Yesterday was just beautiful. The weather was warm, hot even! There was the slightest breeze and really, this is my favourite kind of weather. After running a couple errands with Rich, we decided to take a nice stroll down the ravine near his house with his niece and nephew. During our little walk to the park, we spotted a little raccoon, near the stream looking like it was napping. We knew better than that though, as these little critters don't just nap in the middle of a public area. It looked so peaceful though and it also looked...fresh. Upon closer inspection, (yes, I actually climbed down a bed of caged rocks to see it in detail & to take photos) I noticed that it wasn't mangled, bleeding and hasn't started to bloat or smell. I'm going to assume that it was poisoned, which is really unfortunate. On our way back, Rich found another raccoon that had died. This time, less peacefully as it was caught between a tunnel and it's grate. It was...squished into the bars of the grate, wet and just really, really sad. I think this one must have gotten washed down the tunnel and drowned.
Another couple of feet ahead, there was a skull. A raccoon skull. The flesh had either been eaten or had rotted away so it was fairly clean aside from dirt and sand. It definitely was not fresh! Obviously I had to keep it, so being the most amazing vegan boyfriend in the world, Rich picked it up with a stick and carried it back to the house. Check out those cute little teeth! I put it in a zip top baggy and I'll end up cleaning it more thoroughly.
Now to decide if I want to bleach it with peroxide...
My first skull!