Racoon Photos

[Eric Gofreed]

Clean Critters, Clumsy Course: After foraging the mudflat buffet, this raccoon mom and her kits waded into deeper water to wash off the grime, ever tidy, but not thinking about the muddy trip home.

1. A raccoon will bathe to keep neat and clean,
Then trudge through the mud, unbecoming hygiene.

2. A raccoon will bathe to be sparkling and preen,
Then slog through the sludge like a mud-loving queen

Perched precariously on a thin branch, this impressively plump raccoon looked more ready for a pastry photoshoot than a woodland escape. She brought to mind the Krispy Kreme calendar—not a collection of donuts, but a cheeky series featuring plus-sized women in retro pinup poses. The next year, I got a calendar titled HOOTERS. As you might expect, every photo featured an owl.

A raccoon perched, quite round and stout,
More doughnut model than scouting about.

Youngster is taking in the world from his cozy hollow in the tree.

 

[Trent Watts]

That was wonderful Eric... The poses , poetry and prose were entertaining.

 

[ProCaliberTraveler]

That was wonderful Eric... The poses , poetry and prose were entertaining.

I’ll second what Trent said.

 

[AlanLichty]

Fun yarn you spun to accompany the images. Those are some pretty plump looking raccoons. We have them in our neighborhood but most have a more scrawny physique than these. The specimen in #2 looks downright fat.

We used to have big water dishes around the back yard when we were still feeding the local wildlife. You could always tell when the raccoons had been by the previous night as the water would be muddy after they cleaned themselves off in the larger dishes.

 

[Beth]

fantastic photos. the first one had me laughing, those three look like they got caught red handed. the last one is my favorite of the bunch, great close up in a tree.

 

[MonikaC]

Wonderful series & verse, Eric!
Many years ago, a friend of mine (city boy who had just moved to the mountains) awoke to a lot of noise outside his kitchen. He went downstairs, stark naked, to investigate. A raccoon, of course, was the culprit. He took a broom and poked the bristle end at the intruder, who promptly used its little hands to take it away from him. He stood there for a minute, staring at the raccoon with the broom in its hands and staring back at him. Then he gave up, saying, "OK, you can have it" and went back upstairs to go back to sleep.