Friday, August 31, 2007

Blackouts and Burglars

I often sing the praises of mountain living, but there are occassional downsides as well.

There was the scorpion I found in the garage the other night, for instance. Not a big deal (or a big scorpion...), but I assume there are some folks out there who really wouldn't want to find a scorpion in their garage.

Last night we had an eight-hour power outtage. Power went out around 2:20 p.m. when a transformer blew. Diane was home and saw it flicker around 4 p.m., followed the loud BOOM of another transformer blowing.

More BOOMS followed at 5:45, 6:30 and 7:30ish. Not quite sure what was going on -- nor was PG&E apparently -- but they got it back on at 10:30 p.m. And honestly it hasn't happened much since we've been here. Diane says the power used to go out every time it snowed at her old house in Avery, but we rarely lose power here. The BBQ and propane stove came in handy for dinner last night.

Then about 5 a.m. I heard noises in the house - it sounded like Idgie eating her dry food, which she doesn't often do at 5 a.m. So I got up to investigate and let her out to pee if need be, and I as walk toward the laundry room where the dog food is I head footsteps on the stairs down to the garage.

But the crunching sounds continued. Curious...

I turn on a light and see the masked burglar - a young raccoon calmly munching away on kibble. He hides behind the bag, and I try to figure out the best way to de-raccoon my house. (I'd left the garage door cracked open six inches or so to get some air in the garage over night, which is how he got in.) I set up a little barrier with a blanket and bar stool blocking off the hall coming out of the laundryroom that didn't lead back to the stairs, then just watched. He watched me, ate a few more kibbles, then came out.

Rather than sneaking along the wall as far away from me as possible then running down the stairs, the raccoon walked over to the blanket and stood up and looked at me a while -- and another one I hadn't seen behind the dog food bag followed him and stood and stared too -- then they both waddled down the stairs and took off. As burglars go, they were damn cute. Idgie and Diane slept through the whole thing.

Guess I shouldn't leave my garage door cracked open at night...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sonnjea had racoons in her back yard just recently. They are really cute. Hope you have no more blackouts. Enjoy the game tomorrow.

DKoren said...

What, no pictures of the burglars? Glad Idgie slept through it, though... my dogs went nuts when I had a raccoon on my deck going after some cat food.

Deb... delurking from her new home in So. Cal.

Next Stop Oregon said...

That is a busy 12 hours! Glad the burglars were nice and cute ... even if they were masked! Not that many human burglars are attracted to kibble.

I didn't get a chance to comment on the previous post, but it looks like you both had a lot of fun! Enjoy the weekend!

Sonnjea said...

Seriously, close your door!! You might get bears next time and Susie swears that's a big ol' nuisance...

BTW, yea Cal!

Steve said...

Turns out they're only cute once. We stayed in the Bay Area last night after the Cal game, and had left the back door open so Idgie could get in and out to the dog run. She tangled with the racoons sometime last night - not much worse for the wear and her shots are up to date, so no major damage. But now I want a Tazer to zap those little bastards!

Deb - Welcome in! How's SoCal?

DKoren said...

How's SoCal? Damned bloody hot! The A/C my place came with simply can't cope when the outside temp exceeds 100. Other than that, still attempting to actually finish moving in. There's all these pesky chores like putting in baseboards and painting that have to be done before I can position furniture and then unpack boxes.

Glad Idgie was okay after her solo coon encounter!

Next Stop Oregon said...

Yippes! Poor Idgie!