hunting skills in that little guy

In case you need to know, my least favorite creatures are:

1. Mice
2. Grasshoppers

Okay. At least those are my least favorite creatures that I might encounter in my life. Around my house. Or in my gardens.

And snails. But I'm not afraid of snails. I just don't like them eating my flowers.

So far in his short life around here, Gus has brought me a dead mouse that he caught (or found, not sure because it was dead and I certainly didn't need to get close enough to examine it), and just last weekend, he dragged a huge grasshopper onto the deck and played with it for an hour.

Now we can add another creature to the list: raccoons.

Three of them. Trying to get into my attic.

Earlier tonight, we heard Gus and Jo making crazy barking sounds out back. Jack went out to see if the neighbor was teasing them--quietly sneaked over to the side of the house to check out all of the commotion, and while peering over the fence into the front yard, suddenly something BIG and hissing jumped off the side of the house into the front yard, right in front of him, leaving the other two--yes two big furry hissing things--attached to the bricks up under the eaves.

By this time, Jr joined the fray--after much scurrying about locating flashlights and sticks--because you know, we're all stick-wielding raccoon killers or maybe raccoon pokers, right? Actually he had already called the police to ask them to send out the animal control or wildlife services or whoever it is who is brave enough to coax three raccoons into a trap and away from my attic.

Jack tried to get a photo so we'd have something to post on the blog, or maybe he just wanted a photo, but of course, the flash on the camera wasn't working. And then, before the cop showed up and before Jr figured out he could just get in his car and turn on the lights, well, by then they were already gone.

When he arrived, the cop was a little disappointed because he'd missed his first chance to use his pepper spray on raccoons.

And like the spider who still lives in the window, I had these crazy mixed feelings--I mean I certainly don't want hissing raccoons living in my attic or around my yard, even if they aren't rodents, but still, pepper spray?

I'm thinking Gus and Jo did a great job scaring them away.