Scrap That

I was all set to tell you about how I was Not Stupid yesterday and didn't screw anything up or destroy anything and in fact managed to make some tomato sauce and can seven quarts of pears.

Then something else happened. And as is so often the case at Blackrock, that Something Else was a raccoon.

At nine last night I had just gotten out of the shower and was greatly looking forward to bed. As I was drying off I heard . . . something. At first I thought it might be Cubby, so I listened for a second and determined the sound came from outside. Then I thought maybe it was the neighbors' yippy little terrier dog. But after a bit I realized that what I was hearing was our dogs, engaged in combat.

By the time I got out of the bathroom, the MiL had already grabbed A.'s big spotlight and A. had his gun. And by the time I got to the door wrapped in my towel, there was an enormous raccoon dead on the ground. The dogs had chased it up the maple tree right next to the dining room door, where the MiL spotlighted it and A. shot it. Those people move fast.

Next we had to check the dogs to see if there were any injuries. Leda had disappeared immediately upon the appearance of A.'s gun, which she is terrified of. Mia was fine, but Otty has a cut on her ear. Since the dogs are vaccinated for rabies but we aren't, the MiL had to get rubber gloves and be very careful to not touch the blood on her head, since we didn't know if it was the raccoon's blood or hers.

Leda got a pretty bad bite on the muzzle, which the MiL cleaned up and which we'll keep an eye on to make sure it doesn't get infected.

So there goes another raccoon. And there goes a post about tomato sauce. Just another day at Blackrock.