Coons and Karma Will Both Gladly Bite You

Our friends had set out a live trap last night to capture some noisy, pesky squirrels and a raccoon had gone for the bait instead. Before we could get to their house this morning, a meddling neighbor had unfortunately called Animal Control. (Unfortunate for him, that is.)

We wanted to eyeball the furry bandit . . . he growled and twisted and hissed as we approached. It looked thirsty so we dropped in an apricot, which he spitefully bit and spit and stomped to dramatically demonstrate his disdain for us.

We wanted to transport him up to the mouth of the closest canyon but our hands were tied since the local officials had been summoned. So we chatted with our friend Cathy for a few minutes, said our goodbyes to the masked intruder, and left a little depressed, knowing that Animal Control would likely dispose of him. I didn't even take a picture because seeing it later would just make us sad. I guess I should have got a shot, seeing how things turned out. (Update: Our friend Cathy had snapped a few photos so here's the optical proof.)

We went to the local farmers market and, a little while later, Cathy called us with some news that made our day. The tattling neighbor had picked up the cage to move it, stumbled over some tree roots, and to avoid twisting his ankle, let go of the captured raccoon. The impact popped the cage open and the liberated animal ran "like a bat out of hell" for the bushes, across the street, and out of sight.

The neighbor then had to call to report this development to Animal Control. Later the official vehicle was seen cruising the neighborhood but there was no raccoon to be found.

We were told that, not long after this incident, the neighbor went up to an equipment shed to prepare for an Scout outing and was promptly stung above his eye by a wasp.

I think the moral of the story is 1) to mind your own business, 2) be kind to animals, and 3) be prepared for nature to bite back if you ignore rules 1 and 2.