Raccoon!

Saturday
The temperature was pleasant but skies grey and humidity still high as we went hiking at Rowe Woods this afternoon. I had taken a few photos of wildflowers and toadstools, and we were heading back up the hill toward the car park, when I caught sight of some movement out of the corner of my eye, and then I saw this raccoon running up the trunk of a tree, occasionally briefly pausing to look at me. Unfortunately I was using hiking poles, and by the time I had got the loops off my wrists and got the camera out, he was already up in the branches, and I thought my chance was gone. However, he did stay still for a while, allowing me an opportunity to try a couple of shots. My lens was at full zoom, and the light wasn’t very good, so I wasn’t very hopeful, but once I got home and put it on the iPad, I was really quite pleased with it under the circumstances! This was the first time I had seen one in the wild - previously when I have seen them it has been in the dark in their scavenger role on our patio, on campsites or along the road. They can be quite a pest, going through rubbish bags and making a right mess, but in their natural habitat, they are so cute!