Raccoons

One aspect of moorage life we love is the prevalence of wildlife.  When I lived on land, I saw squirrels racing up and down the trees along with the occasional raccoon darting across the street.  There were also many, many birds, ranging from the squawking crow to the hopping robin to the buzzing hummingbird. 

Would it surprise you to learn that these animals are all here too, along with many others?

The raccoon was a revelation..  Early one morning on my way to work, I was heading down the walkway to the ramp leading up to the parking lot.  I glanced up to see a raccoon emerge out of the water just ahead of me.  It had started to climb onto a nearby dock, before it changed its mind as I approached.  It fell back in the water with a splash and disappeared.

Apparently, the raccoons are everywhere.  Our moorage is near a large wooded area and we have a long bushy bank they can disappear into. Raccoons are also under our houses, creeping along on the floating logs we are attached to.  They prowl for fish or mice or search for shelter from the rainy winds in winter.  The logs also allow them easy access to swing up and onto our docks. 

I once had to call a pest control company on land to help me with a mice problem.  While they were there, they told me about the ways to limit raccoon infestations (yes, that is a real thing).  I learned to block the easy entryway into my crawl space and make sure that my garbage cans were secured tightly.  I learned to keep all food storage inside, away from the garage, where critters could more easily get to it. Raccoons won’t try too hard, but if something is easy to get to, they will reportedly return again and again.  Once they have settled in to a spot they like, they can be hard to deter.

So here on the water, we have taken similar precautions.  We block the entrance to our small attic and lug garbage up to the dumpsters immediately.  We also carefully clean up the food crumbs from outside dining and sweep the dock regularly. 

We don’t see the raccoons often, but they are there.  Our visiting dog, Phoebe, lets us know when they are lurking nearby. She will suddenly stop and peer through the slats on the dock, intent, before letting out a strident bark or two.  Most of the time, we don’t know what specific animal she is alerting to, as mice and nutria call our moorage logs home as well.  Often it seems the animal is long gone and only the scent remains.

Sometimes, though, we get to hear the splash.