Today’s Action Figure is Half-Stache, AKA Stachie. Larry is usually our athletic cat, but sometimes she has competition.
Larry is the huntress. When she catches rats stealing our poultry food, she puts a quick end to it. Then she sets the victim in her favorite display area for the Farm Manager to review. We keep telling her not to nab the little birds, but those Golden-Crowned Sparrows must be the dumbest birds around. They are the only ones she ever catches, mostly because the other birds are onto her. Because we aren’t all that stupid.
Half-Stache the Magnificent
Anyway, the Farm Manager and I were working this morning when Stachie launched himself into space! He ignited in the bully pen and went off through the barn gate in a most beautiful arc. He crashed to the ground in the cat area of the barn, making a most untidy landing. He quickly scrambled back up onto his feet, his booster rockets re-ignited, and he nearly made it up to the kitty barn roof!
By now he had the attention of the entire flock! On the ground now, Stachie stared at the translucent roof, ears cocked overhead. I heard the pitter-patter of bigger-than-squirrel steps crashing across the roof. Raccoon! At noon!
Raccoons, who happen to be directly above Stachie’s launch pad
The Farm Manager wasn’t watching very carefully, messing with her phone, no doubt thinking she was swift enough to catch a photo. I saw the whole thing, and this was not Mommy or Daddy raccoon. Oh no, it was one of those cute babies, all grown up big now, months later. And now it was gone.
When I asked the Farm Manager for a moon photo, this is what she came up with.
The summer crop of raccoons gets jettisoned from the territory by their parents around this time of year. Winter is coming and they don’t need the competition. That’s why there is so much roadkill after autumn full moons. The young raccoons migrate to new territory at night, but they aren’t very savvy about cars. They are experts at breaking and entering, so October is a good month to secure your coop. If your run can be covered- chicken wire is good enough- do it now. Raccoons can’t be trusted to do their marauding only at night. They will hop right over your fence any time of day and make your hens go pouf.
This has been a public service announcement.
From Norman
Stacy's Funny Farm 