summer solstice morn

summer solstice morn,

raccoon in the goumi bush

gobbling red berries

Summer solstice, hot and humid. When I look out the window I catch a glimpse of an animal with a long dark tail walking along the top of the low fence and disappearing behind a big goumi bush inside the fence. Our gray tabby cat is sitting at my feet. Maybe it's the neighbor's cat. Then I see the animal climbing into the bush. Possibly a cat, but more likely a raccoon. Soon I see the masked bandit, reaching for ripe goumi berries and gobbling them down. I grab my camera, but it's difficult to get a clear shot through the window with the critter moving so much. Finally he comes down from the bush, wanders over to the rain-spattered window and peers in, our faces inches apart. Then he checks out a bare spot on the ground, sniffing at the mud. This is the spot where we caught another raccoon yesterday in a live trap. A few days ago we discovered the bird feeder hanging upside down, the lid open and all the black oil sunflower seeds gone. Clearly the work of a raccoon. To open the lid requires pressure applied to both sides of the metal latch, not easy even for me, but an easy night's job for the raccoon's nimble fingers and crafty brain. So we put out the live trap, baited with a marshmallow. Sure enough, the next day we found a raccoon curled up inside. In her attempts to escape, she had dug up all the vegetation and mud through the bottom mesh. John put her in the pickup and drove her to Turkey Run, as close as he could get to Cedar Creek with the roads flooded. So now this bigger raccoon is checking out the spot where the cage sat, clearly smelling the smaller raccoon. Maybe she's his mate. He stands up on hind legs and looks toward the window again, as if wondering where she might be. Then he scoots under the fence and trots quickly away. Perhaps he'll leave the bird feeder alone. I'm certainly happy to have him eat all the goumi berries on the whole bush.