I was sitting in my back yard looking at the stars, late at night, a few nights ago. Suddenly I heard something on the side of the house... It sounded like someone stepping on, or brushing against, dry leaves. I heard it again, coming from the side of the house. I got up slowly, as quite as possible, and walked toward the noise. I heard it again, as I looked around the corner. I was hard to see, since that side of the house has no lights, but I could see that there wasn't anyone (or thing) in the walk way. I looked around & saw a shadow on the wall start to move. I reached in my pocket, pulled out my liter, & sparked it up, over my head, to light up the walkway... It was hard to make out what it was, but surprisingly it walked toward me when I turned on the lighter. As it approached, I saw it's eyes reflecting the light & it's long bushy tail waving in the air. What I thought was just a neighbor's cat, however, turned out to be a raccoon! As it drew closer, I heard more noises to the left of me. I turned to face the direction of the noises & discovered a second raccoon hiding in the bushes right next to me! Neither one seemed threatened by me, as they both just sat on the wall looking at me. They seemed just as curious about me as I was about them, actually. I slowly backed away and went in the house to get a flash light & my camera. When I got back outside, the couple was still on the wall waiting for me. I got close enough to take a few pictures of them & tried to feed them. They didn't accept the food I offered, but they sat and watched me for a little while longer, before they turned around and wandered off into the black of night. I haven't seen them since, but I get the feeling they live close by & that I might see them again...
