Critters Gone Wild – Wooo, partay!

“I’m a horny engineer, Leonard. I never joke about math or sex.”

~~Howard Wolowitz

That photo and quote has nothing to do with this entry. We were watching "The Big Bang Theory" last night, and that was something that Howard (played by Simon Helberg) said to Leonard. It made me laugh so hard that I had to write it down. I liked that show from the beginning, but it’s gotten better and better as we get to know the characters a little more.

Guess who's coming to town to join in the Notre Dame fracas? Alan Keyes. Oh, goody. And Randall Terry has issued a statement criticizing Bishop D'Arcy's urging that everyone refrain from protesting on graduation day, and said that he (Terry) and his followers minions will respectfully not obey the Bishop's request. That guy is such a charmer!

It's still chilly today, but it's getting to be that time of year here at Nutwood when the young critter's thoughts turn to figuring out how much mischief can be made, and how much havoc can be wreaked. (All pictures are from previous years--I haven't had a chance to get any good ones yet this year.)

A couple of nights ago, after Ken had gone to bed, I heard a little noise from out on the deck. I flipped on the light, and a raccoon was up on the deck railing, holding on to the seed feeder and chowing down. He just looked at me, and didn't move until I started to walk out there. They are so bold! He ran off, but when I got up in the morning, the feeder was empty (and I had just filled it the day before, doggone it). Ken had sent me an email and said that when he got up, the raccoon was out there with the feeder in his "grubby little paws," and he'd popped him with the BB gun a couple of times. (It doesn't hurt them, just scares them off...temporarily.)

Last night, I heard another little noise, flipped on the light, and there was Rocky again. But get this--the little bugger doesn't run off. No, he walks over to the door, sits there, and looks up at me! I crouched down, and he just stared at me for a moment. Then I realized that there was a second one right there, and he was looking at me, too. They finally went about their business--after all, the seed feeder was empty!--and I just shook my head. I'm just not sure how to keep them off of the deck, and no, we won't kill them. I tried that hot pepper spray a couple of years ago, the stuff that doesn't harm the birds, but squirrels and raccoons hate the taste. I looked out one evening, and a raccoon was standing there licking the stuff off of the deck railing. [sigh]

During the afternoon yesterday, I kept hearing an odd noise, almost a thump. At first I thought it was coming from one of the neighbor's, but I kept hearing it, and it really did sound close. Sheeba was on my lap, and he perked up and ran over to the window, so he heard it, too. I looked out the front window and couldn't see anything. I went into the office and looked out that window--all clear. I wondered if it was a branch on the roof or something, or if something was up in the attic, but it sounded like it was coming from the front of the house. Sheeba put his little paws up on the front door and looked out the oval window, so I thought I'd give that a try. I didn't see anything on the front deck...but then I looked down, and Groundy (our resident groundhog, now out of hibernation) was crouched on the doormat, grabbing it in his teeth ("Grrr!) and letting it drop. That was the thumping I was hearing--the doormat dropping back down onto the deck. He was really going after it, and I'm not sure why. Maybe he thought Matt had insulted him. I opened the front door real quick and said "HEY!" and he was off like a shot, back to his hidey-hole under the deck walkway. Which is sinking, thanks to Groundy's digging habits.

I love our critters, but sometimes they try my patience! I throw food out for them, we don't kill them, although many people around here do, and they have much territory here in which to roam. I do and do and do for these critters, and this is the thanks I get! Raccoons taking seed out of the mouths of hungry birds and the groundhog attacking our welcome mat. ("Grrr!") It's a thankless job, I tell ya.