“Man, I’m really hungry.  I haven’t had anything to eat since that carton of rotten eggs yesterday,” Larry the Raccoon said with a groan to Phil, his younger brother.  ”That’s not true,” Phil replied.  ”I gave you half of the ham sandwich I found over in Bin #3, remember?”

“That’s right, you did, but - hey, what’s that smell?”  Larry said as he excitedly hopped up on a sawed piece of pine log.  ”Smells good, and smells like dinner to me, Phil.  Let’s investigate!”  

Moving with extreme stealth and masked by the impending dusk, Larry and Phil moved through the sea of palmettos, crouching just outside the perimeter of the campsite.  ”Ooh, Larry, that’s Progresso Steak and Mushroom soup, we’ve gotta get our mitts on some of that!  That bald guy looks like a pushover, Larry,” Phil whispered. “He’s too busy taking video of his tent to see us.  Move, move, move!”

That’s what I imagine the conversation between the little masked bandits who ran off with my Jetboil cup, which was full of piping hot Progresso soup, on an overnight stay at Juniper Prairie campground in the Ocala National Forest.  I donned my headlamp and stomped around in the palmettos surrounding the campsite, but it was too late.  The damage was done.

I’ve since purchased a replacement Jetboil cup, but I’m still sort of upset about losing the original one.  I knew my Jetboil made others envious, but never imagined it being jacked by two crazy raccoons.  Better than a bear, I guess.

The picture here was taken moments before the crime.  If you are at Juniper Springs, make sure you watch your stuff.  It’s a great place, but the critters are bonkers there.  You’ve been warned.

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