• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

A Raccoon Rumspringa Party in My Garden

September 18, 2017 By Carol Michel 15 Comments

I went out earlier today to check on my pawpaws and they were gone.

Gone. As in not a trace of a pawpaw anywhere. No half eaten fruit. No seeds delicately spit out by whoever ate them. No tracks. No tell-tale scat. Gone.

I assume the raccoons took them. Those hooligans. How could they have discovered my pawpaws? There were only two pawpaws.

Probably by scent.

Once they found them, they probably had a raccoon rumspringa party and ran off with them.  (Insert terrible bad words here.)

Rumspringa is my new favorite word.  I just heard it the other day. It’s an Amish word, describing the period of time when they send teenagers out into the world to experience all that it has to offer before they live out the rest of their lives under the strict rules of the Amish. It’s a rite of passage for them and they can choose, once out in the world, not to return to their Amish community.

Apparently, there aren’t a lot of rules for rumspringa and some of the Amish teenagers use this time to party, a lot. What’s the saying, “There’s no party like a rumspringa party?” Actually, I made that saying up. I don’t know if there is such a saying.

But now I use the word “rumspringa” rather loosely to describe any party where people, or animals, seem to be letting their hair down and having a good time.

Which is why I think there was some kind of raccoon rumspringa in my garden last night.  Because the pawpaws are gone. I hope whoever ate them enjoyed them.  Otherwise, it wasn’t a very good rumspringa.

But why should the Amish and the raccoons have all the fun?

I think some of my friends should go on a retirement rumspringa. They seem a bit afraid to leave the workforce, even though they’ve saved enough to retire. “What would I do?” “I’d be bored.” Honestly, I have not yet met a retired person who was bored. There is so much to do out in the world!

Retirement rumspringa would let these people try out retirement. If they didn’t like it, they could return to the workforce. Wouldn’t that be nice if employers offered something like a retirement rumspringa for people to see if they might like retirement better than working?

I consider my retirement rumspringa to be permanent. I am not going back to what I did before. Though, with the book, the speaking engagements, the magazine articles… some people would say I’m not as retired as I think I am.

That may be, but there are no rules for “retirement rumspringa”. I just made it up. So I get to do it however I want to do it. And I want to do it in a garden with a book.

But apparently I don’t get to do it with pawpaws.

Because the raccoons on their own personal rumspringa adventure beat me to them.

Next year. Next year, they won’t.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: fruits, humor

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathy says

    September 18, 2017 at 3:20 am

    In my experience, raccoons usually win. But I am glad you are enjoying your retirement rumspringa.

    Reply
  2. Lea says

    September 18, 2017 at 9:39 am

    I was eligible for retirement when I turned 60. Two months after my birthday I was gone from there! I love being retired!
    Sorry to hear about your pawpaws. The raccoons eat our figs, the squirrels eat our pecans, and the deer eat my flowers – every day is a new wildlife adventure!
    Have a great week!

    Reply
  3. Mary says

    September 18, 2017 at 11:39 am

    How disappointing about the pawpaws! Hope you get enough next year that you at least get a taste.

    Retirement rumspringa. It is definitely a party and I'm thoroughly enjoying mine.

    Reply
  4. Lisa at Greenbow says

    September 18, 2017 at 11:41 am

    Those rotten raccoons. Darn their hides. I hope they don't come back to continue their rumspringa. Happy Rumspringa to you.

    Reply
  5. Luise from Austria says

    September 18, 2017 at 12:17 pm

    rumspringa – what a wonderful term. As a German speaker, I recognized it right off – herumspringen, meaning jumping around.
    So sorry to hear about your pawpaws!
    Luise from Austria

    Reply
  6. Layanee says

    September 18, 2017 at 1:20 pm

    Sad news about the Paw Paws. The raccoons are now smiling though.

    Reply
  7. Covegirl says

    September 18, 2017 at 1:48 pm

    Oh bummer!

    Reply
  8. growingagardenindavis says

    September 18, 2017 at 3:06 pm

    Darn those raccoons. Here it is possums, squirrels, and roof rats. But I do love your idea about rumspringa retirement…I agree that being retired is the best and more people should try it!

    Reply
  9. MulchMaid says

    September 18, 2017 at 3:12 pm

    I'm sorry about your pawpaws. Raccoons are generally the worst offenders, and used to wreak havoc on the fruit in our Italian plum tree, but right now, in my garden, squirrels are enhancing their rumspringa by eating all my olives! Who would have thought they'd enjoy the bitter, raw things? It beats all.

    Reply
  10. Gingham Gardens says

    September 18, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    So funny! 60, a few more years until my RETIREMENT RUMSPRINGA!!!! Can you tell I'm a wee bit excited.

    Reply
  11. Alana says

    September 18, 2017 at 11:32 pm

    Retirement rumspringa. I love it. Absolutely love it. Will you suggest it to my employer's management?

    Reply
  12. Karen says

    September 19, 2017 at 2:26 am

    We gardeners are eternal optimists…next year…there's always next year.

    P..S. Loved this post, but feel bad about your pawpaws.

    Reply
  13. Steve says

    September 19, 2017 at 7:24 am

    Thanks for the post and for introducing me to an entirely new word and concept, rumspringa. I do enjoy words and finding one that I've never heard or seen before always gives me a lovely jolt of surprise.

    Reply
  14. Mascha says

    September 19, 2017 at 7:18 pm

    Rumspringa is a word from German (means jump around), sounds familiar for me. The problems with racoons I know too, here with us in Germany. My compost box yesterday was looking like after a terrorist attack, sigh!
    Greetings from Germany (randomly found your blog)

    Reply
  15. Rebecca says

    September 25, 2017 at 6:06 am

    I've grown PawPaw trees, only the trees, the fruits have always been taken by some garden hooligan. Good use of the word Rumspringa. You don't get to use that one very often.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,053)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT