To all you country dwellers with nocturnal visitors--
 
My parents had a summer cabin in Northwestern New Jersey.  Their garbage
can was NEVER molested by the raccoons.  That was because we had made a
bargain with them.  Anything that they would be interested in eating
(fruits, vegetables, left over dinner foods--even the remains from
cleaning fish) was already put out for them on a paper plate.  There was
nothing in the garbage but paper, cans and other nonedible stuff.
 
We would hear them at night turning over every other garbage can in the
colony of cabins, and then silence when they came to the back of our
cabin while they ate the stuff we put out.  They never bothered our cans
because they had learned quickly that there was no percentage in it--
racoons are VERY smart.
 
Melodyt and the elven eight
[Posted in FML issue 4499]