Lula Belle is a friendly raccoon whom I have been feeding daily for over a year. I photographed her last summer, on an extremely hot afternoon, enjoying her little pool on my deck. One of her four babies is with her.

There have always been raccoons around my house in the eighteen years I have lived on North Dubuque Street in Iowa City. However, their habitat has been greatly reduced during those years by the new houses and condos that now surround me. I have had two sick animals taken away by the animal control people, so when Lula Belle showed up two days in a row scrounging for bird seed on my deck, I decided to begin feeding her so she would at least be healthy. It turned out she had four babies stashed in the loft of my garage, which she later moved to the storm sewer at the end of my property. Now she has another litter in the storm sewer and continues to come to my back door several times a day.

Last summer I had a wonderful time feeding, observing, and photographing Lula Belle and her babies. There were so many interesting and funny interactions (she gets into the house frequently but has never done more than eat the cat’s food and a few other tidbits she finds before I find her and usher her out) that I wrote and illustrated a little children’s book about them. She will take food from my hand, gets along well with my cats as long as they stay away from her food, and has done no damage to my house or garden. I feel very privileged to be a part of this beautiful wild creature’s life.