Here is a look at the lighter side of things.
Animal psychic tries to stop yard-pillaging raccoons and skunks
Let me explain. I had been asked by an animal communicator to photograph the invaders if at all possible. Dana Miller, of the Sunland-Tujunga area, says she is better able to "connect" with animals if she's got their photos.
Yes, it's come to this. Me sleeping in my clothes with one eye open, trying to take pictures of raccoons and skunks for an animal psychic. It's crazy, I know. Combat does that to you.
The only idea readers sent me that I didn't try was a 5-foot-tall, motion-activated, singing Santa. I was game, but then Walmart discontinued the product. On the Internet, I found a possible substitute -- an African American Santa who dances, sounds like James Earl Jones and sings "Jingle Bells," "Up On the Housetop" and "O Christmas Tree."
But he cost $155, and the way things have been going, the raccoons will be selling tickets to concerts in my frontyard.
There might be a witness to the nightly mayhem, I told Miller. I'm pretty sure that Teddy, my neighbor Hilda and Emil's dog, knows more than he's telling. I suspect his silence may be because of retaliation threats by the leader of the raccoon gang. Would a photo of Teddy help in her investigation?
