It was bound to happen… I talked Rich into allowing me to buy dog food to feed the raccoons that wander through our backyard. Every evening, I put out bowls of food for the raccoons and opossums.

Several months ago, when it got dark in the late afternoon, the raccoons would sneak onto our porch and chow down. I had to turn on the deck lights to see them.

Now, with it staying light longer, they show up long before dark. And if I haven’t put out their food, they stand on their hind legs, plant their paws on the french doors, and look inside to see if anyone is home!

Last Saturday, we got home around 6 o’clock at night. There was still several hours of light so Rich let Pu’Yi and Jujube outside. A few minutes later, he checked on the cats. They were sitting several feet apart on the deck. Equal distance between them was a raccoon, looking into the house!

I quickly got some dog food; Rich gingerly opened the door. The raccoon skirted around Jujube and hid until Rich put the bowl of food out. Check out the pictures.

We have at least two visiting raccoons. The smaller one is Sweetie-Pie and the larger is Pot-Pie. We also have visiting opossums. They have long, bright pink toes. Our most frequent visiting opossum is named P.T. (Pink Toes). A smaller, more elusive opossum with a deformed back foot also visits. He or she has yet to be named.