Yowza, Ursula be very careful going forward that you don't run into mama raccoon again - they can be vicious if they're protecting young ones. It's probably a good thing that you alarmed her while you were inside the cage. Maybe she will take her little one elsewhere.
You do have an amazing array of beautiful plants, though. I guess all of us on this Orchids forum are collectors of some type or another. My husband tells people we have a private botanical jungle at our house. What can I say, I just want to grow one of every plant . . . well, except the stinky and sharp pokey ones.
Talk about a zoo, too - I am currently sharing my mango crop with an extremely persistent opossum, a small one with a white tail. I don't mind too much, as at least she eats the entire fruit, doesn't eat a few bites then let the whole thing rot on the ground like the squirrels do. No sign of any raccoons lately here, much to my relief. I usually have them as soon as the mangoes are getting ready.
