raccoon gang

we have a raccoon gang who frequents the neighborhood at late hours of the evening. we were first aware of their presence the night the truck arrived with our stuff. unknowingly we set canberra's containers of food on the back porch. the next morning ben walked outside, to find the large plastic containers (which had been taped down) ripped open with large quantities of food missing.  that night ben was working on some wiring down in the cellar, when all of a sudden he heard some scampering around on our deck. 

now to give you a heads up our house is very old (as i have already mentioned). but it's very old, located in a kind of a ghetto area, and has the potential to be a little creepy (especially when you are unfamiliar with it). it was late and i had already gone to bed when i was awakened to the tune of my faithful guard dog barking like crazy. ben ran in and told me to grab my camera. so i jumped up to see what was going on, and this is what i found: three little rascals out to steal our trash. 

i can't help but love the little guys. initially i decided i was going to begin putting food out for them each night. when my mom heard this she laughed, and told me that was "a dreadful idea." she proceeded to explain to me that before long we will not have just three raccoons, our yard will be filled with them, and if i ever intend to grow a garden next summer, all my harvest will vanish in the night. when i realized this i began putting a lid on our trash, and not leaving food for my friends. and even though i think they are awfully cute, if i ever do need to go outside at night canberra is my right hand man (they tend to be scarred of her, but ben or me, no way. i think they can tell we have a soft spot for furry, potentially rabies-infested, thieves, like themselves).