Where the wild things are...

For a number of weeks, I've suspected that some sort of beast has been making nocturnal visits to my backyard.

I've had various items knocked over on my patio, garbage cans breached and bags of birdseed ripped apart with the contents consumed. I've also noticed rather large piles of poo, not surprisingly, laden with birdseed.

One night, I even overheard a vicious encounter between two or more of the things that, in the days of old, would have almost certainly inspired a mob of torch-bearing townsfolk to take up arms in order to protect livestock and kin from the fangs and/or talons of the unholy beasts involved.

As a more modern solution, people have suggested that I use a "live-trap" to catch the thing in question. To date, I've rejected the idea because I've felt that having a snarling hell-beast roaming my backyard at night, would be preferable to having a snarling hell-beast caught in a cage in my backyard come morning. Thus, considering the alternatives, I was willing to live and let live.

That is, until the thing assaulted my new pool.

Yeah, after the third night in the yard, my pool was attacked by the terrible beast and the top, inflatable ring bore the slash of a giant claw (fang and/or talon), as evidence!

Well okay, maybe it was less of a slash...and more of a series of puncture marks; three to be exact. But the ring was deflated, none-the-less.

As far as I can tell, the resident hell-beast has been drinking out of my pool, and managed to puncture the top ring while hoisting itself up to enjoy a refreshing beverage.

I can't imagine that chlorinated water is especially healthy for an animal, preternatural or not, so maybe this problem will be self-correcting.

That said, I'm not sure that a dead, rotting hell-beast in my backyard will provide any real advantage over the live, snarling variety.

I'll keep you informed.