If we feed them, they will come..............

Scared? Well he ought to be! Earlier this summer, John Sabin found a racoon in the tool crib and promptly beat him to death with a shovel, much to the horror of the tool crib girls. This week, after finding our cat food crate open and empty several days in a row, the search was on for the culprit, and guess who it was! This wiley racoon reminded me of a memory I have of our youngest son Reid, who at age 12, spent the night in our barn so he could stage an attack on the racoon tribe that incessantly raided the cow food tub everynight, causing Reid extra work every morning. When I went down to the barn to check on him, there were

dead racoons scattered around the barn floor, and when I asked him why he hadn't disposed of them, he stated that he was leaving them there as an example to all the other racoons who thought they could get a free meal at his expense. Well, since one of the tool crib girls' jobs this summer was to teach John Sabin sensitivity, they absolutely forbade him to ever again beat a racoon to death with a shovel, so he now has a more politically correct method of catch and release. Tool crib girls, be proud! Here Ruth offers wiley racoon a peace offering of green apple before he is released into the wild blue yonder.