Last Saturday morning promised to be spectacular.  After two nights of heavy rain and severe weather, the sun climbed above the horizon into a clear blue sky.

After rising from bed, I immediately set about addressing the many chores I had planned for the day, so it wasn’t until eight o’clock that I finally trekked outside with cat food in hand.  I had forgotten entirely about my many neighborhood friends.

After placing a healthy dose of kibble outside the patio fence, I returned to the laundry room to fold towels and start the next load.  Perhaps five or six minutes passed while I did that, after which I returned to the patio doors to see if anyone had shown up.

With only a quick glance through the windows, I noticed what I thought to be a largish cat munching away.  I grabbed the camera and headed outside.

Whoa!  It most certainly was not a cat.  On the contrary, it was a rather large raccoon.  And a terribly ill-mannered one at that.

Not only had he come through quite late for a raccoon, a move which ensured him a healthy bit of the feline feast, but he also possessed a very unfriendly disposition.

While it’s difficult to see clearly in that photo due to the angle, he was snarling at me every time I got close.  More unpleasant was that he pretty much growled and barked and huffed in response to any noise or movement.  I suspect he was just quite serious about eating his meal and moving on.

To be honest, however, I’ve seen this chap around several times before.  He’s simply not a very nice raccoon.  He’s quite possessive, quite territorial, and quite vocal.

But I didn’t let him dissuade me from snapping a few photos.  After all, he was on my property eating cat food purchased with my money, so the least he could do was shut up and let me take a picture or two.

And something else I noticed about the mouthy visitor: he was sopping wet, literally dripping from the heavy downpours overnight.  I felt a bit sorry for him, what with his fur coat all matted and drenched like that.

I still didn’t like his attitude, though.  All pushy and argumentative without a bit of gratitude for the free meal.