Good Morning from Iowa

This morning I woke up, rushing around as usual tyring to get ready for work. I decided to get the puppies out of their kennel so they would settle down before I needed to leave. As we were coming out of the garage, toward the front door I noticed a large animal about 2 feet from me, at the side of my car. It was a GIANT raccoon. I screamed, the dogs barked and yipped, the raccoon sat there. Thankfully all the outside lights were on. I ran back into the house and hoped the monster would go away. I brushed my teeth, braided my hair and came back to the dining room window. It was sitting in the rocks at the front of the house looking at me. I kept coming back to look, it was still there! I got a big glass of water and leaned out and dumped it on him ........ he still didn't leave. It felt like the raccoon was stalking me! Finally I had to leave for work. Phil (safely at work since long before this happened) told me to make as much noise as I could and take the flashlight. I left all of the outside lights on, and dug out the old trumpet I have always intended to sell on eBay. I creeped out of the house with my purse, lunch bag, flashlight and trumpet. When I got to the edge of the front porch I started blowing on the trumpet. I blew, walked a couple of steps, blew again, used the flashlight to look under the car ...... and finally drove away.

Fast forward a few hours, Phil comes home from work. No raccoon up front. He feels confident the old guy has moved on, and has some brunch. A little later he takes Mabel out to potty and hang with the puppies and sees the raccoon again between the house and the barn. By this time the old guy is barely moving (yes the same one I was afraid of only a few hours earlier) and is obviously quite ill. I of course am afraid of rabies. We have the puppies to worry about, and even more, 3 of the grand kids will be out to spend the night! Thankfully Phil put his out of his misery. He was very upset about doing so .......... always the lover or animals and nature.

Lessons learned .......... there are many things to be frightened of, even on our own property. I am so thankful my husband was there to take care of my monster. I am fortunate to have him taking care of the difficult stuff in my life. Thanks Sweetie.