I got my stumps ground down yesterday. My good neighbor does that. He wouldn't even take pay for it. After the big machine ground and tilled and mulched the spot where three diseased Red Bay trees once were, I realized that such nice soil would grow things. What to plant? Tomatoes? Water melons? Maybe a tree, like Japanese Plum? Then as I gazed and pondered, I saw movement down in my yard.

It was a fairly large creature, bigger than a squirrel or rabbit. It was around this area some place.

I crept up slowly, the wind in my face, but I saw nothing running away. Then I heard a sound. Looks like my little racoon friend from last year still lives in this hollow palm tree. Or maybe it is another one. Look closely, and you will see him peering out at me.

Which brings me back to the original question. What shall I plant? My yard is an expressway for raccoons every night. My neighbor on one side catches injured or orphaned raccoons and raises then to health. She feeds the raccoons every evening. My neighbor on the other side traps them and relocates them. They would ravage my garden for sure. And if I shoot them, Sissy will be mad at me for killing her varmints. And the other neighbor, the gun hater, will be mad at me for shooting. Maybe that plum tree is the way to go. If it gets down to survival, I'd prefer meat to vegetables anyway.