Inside we keep typical sheddy things such as empty flower pots, lumber, rolls of chicken wire, and a small galvanized metal trashcan that holds a fair amount of birdseed.
We returned from vacation yesterday and this morning I wandered around the yard to see what was blooming, what was leafing out, etc.
I noticed a couple of largish holes in the shed roof. One of the holes was big enough to admit one, two, or maybe three raccoons. Uh-oh.
With a certain amount of trepidation I slowly opened the shed door. (Raccoons can be cranky when unexpectedly awakened from a mid-morning snooze.)
The trashcan lid tumbled out of the doorway and came to rest at my feet. Uh-oh again.
Even though the lid fits rather tightly, and even though there’s a metal loop that secures the lid even more, the raccoons managed to move the secondary metal bit, removed the lid, and have been gorging on birdseed. They also opened a large plastic bag of thistle (for the finches), which apparently exploded open as thistle now covers everything like black confetti.
Raccoons, so cute in TV commercials, a pain in the ass in real life!
©Carol Leigh
