All Racoons Go to Heaven

This afternoon my boys called me to the front door and told me to check out the coon that decided to visit Taffy's dinner bowl.  You guessed it!  I had another Missouri moment.  This sort of thing would have never happened if we still lived in California!

It is very rare to see anything like this at my front door and of course a picture was warranted.

However, there is a reason that you don't see this happening in the middle of the afternoon.  Coons that come out during the day are sick, and this little fella was surely sick.  He could hardly walk straight.  I knew  what I was going to have to do and I wasn't very excited about it.  It isn't good to risk our farm animals to whatever illness this little critter is carrying (distemper?  Rabid?).  The bigger concern is my cat-hugging-dog-loving-chicken-snuggling toddler who might happen upon this fuzzy wuzzy coon and try to pack him home so she can force feed him twizzlers. 

So I did what all good Apple Farmer Wives would do and drug out the shot gun.  The Apple Farmer's advice to me over the phone was to make sure I was standing outside when I shot because he didn't want me to blow out all of the windows in the house.  I guess I over estimated my aim because I only loaded up two shells and didn't take any extra with me. 

I did get him the first time!  The last two shots were for eating my dog food and trespassing my property!!

  JUST KIDDING!! 

I did get him the first time though, but I was a tad too low.  He got up again but dropped just as I fired the second shot.  The third shot put him out of his misery and gave him his ticket to get to racoon heaven.  He is now happy as he can be up in God's corn patch (not mine!!!) eating all the sweet corn he could ever want!