Spring has definitely arrived in Seattle. The trees are blooming with flowers, the birds are singing, the Canadian geese are starting to appear on their way back north, Justin the beaver is splashing around in the mornings… and the raccoons are becoming more active.
Have you ever come face to face with a raccoon? With their face masks, beady eyes and shifty demeanor they certainly have a creepy aura. They travel in a pack (it could be a family) and seem to have no fear of people, bicyclists or vehicles. This morning on my way to the gym at 4:45am I had a staring match with one as he seemed to be daring me to walk by him on the Burke Gilman trail. I wasn’t about to be intimidated, so I set my sternest face and used hand gestures to show him I had my eyes on him. I will say I was quite pleased to be past him and safely across the street.
These raccoons seem to be getting more cheeky. Last week as I was leaving for work quite early in the morning, one was wandering down the dock. As I stepped onto the dock, he stopped, considered his options as I started walking towards him, and then thought better of continuing the standoff, as he turned around and headed back down the dock and then towards the exit. Of course the exit has a chain fence so there was no escaping there for him, but the sides have a lower wooden fence that is surrounded by bushes. He managed to scramble onto the wooden fence and buried his front-half into the bushes. As I walked by his rear end was still hanging out, but I managed to resist the temptation to slap it on my way past.
I’m hoping that as the weather continues to warm up and there is more activity around the dock, that the raccoons might become a little more timid and give us a little free space.