AFTER THE STORM, A VISITOR

 My thoughts are with my blogging friends in Hawaii, and to all the people who have been affected by the terrible fire in Lahaina.

On Monday (Aug 7) we had a storm and a tornado watch.  Many of you perhaps were in the same weather system. 

After the storm passed it rained for a while. I looked out periodically. Around 8.00 p.m. I saw movement on the deck.  Thinking it was a squirrel I went up to the glass and peered out.

It wasn't a squirrel!

It was a young raccoon. This is the first time I had seen a raccoon in a while, and she was curious.  I had been outside a few minutes before, and I wondered if she had been there at the same time without me noticing. 

I watched as she ambled over and positioned herself right next to the patio door.  She surprised me by standing on her hind legs and resting her paws on the glass, just staring up at me. I grabbed my phone, thinking she may have gone down the steps before I could get back to the window.  They are normally easily startled when discovered.  I didn't expect to get anything but there she was, still staring at me.

I tried fixing those glowing eyes, but I made her look even wilder, so I let her be.  It was too dark for a decent photo.  I was glad, however, that the video worked.  These are screen shots I took from my short video.  This all happened within a few minutes. 

She saw Gregg and looked at him as he walked up to the window, and then she looked toward the steps as if she heard something.  I thought she was going to run.

But she lingered for a few more moments, and we were as curious about her as she was of us. 

I realize they are not everyone's cup of tea, that they can get into things, like set up a nest in your attic, raid your trash bins. There are also the health issues we have heard about.  More importantly there are children and pets in the neighborhood, and we have to keep safe from any contact.  We must always be diligent. Thankfully, we have never had any problems, but we also never let our guard down.  

I had taken down the bird feeders once the raccoons started visiting, and for any wandering bears moving through the neighborhood like last year.  No mention of any yet. Maybe this one was looking over my new planter? There is a lot of wildlife around here, and they never stop looking for food. Our area was all forest before these housing complexes were developed. The wildlife was here first, and we have to learn to live with them, sensibly.  I say this for myself as a reminder.  My natural instinct is to want to take care of them all, but good sense prevails as I don’t want them to set up camp in my attic!  

Here is a link to a website where you can read all about them.

So, this is who came calling after the storm.