Beer Can Burglars

About one month ago a beer can showed up under our mailbox one day.  I noticed it when I came home from work, and I thought right away that it wasn't necessarily an ordinary beer can tossed out of a passing vehicle.  Cans usually land a bit farther into the front yard, and this one just seemed a bit "placed," being right under the mailbox.  I see lots of trespass issues in forestry, and one thing I have learned is that trespassers often test the waters with little things to see if anyone is paying attention, such as making a No Trespassing sign disappear.  Just in case this can was such a test, I smashed it and put it back under the mailbox, and then came back with a .22 and put a hole in it.  The next evening, the can had been moved, so my suspicion was confirmed that someone was using it to check our attentiveness.  A day or two after that, Susan called me to report that a beer can had appeared adjacent to Patti's driveway, and it too, was obviously placed.  She smashed it flat and put it right in the middle of the driveway for the crooks to see.  The next day she almost made the crooks as they circled the drive on their visit to check.  She saw that it was a black Chevy pickup with two occupants, but couldn't get the license number.  I saw a vehicle of the same description reconning our house again, but they didn't let me get close enough to see their license.  About a week after that excitement, one of our neighbors was burglarized, losing a .410 shotgun to the thieves.   We haven't seen the black pickup again, and I assume they are working other neighborhoods in our part of the world.  True Blue Sam is passing this on to our visitors as a reminder that criminals are alway looking for an opportunity.  Be vigilant, and don't give the crooks a chance.