We left Florida on Wednesday. Saying goodbye to our friends, house and garden is always a sad moment for me. I have come to love it so much there and count the days until we return. This time we battled Raccoons swimming in the pool.  We caught the pack having a swim on our security camera. And they don't just swim in there. We had to close the pool twice for 24 hours, backwash it, super chlorinate it and change the filter ($85.00). We ended up hiring a critter control trapper and caught 2 babies who were relocated. For the next 8 days there was no sign of the rest of them. Raccoons carry parasites in their poop that is very dangerous. You can read the CDC info HERE on how serious this is. We also did a lot of research and discovered that a raccoon will not jump into water, they walk in. After 3 days of creative thinking we made a barrier for the steps that covers the entry. It easily snaps off and on for night time use. If you have a similar problem, email me and I will tell you how we made it. The Raccoon Blocker Net is pictured below.

We arrived home with 2 ours to spare before my Sweet Mamma had emergency surgery. Warned again by the doctors on how fragile she is, she once again sailed through it with no complications. One day I will tell the story of how we were told she was brain dead, only to have her come out of her coma and talk like the Queen. Thank God for the timing of the surgery. I would have hated not to be there for her.