WRITE A CATALYST | LIFE IN SUBURBIA
Survival of the Fittest: The Animals Win Residence
When you realize you have lost the battle, or have you?
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This weekend, I conceded I had lost all control.
As I turned off the exterior lights to go to bed, I glimpsed an immense raccoon creeping across my patio, and I knew I was fighting a losing struggle against encroachment.
The animals now command my habitat. Yet, they also teach me that giving up dominance and possession may be precisely the antidote I desire. What on earth does she mean, you are asking?
It was the same with my childhood summer home, which we remember as 'borrowed' or 'rented' from the animals. It was a 1700s Cape Cod farmhouse without a foundation, perched on piles. Skunks, rabbits, raccoons, mice, woodchucks, and other strays (foxes, feral cats, etc.) took up residence underneath. Despite all attempts to control the burgeoning population through the use of Havahart Traps, followed by the relocation of the animals, there were only more and more inhabitants over time.
My mother, a pre-eminent heroine of our countless childhood stories, could oft defy our fears and be perceived…
