Tis’ the season meme

Frabjous: (adjective) 1. Joyous. Overcome with a joy that is so intense that it cannot be contained.
Yeah. I want to be that.
So.
After almost a *whole 365 days*
I have a message
for that
particular
person
who has gone
(unnecessarily)
out of their way
to find me
Again
Last Friday, I was out shopping for a birthday gift for a friend who collects Squishmallows.
Though I did not find the particular one that she had been searching for, I was able to locate a few smaller ones that suited the occasion, so I purchased two of them for her along with one for myself.
This raccoon:
So I went home, wrapped the gift, and didn’t give Squishmallows – or raccoons – another thought.
Until the next morning, when I let out my two dogs outside to pee and saw something in the far corner of my yard by my neighbor’s fence.
At first, I thought that it was nothing more than a bundle of sticks, but as I stepped out to look more closely, it began to look like a pile of sticks intermixed with clumps of brownish lint.
Odd.
And then, the scent of whatever it was hit my nostrils, and I realized that his clump of sticks and lint was a dead raccoon.
A long dead raccoon, by the looks of it, and I understood why I’d thought that it was a bundle of sticks at first glance, as I could see where its broken shoulder blade and ribs stuck out, pale against its fur.
I’d mowed the lawn on Thursday and even weed-whacked along the fence-lines, so I couldn’t understand how I could have missed seeing it earlier, but it was definitely there now.
A dead raccoon with delicate little black paws, a black mask, brown eyes…
and yet its matted fur was a dark reddish brown.
I could especially see the fur of its tail ringed in black against this rusty red color
but it didn’t seem to be blood
as all of its fur was that brownish-red color wherever I assumed would’ve been grey.
(That surprised me — I mean, aren’t raccoons usually grey and black?)
It was as if the Universe had dropped this very stinky and very dead raccoon into my yard, saying: Hey. I heard you say that you liked raccoons. So here… have one!
(Though, come to think of it, it was more likely to have been a vulture*)
How odd that I was so recently thinking of raccoons, only to be gifted with a dead (but mostly intact) one dropped into my yard less than 12 hours later.
What a strange coincidence.
______
*Long-time readers of this blog may recall that several years ago, vultures also used to drop dead possums into my yard.
____
ETA:
Can raccoons be red?
As it turns out, they can.
According to this website (and a few others), raccoons’ fur is most commonly a mix of grey and black, but…
“[This] raccoon’s beautiful coat is caused by erythrism, a genetic condition that causes reddish pigmentation of the fur and skin. Erythrism in raccoons usually runs in families. It isn’t harmful and, other than making them more likely targets for fur trappers, erythrism doesn’t affect a raccoon’s life expectancy.”
Huh.
Congratulations!
You found the puppo of luck. 🍀
Boop to claim your good fortune!
With thanks to a friend!
Nine years ago, I said ‘yes’.
I’ll admit that I didn’t know where this path would take me.
But I’m still here.
And so are You.
Thank You for everything ❤
Gods, I messed up today.
I need to get some help.
The holidays aren’t so merry and bright for all of us.
Some of us are struggling.
And if that is you right now, I want you to know that I see you, and I’m with you.
❤🩷🧡💛💚💙🩵💜
So, the other day, I got my Yule tree – a fresh Frasier fir – in preparation for the holidays. While I usually don’t get a tree this early in December (the 9th!) because keeping a captive evergreen alive in this humidity can get dicey… I’ve had quite a *time* this year, and I think I needed some holiday cheer just that much earlier than usual this year!
Today – December 12th- I went out to purchase some new blinky lights – as the ones I had been using for trees past had become unfortunately unsalvageable- I was surprised to see that my local Target had all of their holiday decor ON SALE already 😲
What?! Christmas is still nearly *two weeks away* and they’re already thinking about Valentine’s Day?!
What indeed, but there I was, picking through their sad little aisles, and this festive fellow caught my eye, lying in a bin of felt ornaments:
And honestly, though I am not a fan of snails or slugs, what I really love about this one is their colorfully curled shell…and that mysterious expression – that saucy upturned smile, those furtive eyes.
I thought, This snail is going places.
Or maybe, this is not a colorful snail at all.
but a pale pink slug or worm who has cleverly stolen a fruit roll-up (or perhaps several fruit roll ups!) and is trying to make a getaway with their sweet prize rolled up neatly upon their back!
Either way, this sly fellow is well on the way to becoming my favorite ornament.
It’s the eyes, really.
They’re getting away with something, and they KNOW it, hence why they look so saucy about it lol
May we all be as successful and confident as this little thief in 2023!