Regarding a picture: I’ll keep an eye open, but being ready to snap a picture at all times isn’t in my normal M.O. . I was under the impression that raccoons were mostly nocturnal, but our mama ‘coon was definitely out and about in broad daylight when we all saw her. And as I say, she seemed to be totally ignoring us: it makes me think that something must have messed up her original nesting site. I’m also suspicious that we really only saw her with one kit. Usually they have multiples, so that also makes me think she might have lost some babies. That might disrupt her enough to come out in the day and think of humans as the lesser of two evils.

Regarding wires and pipes under the spa…actually, since it has already suffered from rats (yes, we have rats too…and oppossums…and squirrels), I’m doubtful that the raccoons can make things much worse. Actually, the EFI breaker switched off a week or so ago, and I can’t reset it: since neither Irene nor I have used the spa much this year, I’ve been ignoring the problem. I might just pump the thing out and retire it, since we’ve had quite a few problems with it the last couple of years. It is over 15 years old, so I am thinking it’s time has probably come. The “plan” is to tear the spa area down and build something new with a new theraputic tub (I.E.: [tim allan grunt] more power!]). But that is probably at least a year or two away budget-wise.

What I’d really like is a little robotic camera or something that I could send under the deck and check things out with. That would be neat…or perhaps it would scare the crap out of me, and I’d go out with a hatchet and gasoline and burn the deck to the ground 🙂