Like A Menagerie

Working in a prison set out in an rural setting like I do here in Raccoon City poses some extra challenges sometimes.

And also supplies some extra entertainment now and then.

The amazing number of critters that we might run across inside the fence on any given day is startling, sometimes.

Of course we have the resident cockroaches. Spiders, flies and creepy crawly bugs of all sorts.

I've written about the skunks several times. The population often gets so thick that we have to have them live trapped and taken away. The same thing with the feral cat population. At any given time there are probably two dozen cats inside the fence. The often get live trapped and hauled away as well.

We probably have enough mice to feed a hundred cats. They are everywhere. The snakes help keep the mice down as well.

There are two or three hawks nesting in a tree in the yard outside of 10 house. I have also seen one or two good sized owls. And because we have so many trees, there are hundreds of birds of all sorts to watch every day. And along with the birds we have an almost equal number of squirrels running around.

Dozens of wild rabbits run in and out of the fence. Many of the smarter ones stay inside the concertina wire on the perimeter so the hawks and owls won't get them.

Possums, foxes, groundhogs, bats, moles... the occasional loose dog. A good sized herd of deer just outside the fence down by the training building. They can't be hunted on state property so they stay safe. But I know a good number of our staff look at those deer with mayhem and trophies and deer jerky in their hearts.

I'm pretty sure if you took an accurate count of critters bigger than your fist they would outnumber the humans at least two to one.

Some nights I feel like Dr Doolittle.

If I could talk with the animals......

Monday is going to be National Cheesecake Day.

And when you have cheesecake, you don't need any other reason to celebrate.