If you’re reading Mary Oliver’s Twelve Moons as a lunar calendar with me this year, today is the day to read one of the extra poems, that’s not matched to a particular moon phase. The poem is Raccoons. I have to say, this is one of the few pieces on the subject of raccoons I’ve ever read that didn’t talk about what a pain they can be.
Luckily, raccoons do not occur naturally in Alaska. This seems to shock people—I think their surprise at learning this is only slightly less than the disbelief many express when they learn we don’t have penguins, either. Continue reading