Suburban Wildlife

Last night, when Scratchy was halfway in and halfway out the door, deciding whether or not he wanted to spend the night outside, he froze, staring at something in the yard. It was a raccoon, wandering about in the leaves. Ray yelled at it and told it to get out of our yard, and after looking around as if it were lost, it scuttled off. Scratchy puffed himself up as if to say, "Yeah! And stay out!"

Ray told Scratchy that he should stay away from the raccoon unless he was with his brother. I told Scratchy that both he and his brother should stay away from the raccoon, because that thing could beat them both down without batting an eye.

We have had some other visits from various wildlife from time to time. There is a possum that waddles, in typical R.O.U.S. style, through the bushes almost every night. Sometimes it climbs the stairs to the sunroom on the second floor where the cats stay, and the cats have a staring contest with it through the closed glass sliding door.

I have a theory about some of our new animal neighbors. There is some construction going on a few blocks away from our house. What once was dense forest just this spring is now laid bare, getting paved over daily to make way for a housing development or a strip mall. Just a few weeks ago, I saw a hawk alight on a tree next door, crying out, perhaps to his family? He has lost his home to the developers, I think, and was trying to relocate. Perhaps the raccoon is also just trying to find a new home, now that he can no longer live near the construction.

In the meantime, we're bolting down our trash.