Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Renegade raccoon and a meme
So, we have a little pest problem. A raccoon visited our fish pond last night. I was calmly lying in bed, trying to sleep with no electricity in the bedroom (or, indeed, in most of our house... thanks, electricians!). I usually have a fan on for white noise, so I was having trouble falling asleep. Victor was talking to his mom on the phone, and then I heard him walking around a lot and opening the door. I came out to see what was going on, and there was a raccoon in the fish pond.
We spent about thirty minutes trying to chase it our of our yard. I'm not sure if it's too used to humans or rabid or what, but it wasn't all that scared of us. In fact, it would run hide by the garage, wait a few seconds, and then make its way back to the pond. It even walked up to me, within five or so feet of me. I think it was curious and/or out to give me rabies.
Eventually, a police helicopter started chasing a fugitive around our neighborhood (or something... at least a helicopter was circling for five or ten minutes with its spotlight pointed in one place), and that scared the raccoon away. But tonight, as I was putting more water in the fish pond, I noticed three fish carcasses scattered around the edge of the pond. And there seem to be considerably fewer fish in the pond itself. Stupid raccoon bastard!!!
According to Frontburner, the waiting time for a live trap from the city of Dallas is 3-4 weeks. Lovely!
I've also been tagged by Kat for a meme, so here goes!
Rules:
1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged write their own blog post about their eight things and include these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and that they should read your blog.
My 8 facts:
1. When I was little, I used to make believe that my room was a forest treehouse, where I lived with my pet deer and my pet black panther. I would use the deer as transportation when I went on forest ramblings. It never occurred to me that the panther could eat the deer.
2. I once got so mad that I decided to run away from home. I put one pair of underwear in a three ring binder, fastening it in like you would paper, and took off up the road. I made it about a quarter of a mile (those of you who know my parents’ farm will understand when I say I made it just past the graveyard), and then I chickened out and came home.
3. In high school, I became obsessed with Bono. I fantasized about going to Ireland one day, meeting him, and marrying him. I was reading one of my sister’s YM magazines when I happened across an article written by MTV VJ Allison Stewart, talking about how she interviewed him. She said he kept mentioning that she had the same name as his wife Ali. I didn’t know he was married. I cried.
4. I used to have a pair of silver boots that I would wear to raves, punk shows, and sometimes even to school. One day in band class, the band director noticed them, grabbed my leg and held it high, and told the entire band that they were our new marching boots. Hmm… this is not as good a story as I thought it might be. I apologize for this boring fact!
5. One day in sixth grade, I had to wear a jacket all day because I forgot to put on a bra. Most sixth graders wouldn’t even have to wear one, which made my shame all the worse.
6. I used to subscribe to Fate Magazine. This was when I was younger, like late eighties/early nineties. The magazine was all about the paranormal – ghosts, UFOs, ESP, witchcraft, all that stuff. While I was an intelligent kid, I nevertheless believed a lot of the articles. I used to read it at night and then be too scared to sleep. I remember when Men in Black came out thinking that I already knew all about the "men in black." I had read an article about them in Fate.
7. I used to spend a lot of time traipsing around my parents’ farm on my own. My family watched a lot of nature shows, so I would pretend to be hosting a nature show as I walked along the river or in the woods. I would point out animals, talk about the way rivers formed, that kind of thing. I don’t do that anymore, but I still talk to myself a lot when I’m alone.
8. I have an irrational fear of seeing dead babies. For example, if I see a bag or box lying in the road, I always think there’s a baby inside (probably dead, from being thrown from a truck and then run over countless times). I always swerve to avoid the baby. I worry that when I enter a public restroom stall, I’ll see an aborted fetus or dead baby in the toilet. Seriously. Where did this come from? Why do I think people will stuff a baby in a bag and toss it out the car window? Why do I think they would leave a baby in a public restroom? What is wrong with me???
Dude, just about everyone has been tagged for this. Plus, I only post once a millennium, so most of my 10 or so readers are probably not reading. But I suppose I'll tag Jeremy and seven other people who may pick themselves. How's that for a cop out?
So, we have a little pest problem. A raccoon visited our fish pond last night. I was calmly lying in bed, trying to sleep with no electricity in the bedroom (or, indeed, in most of our house... thanks, electricians!). I usually have a fan on for white noise, so I was having trouble falling asleep. Victor was talking to his mom on the phone, and then I heard him walking around a lot and opening the door. I came out to see what was going on, and there was a raccoon in the fish pond.
We spent about thirty minutes trying to chase it our of our yard. I'm not sure if it's too used to humans or rabid or what, but it wasn't all that scared of us. In fact, it would run hide by the garage, wait a few seconds, and then make its way back to the pond. It even walked up to me, within five or so feet of me. I think it was curious and/or out to give me rabies.
Eventually, a police helicopter started chasing a fugitive around our neighborhood (or something... at least a helicopter was circling for five or ten minutes with its spotlight pointed in one place), and that scared the raccoon away. But tonight, as I was putting more water in the fish pond, I noticed three fish carcasses scattered around the edge of the pond. And there seem to be considerably fewer fish in the pond itself. Stupid raccoon bastard!!!
According to Frontburner, the waiting time for a live trap from the city of Dallas is 3-4 weeks. Lovely!
I've also been tagged by Kat for a meme, so here goes!
Rules:
1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged write their own blog post about their eight things and include these rules.
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and that they should read your blog.
My 8 facts:
1. When I was little, I used to make believe that my room was a forest treehouse, where I lived with my pet deer and my pet black panther. I would use the deer as transportation when I went on forest ramblings. It never occurred to me that the panther could eat the deer.
2. I once got so mad that I decided to run away from home. I put one pair of underwear in a three ring binder, fastening it in like you would paper, and took off up the road. I made it about a quarter of a mile (those of you who know my parents’ farm will understand when I say I made it just past the graveyard), and then I chickened out and came home.
3. In high school, I became obsessed with Bono. I fantasized about going to Ireland one day, meeting him, and marrying him. I was reading one of my sister’s YM magazines when I happened across an article written by MTV VJ Allison Stewart, talking about how she interviewed him. She said he kept mentioning that she had the same name as his wife Ali. I didn’t know he was married. I cried.
4. I used to have a pair of silver boots that I would wear to raves, punk shows, and sometimes even to school. One day in band class, the band director noticed them, grabbed my leg and held it high, and told the entire band that they were our new marching boots. Hmm… this is not as good a story as I thought it might be. I apologize for this boring fact!
5. One day in sixth grade, I had to wear a jacket all day because I forgot to put on a bra. Most sixth graders wouldn’t even have to wear one, which made my shame all the worse.
6. I used to subscribe to Fate Magazine. This was when I was younger, like late eighties/early nineties. The magazine was all about the paranormal – ghosts, UFOs, ESP, witchcraft, all that stuff. While I was an intelligent kid, I nevertheless believed a lot of the articles. I used to read it at night and then be too scared to sleep. I remember when Men in Black came out thinking that I already knew all about the "men in black." I had read an article about them in Fate.
7. I used to spend a lot of time traipsing around my parents’ farm on my own. My family watched a lot of nature shows, so I would pretend to be hosting a nature show as I walked along the river or in the woods. I would point out animals, talk about the way rivers formed, that kind of thing. I don’t do that anymore, but I still talk to myself a lot when I’m alone.
8. I have an irrational fear of seeing dead babies. For example, if I see a bag or box lying in the road, I always think there’s a baby inside (probably dead, from being thrown from a truck and then run over countless times). I always swerve to avoid the baby. I worry that when I enter a public restroom stall, I’ll see an aborted fetus or dead baby in the toilet. Seriously. Where did this come from? Why do I think people will stuff a baby in a bag and toss it out the car window? Why do I think they would leave a baby in a public restroom? What is wrong with me???
Dude, just about everyone has been tagged for this. Plus, I only post once a millennium, so most of my 10 or so readers are probably not reading. But I suppose I'll tag Jeremy and seven other people who may pick themselves. How's that for a cop out?
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