One advantage of living in the country is that nature is right at your doorstep. Now for some that isn't always desirable, but if you know me it is heaven on earth! Last year my attention was caught when the back deck light flicked on late one evening. I've seen many animals through those windows so I slipped over to peer out. There was a mother raccoon and her two babies. They searched out every nook and cranny on the deck looking for something to eat. They even climbed up on the rails and checked out the bird feeder mounted there.
This began a ritual, as they returned night after night. I noticed one of the babies was quite a bit smaller. My heart went out to her! I decided I'd share some of our cat's food and put some out for them the next night. Sadly I noticed that the little one was pushed out of the dish right away and when the others were through there was so little left for her.
The next day as I cleaned out my fridge I put aside a heaping bowl of baked beans and bacon. Just after dark the deck light flicked on. As I looked through our back door I saw the little one had climbed up on the deck first. She wandered over to the dish of beans and put her nose in it. Her eyes grew wide nearly popping out of her head. I smiled, imaging her saying "Wow! This is good!" She plunged her tiny hands into the beans and began to devour her prize, much like a squirrel sitting up eating a nut. Smiling I grabbed my camera. She ate her fill and then climbed up onto our lounger where she gave a big stretch and washed her face and hands. You could almost feel her satisfaction - "Hungry no more!"
She played on the lounger for a few minutes then jumped up onto our table where the umbrella was mounted. She was quite enthralled with it, batting the bottom trim back and forth and trying to hang from it.
Soon her brother appeared running along the deck rail and checking out the bird feeder. She joined him and the two of them played on the rail for a while. Then she spotted me with the camera in front of my face and walked along the rail, right up to the window and peered in at me. She seemed quite fascinated with what I was.
Her brother jumped down and discovered the beans as mom joined him for the snack. Then with the bowl emptied the two of them disappeared into the night. By now I was sitting in front of our full length glass door watching them. As the smallest one started to follow her family, she looked back and spotted me through the glass. She made her way over and sat down right in front of me her eyes blinking softly. I put my finger on the glass. She looked up into my eyes and with both those tiny front paws reached up and covered my finger. That was a magical moment for me! One I will never forget. As we looked at each other in the dim light I said in my heart "You can come onto my deck for beans and bacon anytime."