We had a visit from a Raccoon last Sunday.   He wanted to feast on the goldfish in our small front yard pond: and had partial success, for our frisky seven have been reduced to a forlorn fivesome.

He made a right mess of the water lily and the ruby rambler.   And the water remained muddy for nigh on twenty four hours.

When I first saw the mess, I was ready to de-construct the whole ensemble and call it a day, but the memory of Friday evening Manhattans with SWMBO by the pool triumphed, and thoughts turned to restoration and protection.

Brutus (our curious cross-breed) will now spend his nights on guard duty in the front yard.   He is indeed very curious about the fish, but has made no attempt to eat any of them. Firstborn's girlfriend thinks we have put Brutus out there to scare her off: and if that was our intent, the plan has failed miserably.

All my neighbors agree that his presence will act as a total block on any further investigations by our raccoon community.   The water lily is almost back to normal, and the ruby rambler is starting to look less ragged.

We should be in good shape for this Friday's beaker of Manhattans.