Fun Raccoon Facts

We learned some interesting facts about raccoons this last weekend.

• Dogs don't like raccoons sleeping in their dog-boxes.
• Raccoons don't like to play with dogs while cornered in a dog-box.
• Dogs don't like to play with raccoons while raccoons are cornered in a dog-box.
• They bare their teeth and growl: both.
  
• Raccoons like peanut-butter sandwiches.
• You can use a peanut-butter sandwich to lead a raccoon to a live trap.
• You can use a peanut-butter sandwich to lead a raccoon to a live trap until you grab it by the head and try to shove it in.
• Raccoons don't like to be grabbed by the head.
• Dogs like peanut-butter sandwiches.
• Dogs won't go into a raccoon infested dog-box for a peanut-butter sandwich.
  
• A shovel doesn't work well to try to pull a raccoon out of a dog-box.
• A garden rake works well to pull a raccoon out of a dog-box.
• Dogs like to play with raccoons when they are not in their dog-box.

I'll leave the rest up to your imagination.

A side note: We are not typically cruel to animals, but when a predator comes around that might threaten our chicken, turkey and guinea flock, we need to do what we can to protect them. Except maybe for the guineas. I could probably let a few of those go.

Fullness of Joy

Psalm 16:11
Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

There are a few things that I've learned about joyfulness. For one, joyfulness is not a condition resultant of your external experiences. Another way to say it is that your not only joyful when things go well for you. Joyfulness is a consistent condition of your heart regardless of your external circumstances. This passage says that your joy will be full if you are in the presence of the Lord. Using deductive reasoning, it would be safe to say that if you are not joyful, you are not in the presence of the Lord. Whom do you think moved from who's presence? You or the Lord?