Me being a lover of animals can be detrimental at times... although so far, I've never really been hurt by an animal. I have little fear, but know the limits of wild animal contact enough to be wise in my interactions with them. Last night was a new experience...
Trying to sleep, I'd closed my eyes and started praying as usual. I had the doors to the deck open, and the fan blowing the cool air in through the screen doors. I'd left an aluminum ladder on the upper deck outside the bedroom after painting and started to hear it squeaking every so often. I attributed it to the wind, and continued to pray... but the noises were strange, and I thought about how the wind was way too minimal last night to cause such a ruckus. So, excused myself from prayer, put on my glasses, and turned the deck lights on, only to find a young raccoon on the deck, curiously wandering about. He/she saw me, and turned and scooted toward the corner of the deck, furthest from me. I shut the door. The poor thing seemed to be stuck up 3 stories from the ground, without a clear way of escape. He sat down in the corner, then laid down, and put his head down as if to rest. I had no idea how long he'd been up there. It could have been all day in the brutal heat. So, I found myself pitying him, and went down to the kitchen for some sugar snap peas and water. I tossed a few peas out the window near him, and he scooted again toward the other end of the deck, again, furthest from me. When I put the water out, he tried his best to get away from me, but again seemed at a loss as to how to get down from such a height. I turned the lights off, and shut up the doors so the cats couldn't freak out... and watched. He ate the snap peas up quickly, making me think he'd been up there a while and was hungry. I dropped the rest of the peas I had out the window after he walked over to the water... and he soon finished up all of the peas. Meanwhile I called Ben who was out... and mom who was still up at 11 p.m., asking about their large 'have-a-heart' trap that I might come and get from them in the morning. The raccoon would stand on his hind legs here and there, peering into the house to see what I was up to, or maybe to see what the cats were doing. I left it at that, praying for the Lord to protect him and get him down from the height he had gotten himself to.
Once Ben got home, the raccoon had escaped - which I was grateful for. I knew he was young and curious, and thought back to a giant poop that appeared on the lower deck last week... and I wondered. Maybe this little guy had been looking around out of curiosity, but why come back after not finding any goodies the first time? I have an idea he may have indeed found goodies INSIDE the house on Saturday night when we were out quite late, because on Sunday morning the large bag of cat food which the cats never bother with was curiously wide open as if someone had helped themselves to it. I remembered that, and thought surely he must have come through the cat door that leads from the kitchen to the deck. We've had chipmunks do the same thing, only they were after the birdseed bag that sits next to the cat food bag. Ah wildlife!
So: no more leaving the deck door open at night. No more leaving goodies for the animals to be attracted to... Seems silly to have to do that when the lower deck is 20 feet up from the ground. But, they climb! I find it slightly amusing, and not at all scary, but Ben doesn't like the idea of wild animals roaming around the house. To be honest, neither do I. Jasper will have to be satisfied in locating his meals elsewhere. He's young... he'll adapt.
All of God's creatures are precious to me. I want to help in any way possible. But, I know that my 'help' isn't best for what nature intends for these creatures... so I must resist. It was a wonderful moment to watch Jasper last night... being close enough to want to touch him, but far enough for him to be comfortable munching away at the snap peas I'd provided. Hopefully we won't have another episode tonight!
sweet story
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