Recycled Raccoon

Just imagine, you've found a snug little place to live, within easy walking distance of your favorite dining establishments, then everything goes all to heck when you are rudely awakened by people throwing empty plastic bottles at you... When I arrived at work this afternoon, there was a minor commotion going on- a raccoon had gotten into a can-and-bottle recycling bin outside our visitors' center. The gift shop staff and cleaning contractors decided to wait until I arrived, I'm the guy who's known for dealing with weird animal situations. Sure enough, I looked through the aperture in the lid of the recycling bin and spied a scared, snarling furball under a layer of plastic bottles. I decided that this was no time for subtlety, so I tipped the recycling bin over:

Now, why would anybody pitch a perfectly good little raccoon in the recycling bin?

We were then confronted by a scared and angry raccoon that had no desire to leave the confines of the plastic bag that lined the bin. I stepped on the bag while the gentleman from the cleaning contractor pulled the metal bin away. I then hoisted the bag, with the raccoon in it, over the low retaining wall separating a small ivied area from the main pedestrian walkway in front of the main entrance- it wouldn't do to release a very scared, very angry wild animal into an area with heavy foot traffic. Now I had a very snarly, very scratchy raccoon in a plastic bag to deal with... I grabbed the cul-de-sac and yanked it, depositing the raccoon, one of three immature goofballs on site, in a nice, vegetated area. After giving me a baleful glare, it made its way through the mix of English ivy and poison ivy to a nearby sycamore tree:

As the little critter mounted the tree, I had a fleeting desire to give it a reassuring pat or ear-scritch:

This was outweighed by my desire to keep all of my fingers.

I have a genuine fondness for the three young raccoons on the site, but they sure can be a pain in the neck sometimes. I have to confess, though, that even when they are being difficult, they manage to be very comical... and I seem to be the main butt of their jokes. I'm comfortable playing the Margaret Dumont role in the nightly slapstick routine that is my job.