![Raccoon Skull (Source: Geo Davis)](https://i0.wp.com/www.rosslynredux.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/b70cec93-3594-4bfc-8a2f-9551020afacb.jpg?resize=1000%2C1000&ssl=1)
Plain as cuspid skull,
winter’s lumbering bandit,
furred, furtive, no more.
Sometime poems, even haiku, compose themselves. Or nearly so.
When I reached out to ask if anyone recognized the skull that appeared mysteriously behind the carriage barn recently, I received several helpful responses. Joel (@mountain_man_fur) and Heather (@evergreen_lakeside_living) were the most prompt and the most decisive. Raccoon. The skull was once the proud noggin of a raccoon (Procyon lotor). Some quick research cross referencing visuals, and I agreed.
This sent me digging back into our trail cam photos and videos from last fall, winter, and spring.
![Rosslyn Raccoon (Source: Geo Davis)](https://i0.wp.com/www.rosslynredux.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/9bee2eb9-5d8e-4b1d-baf6-a97d5884ee3b.jpg?resize=898%2C898&ssl=1)
I included a mini video on Instagram. Portly raccoon swaggering, lumbering into and past the camera.
At root, this is a memento mori, of sorts. A reminder of the fleeting gift of mortality. Won’t dwell in that further now. Instead I’ll close with the first visual to confirm the raccoon hypothesis.
What do you think?