The Strange Case of the Nighttime Noises

I’ve been in hibernation mode lately and sleeping for hours every day. And yet, even so, life is never boring. Welcome to the strange case of the nighttime noises…

For weeks, Mom had been telling me that she had been hearing an animal on the deck outside her and my dad's bedroom window at night. 

"But what sort of animal was it?" we wondered. When we found poop directly outside their bedroom window a few weeks ago, we decided that perhaps the noises and the gift were from a dog, but that didn’t make much sense. Why would a dog be on our deck at night?

Last night, the mystery deepened when Mom was sitting on the couch and again heard noises on the deck. She assumed it was my dad returning from work, until she looked outside and realized his car was still gone. Cautiously, she walked outside and saw some sort of animal but couldn’t make out much besides that it was larger than a cat, so she returned inside to get a flashlight. Soon her flashlight beams illuminated the masked face of the criminal–a racoon! Ah-hah, so that’s what had been making the noises! It also appeared to have something white, maybe a paper plate, Mom guessed. She stood about six feet away from the critter but didn’t want to agitate it by walking closer to take a photo, and she returned inside.

But the drama was not over. In fact, it had only begun. It wasn’t long before the noises intensified with loud banging. Okay, so the raccoon was probably eating something, she reasoned, but what? Mom looked out the window but couldn’t see anything. 

She texted Dad to let him know that we had a visitor, and when he returned home, he made sufficient noise by stomping loudly on the deck to frighten the critter away. He then discovered the remains of what the raccoon had been eating, a suet cake, and he tossed it off the deck and into the backyard. I still am surprised that I slept through all this. Apparently, my air purifier that I use as a white noise machine really does block out other sounds.

When I awoke this morning and heard this tale, I quickly went outside, hoping to retrieve the suet for the birds, but it was too far gone. I also noticed that the lid to the metal garbage can where I keep suet cakes for the birds was off, so I know where the racoon stole it from. I hope the fellow didn’t get sick from eating such a fatty meal, but even if so, it was punishment that fit the crime.

I wonder what tonight will bring... Apparently, there's a raccoon that feels at home here and wants to be part of our family. I can't blame him, haha.