Strangers in the Night

The neighbor called the other day to let us know that they have seen a cougar hang out at their place (eating all their chickens). So going to the barn at night or walking the dogs isn't my favorite thing to do. Last night I took Macy out to potty before bed about 11:00. Before I could even get the door closed, Macy was flying off the deck, into the dark yard. My first thought was SKUNK. As I went screaming behind her yelling "NO NO NO", all I could hear was the crunching of falling leaves and lots of it. She came back fairly quickly (I was too chicken to leave the deck) and fortunately she did not smell like a skunk (had that been the case the puppies would have been weaned last night) ;-). Once Macy was on the deck I listened to see if I could hear anything- there was more leaves rustling, some scratching, and what I thought was a low growl. I decided it was probably just my imagination, but to be sure I got the flashlight and checked it out. As I scanned the yard, I didn't see anything obvious, then I went to the tree's. There they were- 8 eyes staring back at me.

My flashlight was not powerful enough to identify the suspect, so I came in and got my husbands spotlight (10,000,000 + candle power). Come to find out I have a Coon Hound- not a Labrador Retriever! One mama and 3 babies raccoons peered down at us from the branches of the Oak tree. Macy and I watched them for a while, then decided that they had been scared enough and went to bed. I've always said, "If there's trouble, Macy will find it."

The puppies are little porkers. I call a few of the males Brutus. Their necks are like the Michelin Man. Everyone weighed in over 2 pounds today. By the end of the week I think most of them will have their eyes open. A few are starting to pull themselves up and not just drag themselves across the box. If you see dark red marks on the puppies, don't worry- it's nail polish. It helps me keep track of each one. Not too long now until they will start playing with each other instead of just sleeping on each other.

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