Loved the stories about the raccoons, living on the top of a mountain we have a lot of wild life, for years I never threw out one scrap of food, always put it at the edge of the woods for the raccoons, and other animals, then in the summer when the raccoons had their young, I would buy 20 lb. bags of rice, and cook it up, put out a large aluminum tray of rice every night. That went on fine for years, until we put a big fountain on the end of the porch, and every night I had to shut off the pump, because the raccoons would drink all the water, and in the morning the pump would be grinding away. The next thing I had raccoons trying to get into the house, scratching at the patio screen doors, and it just became impossible, so this year, I stopped feeding, and I only see a raccoon occasionally. Since there is no trash pick up, the 13 homes on top of the mountain share the cost of a dumpster at the bottom of the mountain, so the raccoons get in there at night, and by morning there is a mess all over the ground, but at least I know they are still getting enough food. Pennsylvania has a large problem with rabies and raccoons. So just be careful. Pat Feick