You Go!
They're no match.

August 22, 2009 at 12:14 PM  
Anonymous the Preppy Princess said...

It doesn't yet seem as if you are in need of the Churchill quote... (I think you know the one I mean), you go Miss LPC!
tp

August 22, 2009 at 12:16 PM  
Blogger Kate said...

Wow - they have really upped the ante. Who knew raccoons could be so sneaky?

Hang in there - I am confident evolution is more about us taking over the world than raccoons!

August 22, 2009 at 3:14 PM  
Blogger Imogen Lamport, AICI CIP said...

Sounds like the issues you have with raccoons we have with possums!

August 22, 2009 at 5:56 PM  
Blogger Southern Living: Preppy Style said...

Ooooo, darn raccoons. We've had issues with them before, either that or the groundhogs. Sneaky little things and difficult to get rid of.

August 23, 2009 at 5:47 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

If you can tell me how to successfully rid myself of the damn raccoons in my backyard I will give you a dollar. Pray tell. Short of committing murder I am at a complete and utter loss!! Help!!!

August 23, 2009 at 10:35 PM  
Blogger LPC said...

As of this morning my plants are still standing. Beaten, bruised, torn. Standing. That's because the raccoons can't reach unless they jump into the water. I am monitoring the situation carefully. I've been told that dried coyote urine works. Not sure I'm ready for that next step...Wish me luck. Let's all check back in when fall comes round? BTW, it's not like I live in the country or anything. I wonder where they all sleep?

August 24, 2009 at 6:53 AM  
Blogger Maya @ Completely Coastal said...

Defending our homestead! For me it's wasps. They're building a nest hidden underneath the porch roof and I've been running around with a wasp spray for the entire summer. Unfortunately all these animals (whatever they are) seem to be determined to stay once they picked their spot.

August 24, 2009 at 8:59 AM  

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