Our raccoons are nocturnal and playful – and we have provided them with an outdoor amusement park.
For years the common perception around The Back 40 is that our raccoons somehow hate our outdoor decorations. Which is why our fishpond plays host to tossed-in outdoor embellishments such as Nile Crocodile (who ordinarily reposes on the bank well away from actual water), FoxyLoxy (a plastic fox who normally sits on a rock overlooking Das Pond), and the floating Fishing-Frog-in-Inner-Tube, who ideally wafts gently on the pond waters with firm grip on his plastic fishing pole.
But after a night of inadvertently hosting the Raccoon Family we always find: FoxyLoxy floating in the water, gamely trying to swim for land; Nile Croc also in the pond (where apparently at least one Masked Bandit believes he BELONGS), and Fishing Frog summarily turned upside down, now trolling the nether regions of the pond muck with his fishin’ pole.
The Peanut Gallery maintains all this activity is malevolent.
I, on the other hand, maintain that the Coon Family is JUST HAVIN’ FUN.
After all – we’ve thoughtfully created an outdoor Amusement Park by scattering toys around das pond, complete with live food for those nimble enough to catch ’em.
The Coon Family is obviously: dancing, cavorting, throwing toys around, and having a grand ‘ole time.
And the morning’s shambles are, as usual, mere evidences of the festivities of a successful party lasting long into the night.
It’s simply a matter of perspective.
