The Raccoons - One-Time Box Purchase

In June 2025, subscribers met the Raccoons.

Many of the Raccoons of Birdmoss spend the coldest months as city-dwellers. The stored food is more abundant and the homes, because they share walls, also share heat. But for the Raccoons, it feels like a ghostly existence. They feel invisible and shadowed. The added murk of winter fog makes it all too easy to be run down by a wagon.

When, at last, the days grow longer and the green leaves unfurl, the Raccoons gather their knapsacks and folding knives.  They head out into the wild, balmy breeze to gather at their warm-weather campsites. Several families often summer in a shared spot under the trees.

Caring for the new kits is easier when the young ones spend their days outdoors, and when families pool their resources. The children watch their mothers to learn the best foraging spots for berries, grubs, and other delicacies. They play hide-and-seek with their grandfather, spotting his flared smoke-plume of a tail. They follow their elders to check the fishing nets. By summer’s end, they’ve worn down paths alongside the stream.

The Raccoons Box includes an abundance of beautiful objects; hints and additions to expand the story; a mysterious document; and a lore card.  

Some items are available for individual purchase.

• Mysterious Document
• An instructional document is augmented with marginalia which will help you interpret clues.  It is available only in the Raccoons Box.

• Lore Card
• The Raccoons are introduced in a full-color collectible 4x6 inch lore card.  The artwork for this month's lore card was created by Joanna Rzepecka, a Warsaw, Poland-based illustrator. She says, "My work is inspired by biodiversity, mainly animals. Through my work, I'm trying to capture moments where nature is untouched by humans. Peaceful scenery, colors, and rough textures are some things that I enjoy the most."

• Peering Raccoons
• A rustle in the undergrowth announces the presence of two solemn Raccoons. They emerge and greet you, then invite you to visit their family campsite. It is on the banks of a stream just beyond the Swamp. Your vinyl sticker has been quickened with sunlight filtered through the tree canopy. Use it, in turn, to quicken your water bottle or notebook so that it will serve you as you seek a break in your everyday routine.

• Boatswain’s Call
• The Raccoons lead you to a raft made of fallen tree limbs, rope, and bobbing chunks of cork. The larger of the pair produces a shining whistle and blows three brief shrill notes. “They’ll know that we’re on our way.” The Raccoons steer the raft across the dark mirror of the Swamp until you reach a place where the water clears.

• Telescoping Cup and Amulet
• Alerted by the raft skipper’s whistle, several families are waiting on the streambank to help tie up the raft. They urge you to sit on a sturdy log that serves as a bench. One Raccoon scrabbles through a mess kit, looking for a spare cup. She passes you a metal disc that telescopes into a tumbler. The group clangs spoons against their tin cups and bowls, joyfully shouting “Thank you, Trees! Thank you, Stream!” before settling in to eat, drink, and joke. As pitchers of cider and beer are passed around, the skipper sits beside you and clips an amulet to your cup.

• Whittled Pencil
• A couple of Raccoons, equipped with magnifying glasses and pencils, have spread a large piece of parchment on a tree trunk. They’re working on a map. They hand you a pencil whittled from a twig and invite you to fill in some blank spots in their rendition of the Swamp.

• Foraging Pouch
  • Almost all of the tools and utensils around the campsite are designed to fold down small or flat to make them easier to carry on meandering hikes. The stools can be reduced to a few sticks and a piece of cloth. The wineskins can be rolled up when empty. The tumblers collapse into compact pucks. A few children are foraging around the edges of the site, looking for berries and snails. They carry canvas pouches that fold into dense wallets. When unfurled, they become commodious drawstring bags.

• Pebbly Stream
  • The Raccoons use a little sand from the stream bed to scour their plates before rinsing them in the cool, clear water. Compared to the inscrutable, reflective surface of the swamp, the stream reminds you of a glass paperweight or a tidal pool. One Raccoon allows you to examine her capable, agile hands. They’re edged with sensitive whiskers that are even more responsive when wet. She washes her hands in the stream before stroking your face to learn more about you. You wash your hands in the pebbly stream to heighten your own powers of perception. 

Photo props are not included.