Critters

     

     In the late Monday night hours and wee early Tuesday morning hours I spent some of it hanging out with guests.  Not really invited guests but guests all the same.  Now I've never had anything against the average critter from the forests but I wasn't completely enthused about the noise and timing this evening.  The local raccoon's were having an absolute party scurrying through all the empty camps chattering and dumpster diving.  After a few hours of this I decided I would get out of my hammock and encourage them off to other areas.  A few steps into my walk and I found I had another camp friend.  Not quite as entertaining however.

     I of course standing there in shorts and slip on's with only a flashlight in hand felt a little unprepared for the possible skirmish that could arise.  Choosing to equip myself with better tooling before directing the serpent to vacate I made the ten steps to the back of the bus full well knowing he wouldn't stay where he was.   With the right accessories now in hand for removing the critter I turned back to see his movements.  To my slight surprise he took a hard left and had bailed for cover.  Where?  Under the tent that was housing my sleeping kids.  While I was fully confident that he wasn't going to get in the sealed up tent having him under there with my son rolling and flopping as he does when he's asleep didn't seem like a good situation.  I decide that the tent and kids would have to move.  I pulled up the tent stakes as I watched the tent floor move between the  two kids.  I grabbed the foot end of the tent and lifted it straight up and the kids rolled up and over as I turned the tent over.  Our unwanted guest made a lunge for the treeline opposite of my position. I quickly fallowed him in to the grass and piles of leaves prepared to strike until he slipped under the leaves and I could no longer see him.  With the quick realization that he now had the upper hand and that I was still not dressed for such a dance I chose to return to the tent.  With a little work I had the kids rearranged and humorously they never stirred at all.  I spent a few minutes there with the tent removing some very large spiders from the area including one carrying hundreds of babies on its back.

     I returned my attention to the raccoon's and had a rather one sides conversation with them.  I think they got the point of my side of the conversation however as they made off to other campsites and didn't return.  I'm not sure just how long this all took but it seemed like it was about an hour of which was long enough for the mosquitoes to do there damage and while I was in the grasses it appears I had run in to a pack of chiggers/red-bugs.  I wiped off and prayed down with some more repellent and made my way back to the hammock hoping for some rest.