Great Jelly Heist: A Midnight Caper

 

You truly can’t make this stuff up...well, I guess we could but we didn't!  HA

Something had been sneaking onto our deck at night and raiding the jelly meant for the birds. Classic raccoon behavior, we figured. So Bob picked up a live trap, and the plan was simple: catch our masked bandit and relocate him to a nice little recreation area where he could contemplate his life choices.

That night, around 10:45 p.m., I was getting the dogs ready for bed and heading out to collect the jelly dishes. I flipped on the deck light—and there he was! Perched on the railing, bold as brass, slurping jelly like he’d reserved a table. He didn’t flinch until Bob opened the door. That’s when he finally shuffled off.

Confident he’d be back, Bob baited the trap with marshmallows dipped in jelly (apparently a raccoon delicacy), and we set it near the deck stairs—his usual entrance and exit route. Around 5 a.m. I thought I heard something, but all seemed quiet. At 6, Bob peeked outside and thought he saw something odd near the door.

Turns out, that clever little rascal had fished the jelly dish out of the trap, lugged it up the stairs, and left it neatly on the deck by the door—like he was placing a room service order. We laughed ourselves silly. He even carried the tiny lid that held the jelly all the way back up like a prize.

Apparently, he’d managed to tip the trap over and daintily avoid the pressure plate altogether. Bob (a.k.a. Mr. Raccoon Relocation Engineer) is now back at the drawing board, rethinking his design. Because clearly, we’re not dealing with just any raccoon—we’ve got a four-pawed, thumbed-up Houdini on our hands.  Stay tune for the next episode!