Close Encounter

I'm still shaking a little but wanted to get this blip posted. This morning I filled all of the bird feeders and positioned myself on the patio so I could get a reasonable shot of the birds. I also lined up some peanuts on the rocks and sat down to wait. I got a couple of shots of goldfinches and woodpeckers when I heard the stirring of leaves on the other side of the fence. I figured a squirrel was about to jump over in search of the peanuts and got ready for its appearance. I was quite surprised to see a raccoon jump over instead, but excited to be able to get a shot before it scurried away. To my immense surprise it wasn't afraid at all (perhaps it didn't see me) and headed directly toward me. I still kept thinking it would run away but it got closer and closer .... and closer. My heart was pounding and all I could think was this can't be right, but I tried to hang in there. Finally, when it was about 3 feet away I realized a good blip wasn't worth getting attacked by a rabid raccoon so I jumped up and it darted away. Aren't they supposed to be nocturnal? I got several other shots when it was very close to me, but of course they were blurry at that point. I guess I don't have to wait for any more bird shots today.