Have Cake? Beware the Lure. Sunday Sign

Does this cake look good enough to eat? I certainly hope so. I have been taking a cake decorating class and this was my first attempt at decorating a cake. This is after my third class. I have one more class to take in this series. On this cake I had just learned how to make those little flowers so I put a bunch in the middle. Then I decided to try some roses and added them on. I think the hardest part of cake decorating is the icing. With that I mean mixing it up and then getting the right consistency. I do not own a big mixer, only a small hand held one, and the big ones are definitely better. You have to be careful with the hand held ones to not burn them up. I always end up with icing all over everything in the kitchen. The first two times I did not mix my icing enough. The third week I mixed it too much. To make the decorations you need a stiff icing that will hold its shape and not fall down. Then you need medium consistency. For writing you need thin. I'm sure the more you do it and the more you make the better you get at figuring it all out and how to get it just right for the project you are doing. Cleaning up the mess is hard too; washing decorating bags and different tips, using lots and lots of very hot water and dishwashing liquid to get them all clean. But even with all that it's still a fun thing and I am enjoying the classes. I'm always interested in learning new things.

This week there was a raccoon (one of several that come around to forage for handouts), and it had a big fishing lure hung in its jaw/lip area. It had 3 hooks (in a cluster) that were in his jaw and three hooks on the other end hanging out of its mouth. It was able to eat but I was so afraid that it would get those other hooks caught in its feet or legs as it was eating and I knew those hooks got caught on other things and had been pulling on his jaw. The next day I was sitting on my neighbor's deck with her and that raccoon came up to eat. It was so pitiful seeing it like that. He ate some and then just laid down for awhile. We wanted to help the poor thing. There is a man that lives out in the county who helps animals like this. We were able to find out who he is and we called him. He came the next day and left a live trap and showed me how to set it. He put a honey bun in it. It was a little early for the raccoons to come out so I was going to set it a little later and try to get it in the trap. Later when I went out to set the trap the raccoon was already there, and the first thing I saw on top of the wire cage/trap was that fishing lure. He had gotten up there after smelling the honey bun and the hooks hanging out of his mouth had got caught in the wire. He had then pulled and pulled until the hooks came out of his jaw. I think with all the things they had gotten caught on before that it probably didn't take much and they were not in too deep. The hooks were all intact. I had some food for him in a bag which he smelled and grabbed onto right away. I got a good look at his mouth then. It didn't look very bad at all. He ate and ate! My neighbor was here and we were both so happy that it came out intact and he seemed okay and free of that nasty fishing lure. She said that she didn't think it was wrong to pray for little animals and she had been praying for that raccoon every night since we had seen him with that thing caught in his jaw. I agreed that I didn't think it was wrong and her prayers were certainly answered in a good way.

Here's a picture of him after he had ate like a pig!! He then laid down and let his right leg hang down between that post and the deck! I'm sure he was VERY happy to be rid of that fishing lure! You can see the place on the side of his jaw where the hooks were, that red torn place. We have seen him daily after this and he seems fine and is eating great.
I would like to go out to the farm where the man lives that takes care of animals, the one that brought the trap. He does this with no financial help and uses his own money. He said right now he has about 30 deer he is caring for. He said the 911 folks know his phone number by heart and call him often when there is an animal that has been injured. He said he has taken fishing lures out of raccoons, ducks, and other animals many times before. I hope to go out there sometime, and of course my neighbor wants to go too, and that will be another blog story!

SUNDAY SIGN