Treed Raccoons

We went to our lake cabin this weekend, and after we got the truck unloaded and moved the Adirondack chairs out to the deck, I got a beer and my book, and settled down to read. I hadn't been outside more than a couple of minutes, when I heard the scrabbling sound of a chipmunk heading up one of the fir trees. Except it wasn't a chipmunk—it was a racoon. I watched it climb up the trunk toward the first branch, and there were two others waiting for him.

I quietly got up and went inside, woke Dave up, and grabbed my camera. The three racoons just stared at us. I got a couple of shots from inside, then we went out to the deck and settled down to watch them. They spent a couple of hours in the tree, staring at us until the novelty wore off, then climbed to the next big branch and settled down for a nap, screened behind the foliage, and stayed there for half an hour. They all moved up two more levels, one at a time, following mom. We wondered how they'd get down, and it was fascinating to watch them come headfirst down the trunk, stopping at each branch, then finally making it to the ground.

I love being surprised. Just when you think you won't see anything new, that the sights outside the windows will remain the familiar, beautiful view you've loved for almost two decades, something happens to remind you that life is ever changing... you just have to pay attention.