And the raccoon saga goes on

Woken up again around 5:30 am by either the exit or entrance of raccoon.  This time I did not get up, just rolled over and went back to sleep, my head still full of my 3AM raccoon reading.

barely visible raccoon prints

At proper wake-up time, still more evidence of raccoon visitation. Broken glass in pantry, new footprints, decipherable in dust  in upstairs hall.  George arrived around 10 am and agreed that the raccoon had wandered under the house while they were working, slept during all construction, and now, unable to get into the great outdoors was whiling away its evening hours in the house.

What are the options?  All parties agree the only thing to do is trap it and then remove it.  If I'm bold enough, I'll just carry it outside, lift a lever and let it find its way to a more natural habitat.  If I'm too intimidated, I'll call George and he'll do the carrying.  Stay tuned. In the meantime, here are some fine   trap photos.

George will bring a trap this evening.  His brother gave him extensive instructions for baiting, etc., so there is much trapping fun in the immediate future.

I am of course reminded of all the animal refuse that was here when I arrived last year.  This is relatively simple but in addition to reminding me of how far we've come, it is also a reminder that we are deep in a world of many species and anything can happen at any time.  To be continued....