Those eyes!

Weeks ago, I sprained a ligament in my right knee. Some days, I think it is healing as it does not hurt as much but then there are days like today that the pain is almost intolerable. I try to stay off of the leg as much as possible and when I do walk...I hobble! The pain shoots through the knee like a hot knife..not much fun for someone that gets cabin fever after just a few hours of being cooped inside the house. After one painful trek to the pier to bait the crab traps, I decided there would be no long hikes today. I headed to the house so I could rest the leg but not until after I managed to get a few pictures of a cute raccoon that was on the mudflats! This little fellow busied himself hunting supper. He was quite adept at grabbing shrimp and Fiddler Crabs! I watched as he ambled down the same path that the Snow Egret had for the past few days. Food is aplenty along the Bayou and my friends do not want for a full belly before bedtime. This little raccoon reminded me of a trio of the masked bandits that visited the yard a few years ago.

It was actually during one of the many tropical storms that had swung in off the Gulf that summer that I first saw the three raccoons. They were young..not babies..but young enough to still not be frightened of humans. I was outside securing a few last minutes items when they wandered into the front yard. They were hungry and were raiding the seeds that I had poured onto the ground for the birds. The feeders had already been taken down in preparation for the storm. Seeing a photo opportunity, I grabbed the camera and started taking picture after picture. My focus was on one sweet little raccoon that seemed to pose for me. I was so intent on getting that perfect picture that I sort of lost track of the other two for a while. The one I was watching had climbed up on the hook that held the birdfeeder and was at eye level with me. With it being only a few feet away, I was able to get some remarkable shots of the friendly coon.

Then! Then I felt something on my leg! Looking from behind the camera, I see two paws reaching for the lens! One of the wayward coons had returned and climbed up my leg..it was curious about that camera! To say that I was a tad nervous is an understatement! I was so afraid that when the coon realized just where he was and just what I was, he would panic and bite me! At one point it was far too close to even get a shot of its face! I did not want to startle the poor little fellow so I merely let him climb! Eventually, he decided that I was either boring or presented more of a threat than he realized and he made a dash down my leg and across the yard! When the one started running, the other two became skittish and climbed the nearest tree they could find! My photo-ops was over!