A neighbor recently posted this video of four mountain lions that were hanging out in his backyard:
There have been reports of both mountain lion and bobcat sightings near our house, and it's not unusual to see a coyote loping through our yard. We have to be careful with our little dogs. We have an unusual number of mule deer wandering around this year. The kids saw a muskrat in a nearby pond, and we have some rabbits living under the bridge over an artificial stream in front of our house. This evening, a red-tailed hawk took up residence in a pine tree outside our kitchen, much to the consternation of our local blue jays and crows, who have been raucously attempting to scare it off. We haven't seen any black bears this spring, but they must be around. Paige and I saw pronghorns this morning as we drove up to Fairplay.
Alas, we not only have wildlife in the forest around our house; some have moved in, specifically inside a wall of our house. A mama raccoon chewed a hole in the eves of the roof, made a nest, and had babies. We called a wildlife specialist, hoping they could be relocated, but the Department of Wildlife makes that almost impossible, so the usual procedure is to trap and humanely euthanize them😢 After discussing the possibility of a rabid raccoon getting hold of one of our pets, we reluctantly chose this route. Early this morning, I went out on the deck and saw that the Mama Raccoon was trapped in a cage on the roof. She watched me with her great, sad eyes as one of her kits cried outside the cage and tried to get in😢 "Raccoon man" came over very quickly and removed them. Years ago, I read Rascal, by Sterling North, a wonderful book about a boy growing up with a pet raccoon (Rascal). Raccoons are clearly affectionate, mischievous, and intelligent animals. I feel like Lady Macbeth😥
No comments:
Post a Comment