The first thing I noticed was the ceramic dish I have placed over the electric cord connection above the pond. It was turned over and I knew the raccoons had been through overnight. They turn the dish over to see if there are any edibles underneath for them. Bugs, I suppose they look for.
I went out to water plants and saw the suet cage at the edge of the glen. It had hung from a tulip popular on a long skinny hook. It's been like that for 9 months and never disturbed. The hook was off the branch and lying in the grass. I was thankful the suet cage had not been taken out of sight, which is what the mischief makers used to do with my birdfeeder until I got wiser. They ate most of the two suet blocks and most of the corn. I imagine they put their paws through the cage because the lid was still secured.
I know the mischief maker is the raccoon and not a squirrel because the squirrel was content to hang off the suet feeder eating the corn cob I put in there.
The raccoon's final stop was the grill. They had taken out the foil drip pan and shredded it. I don't know how they can reach it for it through the space that is there, but they did. Again I was thankful they didn't steal the knobs off the grill, which they did last summer.
The suet feeder is now on the solitary hook that has a baffle. No trees are near by to jump from and there is no way they can get up the pole, I think.