Thursday, May 21, 2009, 13:27
Another Bandit
I have been busy for the past four or five nights chasing a raccoon out of the bird feeder in the yard at the back of the house.
The raccoon is coming for the jelly I put out for the Orioles.
The first few nights, as soon as I opened the back door, he would take off, lickety-split, across the yard and would climb up in the big pine tree my dad planted 30 years ago. I could hear his claws scrabbling against the bark as he made his way up the tree.
The third night, the raccoon was becoming braver. The first time I went out to chase him away, he ran right to the pine tree.
The next time I went out to chase him away, he was reluctant to get down from the bird feeder, although he did get down. He ran a few steps. Then he stopped and turned around to look at me, as if he were wondering if I was something he REALLY needed to be afraid of.
I ran at him, growling. He decided that yes, indeed, I was something to be afraid of.
The third time I went out to chase him away, he reluctantly got down from the bird feeder, and once again, turned around to look at me to see if I was something that was really all that scary. Again I ran at him growling. But this time, he stopped a second time about halfway to the pine tree to turn at look at me. Until I ran at him growling again.
Tuesday I replanted the cemetery pot. I took out the colored glass plant stakes that were weathered and ratty looking and an LED solar-powered light with flashing white flowers set in a fake plastic pot. I did not know if the solar light still worked and left it out in the sun to charge up. I found some handmade and hand-painted wooden butterflies (one yellow and one purple) mounted on plant stakes at a craft sale. I am happy to provide business to a Wisconsin craftsperson, and I would rather have handmade wooden butterflies in the cemetery pot than cheap junk from China.
Tuesday evening when I came home from a meeting, Randy came down to the lower driveway to meet me and picked up the light. And yes, it still worked. He carried it up to the back of the house and was going to set it by the porch.
"I know," I said, "maybe if you put it by the bird feeder the flashing lights will scare away the raccoon.
After Randy had gone to bed, I was just starting to congratulate myself that the blinking solar lights were going to keep the raccoon away when I saw him. He went up to the bird feeder post and examined the blinking lights. Then he turned and headed for the porch. I decided enough was enough when he was a foot from the door. I think he wanted a drink from a small stainless steel dish with water that I have put outside for Pixie when she wants a drink and for the kitties when they are outside.
I growled at the raccoon from inside the house. The screen was open, and I was actually pretty close to him.
Once again, he reluctantly ran away. There is water in old frying pans for the birds farther away from the house, and if the raccoon wants a drink, he can always go to the bird pans.
We put a stovepipe over the top of the bird feeder post, hoping the pipe would make it too difficult for the raccoons to climb up into the bird feeder.
No such luck.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Monday, May 18, 2009, 13:59
Almost in Full Bloom
The temperature was supposed to drop down into the 20s Saturday night, and Randy and I were both worried that the lilacs were going to be frozen and that it would be the end of them for this year.
So, Randy went out with the camera and got some pictures of the lilacs "just in case."
As it turned out, the temperature was not as cold as predicted. It was 40 degrees Sunday morning. I would not have been surprised if it had been colder than that because it felt quite cold all day Saturday. High pressure. Bright sunshine. Very windy. And a temperature that barely got to 50 degrees and with a definite windchill in the air. (Jeepers. A WINDCHILL, for crying out loud, in May.)
Randy took a close-up of the lilacs . He has made note cards on Zazzle with the lilacs, and I am going to order some. I can almost smell them just by looking at the picture.
And he got a picture of the bush in the middle that is just covered with blossoms. The other two have quite a few flowers, but the one in the middle is especially loaded. And he got a picture of the brave little lilac in the east side yard that has lots of blossoms, too, even though it's a small bush.
Happy Spring! The lilacs might make it yet to full bloom!
Then again, maybe it is silly of me to be so concerned about lilacs in view of the fact that we have a world-wide economic collapse, companies are going bankrupt and people are losing their jobs and their homes.
On the other hand, if more people had been concerned about simple pleasures like old-fashioned lilacs, instead of only worrying about making a fast buck, accumulating vast personal wealth, and lying, cheating and stealing, we wouldn't BE in this mess.
LeAnn R. Ralph