Adventures with Wild life

Still having difficulties with the communication between the home computer and the internet. I'm hoping to resolve the issues this weekend. Until then, however ...

The husband, both daughters, the step-daughter's dog and I have just returned from a four-day canoe camping trip into Algonquin Park. This is rustic camping at its finest. Clear, cool lake water, very few people, plenty of sunshine and exercise. Of course, this also means that you must secure your food products in a tree so that the local wildlife (bears and raccoons) don't plunder your campsite. More on the camping trip later.

We returned home safe and sound, albeit slightly sunburned, on Wednesday evening. Nice dinner. Thursday was spent doing laundry and unpacking. The heat wave is still in full force, so all the windows are opened to catch the evening breezes. Thursday evening I crawled into bed with my good book, and promptly went to sleep two minutes later. Doug came to bed about 11:30 and read for a while.

Just as he is drifting off to sleep, he hears noises from the kitchen. "Probably the daughter," he thinks. "Hope she remembers to close the freezer door." Then he hears a CRASH. Now he has to go investigate since the daughter might be injured and I am sound asleep.

In the kitchen he discovers not one, but TWO juvenile delinquents.

Raccoons.

He chases them out, but then wonders if perhaps there are more hiding in the pantry. After all, it was a family of four 'coons we saw in the backyard. Fortunately, it was just the two 'coons that got in. They had pushed the screens in from the outside and crawled through. The screens were totally undamaged. Go figure.

The 'coons were still out on the deck, patiently waiting for him to turn off the lights so they could resume their midnight snack. He goes outside and chases them off the deck. I snore on, blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding under my windows.

Doug can now hear the little delinquents moving around on the roof--mere feet away from my wide-open bedroom window. He figures that he should make sure they understand that they are not welcome in our neighborhood. A handful of gravel from the driveway and he begins throwing stones at them. They go up and over the peak to the other side of the roof--again, mere feet away from the open bedroom windows. They can't see him, he can't see them, they're safe.

So Doug follows them around to the other side and begins throwing more gravel. Now the gravel is pinging off the steel chimney, which is just feet away from the open bedroom window. PING! PING! GROWL (from the raccoons)! PING! Do I wake up? Nope.

Now Lizzie-kitty wants to go outside and join the fun. After all, she is a fierce, wild beast. And since Doug is already awake, there shouldn't be any problem.

MEOW! PING! GROWL! Snore.

Finally, Doug hauls a ladder around to the side of the house and fetches the garden hose. Right outside the bedroom window. CRASH. SPLASH! MEOW! GROWL!

Snore.


The 'coons didn't like the water and retreated far up a tree. Out of reach of both the water and gravel. Doug comes inside and stands guard. Lizzie paces and meows incessantly.

Finally, poor Doug comes to bed at 5:30 am. "Poor dear," I say. "Had a bad night?"

Who knew that we could go 4 days without seeing major wildlife in the wilds of Algonquin Park ... only to be raided by said wildlife in the comfort of our own home?!