My New Tenants

 A few years ago, a wind took down several pieces of soffit from under the back of the roof, and every Spring we would  have returning starlings come to nest inside our eaves.  We would determine that we would have to get the ladder and replace those pieces as soon as the starlings were gone, but my husband was not well and so it never got done. Last year, the deck was removed and so it wasn't possible to use the 12 foot step ladder to get the soffit re-installed. So a few weeks ago, when I could hear movement up in the attic, I surmised the starlings were back for the season, and indeed I could see them flying back and forth with nesting material. They were louder than usual, but I really didn't give it too much thought. I just figured they were comfortable and confident that no one would disturb their rental accommodations, as no one had kicked them out in the past.

Fast forward to two nights ago when I got a rare phone call from my next door neighbour. We "talk over the fence", but don't seek each other out. She told me to go outside to the back yard quickly, but carefully. There was a HUGE raccoon climbing up the corner of my vinyl clad house. As soon as I opened the door, just ten feet away was a raccoon going back UP the corner of the house. She was coming down at dusk for an evening of hunting, but I scared her. I watched as she climbed up to the roof, went across to the other side of the house, hung upside down over the edge, grabbed an exposed roof rafter and swung herself under the eaves, where she disappeared. OMG! That didn't look like a starling. That looked like big trouble.

Yesterday morning my friend arrived to tear down the front stoop, get my riding lawn mower working, and offered to go with me to pick up the lumber and hardware to start rebuilding the front stoop. I told him of the discovery of the racoon just the night before. He was determined to get her out of there so he could screw up some hardware cloth to make sure she stayed out. I have an access panel from my bedroom that would allow him to enter that attic area, so up he went with a broom. As soon as I removed the access panel, we were face to face with a MOTHER raccoon. He was able to scare the baby to the outside of the eaves, from where he could pull her down to the ground, hoping the mother would come out to "rescue" her baby. Eventually she did, but it was clear she did not want to come down. She grabbed the kitten in her mouth and she took off.....whereabouts unknown. We did not want her to return, so we enclosed the open space to the attic with heavy hardware cloth screwed in.

Last night, while returning my small kitchen step ladder back to the craft room, I could hear something trying to get past the hardware cloth. I grabbed the flashlight and went outside in the dark to dissuade mother raccoon from trying to break back in, but I didn't see HER. What I saw peering back at me through the other side of the wire, were two cute little faces. My friend had inspected the whole attic just in case there were more young 'uns, but didn't find any. Now I know there are at least two more up there....and none of them paying rent. The saga continues.