Monday this week was of course Labor Day, a holiday for most people. As we often do, my wife Pat and I had decided we would go out for breakfast that morning.
We weren’t in any big hurry. Thought we’d sleep in a little later than normal, have our coffee as we do on weekendsandtakeourtime before heading out to eat.
Along about 8:45 that morning, our neighbor Rhonda texted me. She said they had been having a bad time with raccoons on their back deck. She and her husband had borrowed some traps, put them out by the deck and finally caught one.
Her husband of course was at work, so she wanted to know was there any way I could come over, take the critter out back and do away with it.
I told I could and would, and would be there in a bit.
So, in a little bit, after explaining to Pat why our going out for breakfast needed to be put on hold for just a short time, I headed over to the neighbor’s with weapon in hand.
When I got there, Rhonda advised me what the raccoons had been doing, and showed me the damage they were causing to their yard.
That immediately brought to mind that several weeks ago I could tell something had been digging in our side yard. I showed Pat after discovering that and we couldn’t figure out what it might be.
Now I knew, it had been at least one raccoon.
Rhonda took me over and showed me the trapped raccoon. It was a big one. This coon was full grown I could tell.
They had set two other traps as well. Rhonda related to me what the coons had been doing because she had seen them on their camera.
Well, I picked up the trap and Rhonda accompanied me. I had decided to just eliminate it while it was in the trap. It took but a few seconds. This coon would no longer bother anything.
This was the first time I had eliminated a raccoon.
One advantage of residing in a rural area is that a person can eliminate these and other pesky critters by most any method one chooses.
I’ve done away with armadillos in our yard and in Rhonda’s and her husband’s yard at their request, shot a skunk when they asked and another neighbor asked later as well, and even eliminated a coyote in the area.
This wasn’t a typical Monday morning, but it brought a little adventure to the day.
With that done, I headed back on over to the house and Pat and I went and had an enjoyable breakfast at a local restaurant.