Raccoons

I don't know if there are any statistics to back it up but I believe Iowa must rank number one in the population of raccoons.  It seems that these little masked bandits and the deer benefit greatly from the vast fields of corn and soybeans.  During the time that the corn is ripening in the fields these little animals feast on the bounty of fresh corn.  However, when the corn is just planted or has been harvested they move into the barns for their corn fix. They come with all their kids, cousins, aunts and uncles to see what they can find.  They seems to take great joy in tearing open sacks of mineral, feed, cat food, and dog food .  Their little hands are just perfect for opening doors and bin lids and scattering tools and supplies.  In short they are not welcome guests.

My son-in-law wages a constant battle with the little invaders.  Many a night he and my daughter wait until well after dark and venture out to the barn to surprise their unwanted visitors.  They throw open the barn door, switch on the light and watch the various raccoons scamper to escape.  They then try to kill them with a small rifle.So far the biggest fatality has been the barn roof, although a few raccoons have gone to their reward.

The other afternoon the whole family was gathered in the yard to greet the newest farm member, a lovely small mare recently bought for the granddaughters.  This was her first outing with the little girls on board and we were watching her to see how she behaved.  So far she had been a perfect lady, following neck reining easily, being tolerant of the family dog, ignoring the barn cats, and seeming to enjoy the chatter of the little girls. 

Suddenly I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye.  A large raccoon was moving across the road to the back of the barn, arriving early for the nightly festivities.  About the time I saw the raccoon so did the dog.  She tore off at a dead run for the back of the barn and her enemy.  My daughter then tore off after the dog, knowing from experience that while the dog was big on willingness she wasn't much bigger than the raccoons.  Dog and Coon met in the weed filled ditch behind the barn.  Soon the air was filled with growls, yips, snarls, and shouts, peaking to a crescendo punctuated by squeals of pain.  By now both little girls were screaming for their dog while their dad ran to the house for his gun.  Returning just in time to see the coon retreat across the road he quickly fired three shots, unfortunately missing.

During all the commotion the little mare remained calm and unconcerned.  Seizing the opportunity to snack on the lush lawn, she simply started grazing, while waiting for the excitement to be over and the ride to continue.  Looks like she is going to be a perfect kid horse.