Yet Another Reason

I have an extreme dislike for raccoons.  I love hummingbirds.  This is my hummingbird feeder I happily filled yesterday afternoon and hung it on the designated hook on my fence….the one I installed last year when I hung my feeder.  I originally had a little fancier feeder, but the hummers didn’t seem to interested in it….so I opted for this less expensive one.  Day after day I would watch the feeder, hoping for visitors.   Sadly, I didn’t experience hummers….but it was late in the year by the time I hung my feeder. 

 I was very hopeful for this year….I would get mine out early.  I was timing it with the growth of a large bush in my neighbors yard, one that grows over the top of our shared fence.  It has these beautiful, scented flowers that I noticed attracted hummers.  I also noticed the other evening while filling my bird feeders that this bush is coming back to life after a long winter sleep.  The time had come to put out my hummingbird feeder.  I wanted to time it closely with the blooming of this bush.  I was excited at the prospect of photographing hummers with the new camera ~ yes, I realize I do need a life.  🙂  I had picked out the location where I would sit, far enough away to keep from scaring them off, but close enough to get some excellent shots.  I happily filled the feeder yesterday afternoon and hung it up. 

So what do I see when I get up and open my blinds this morning……..my empty hummingbird feeder, laying in the garden below ~ next to my Aphrodite statue which had been knocked over and laying on the ground!!  Grrrrrrrrrrr.  They are fortunate the statue wasn’t damaged, but Aphrodite de Milos face in the mud!  Unforgivable!  First, when I put sunflower seeds out for the birds on a fence hook…they were hanging on the feeders in the middle of the night and eating every.single.sunflower.   So moved the feeder to a Shepard’s hook only to wake up one night with one chattering away as he attempted to take down the hook.  OK….no more sunflowers in the feeders…raccoons gone right?  Ha!  A few nights ago I was awaken by this unreal sound in the backyard….I hesitantly got up and peeked out my back door….there were two raccoons in the backyard fighting with each other.  There were no seeds….nothing…so who knows what they were fighting over.  And then last night……hummingbird feeder down…..Aphrodite’s face in the mud.  I really, really dislike raccoons.