Friday, August 24, 2012

Strange Night....

It's my own fault, I know.  But I was glad I had purchased a new straw broom last week, and left it in my walk-in closet/dressing room.  I watched one of my favorite movies last night, Die Hard, and followed it up with last night's episode of Person of Interest.  It was cooler than it has been, and the kits were enjoying running in and out and catching bugs, so I had left both the sliding glass door and the screen door to the patio open about a foot in width.  At the end of Person of Interest, I turned the TV off, and wandered into the bathroom, relieved myself, brushed my teeth, and put on my long cotton sleep shirt.  As I turned to exit the bathroom, Lovey came in, talking away.  Then Nedi came to the dressing room doorway, and seemed to be checking over his shoulder...  I walked on out and found five raccoons in my apartment.  I know that Momma 'Coon brings her four youngsters along and, essentially, they "quarter" the back yard each night around 10 p.m.  I just didn't really expect them to be bold enough to come in through my door.  Dumb me! 
  It was one of the younger kits that I first met; it hissed and stayed right where it was, looking over it's shoulder for Mom's back-up.  I couldn't help it: I started to laugh.  Two of the youngsters were eating from the two types of dry food that I have in kitty dishes, Mom was eating salmon in gravy canned food; the fourth youngster was investigating the door of the refrigerator.  None of the critters seemed interested in leaving.  Lovey and Nedi were staying behind my legs, with occasional growls and hisses erupting.  First, I tried to look larger than I am - I swung my arms out like the Tasmanian Devil in the cartoons, and hissed and growled.  I got looks from all of the intruders, but nothing else.  So I started to look around in the closet/dressing room, and I spied the new straw broom. 
  It's a little ragged in places right now, but I consider the missing areas of straw as war wounds.  I ended up literally sweeping the first (closest) youngster back through the back door, then the one at the 'fridge.  Mom and the two young'uns together are the ones who bit and tore at the broom, as I pushed them along the tiled floor and out the back door.  I closed the glass door and locked it.  Lovey got up in the cat tree, and Nedi crawled behind the glass door's curtain, so they could both lord it over the raccoons who had been sent packing.  I dumped and washed the old cat food bowls; then filled up new clean ones.  The raccoon family stayed for another half hour, trying to convince me to open the door and feed them some more - but I didn't.
  I'll have to keep an eye on the time, the kits, and the raccoons tonight!

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