It was 3 am.
Both Steve and I awoke to a loud THUNK on the roof above our heads. "There goes that raccoon, unless that was an ex-con running from police."
Maggie barked until 9 am and we never did go back to sleep.
Well, I did. Steve had to get up at 4.
The little ringed fellow must be 25 pounds or more. It sounded just like a tree had fallen over on the house, or like my neighbor was running around on the roof.
Steve thought, last week, that the raccoon might get into the attic so he put a trap up inside there and closed up all the openings. We didn't know for sure if the little critter was in there or not.
He wasn't.
So far, we haven't caught anything. it is nesting season. and these rodents are trying to find a place to have their babies. Hopefully, not at this address.
Today Steve took the trap out of the attic and put it back on the roof. The last time he did that, a neighborhood cat got caught and I had to climb up there at 6 am in the rain to let it out. I don't think I will do that again. There are limits to how much I like that cat.
So there we were, trying to sleep through a barrage of dogs barking at 2 a.m., Maggie being the loudest.
"I just KNOW that dog is barking at that raccoon. I do NOT want to go out there." Steve, however, did not get what he wanted.
The day before, Steve had planted a trap up on the roof, just above our bedroom. That might have been his first mistake.
Now, there are some scary images associated with Steve climbing up on the roof at 2 a.m. in his slippers and robe; first image? Don't look up. Second image? An imagined version of how things might look if he fell off the ladder and landed, sprawled in the dirt, slippers and robe askew.
Ok, enough of the mental pictures. What you really want to know is, did we get the raccoon?
Nope. just like the 'truth', that critter is still out there.
After working this week in Roseville, I managed to make a trip up to Truckee for a couple of days. Truckee is just about my favorite place in the whole world, especially around Hirschdale, where William grew up.
I was really mad at myself after I left, I didn't even get a photograph of John and Miriam, that would have been nice. I sort of considered (for about 3 minutes) that I should turn around and go back just to get a picture. But I kept going, thinking I should get home right about on time.
Well, I might have, had I not gone the wrong way after getting gas, someplace around Sacramento. There I was, driving along, listening to a good book, when I saw a highway sign that said "Redding 113 miles." Uh-oh.
I wasn't too far off course though (compared to some of my past experiences) and due to the higher speed limit through the valley I was able to make up most of the hour I lost going north, and still got home before 10 pm. Plus, I got to finish the book I was listening to; that was nice, I hate leaving the good ones hanging.
And, when I got home, Dad introduced me to our new tenant, a lovely racoon living in the eaves over the porch. More on that, later....
