Hi Terese,
I have noticed that Heidi knows when a storm is coming even before I can see any sign of it. She will never, ever come to dinner when there is an electrical storm on the way. Rain doesn't bother her. She will stand in the rain and eat if necessary - although she prefers to have her food under the chair if it's pouring. Moderate wind is ok, too, but if the wind is scary high, she won't show up then either. Some of the youngsters may show up regardless. They don't seem to know any better.
There is an air force base adjacent to Charleston Int Airport which is not so terribly far from here by air. Sometimes military planes come overhead. When I see a lot of that activity, like you I wonder what is going on. After 9/11 when we were dropping food and notes on Afghanistan, I saw a large number of those large planes, the type that carry stuff, going over head. Later I learned that many of the planes that took 'aid' over there left from Charleston. Other times when I've seen a lot of activity, esp at night, I've later learned that there was some kind of military training exercise off the coast of Charleston. Anyhow, I can totally relate to what you are saying, how these things make us wonder what is going on. Sometimes it is something; other times it's just training.
I do think you have 2 (or more) because that 2nd one looked like a yearling whereas the 1st one looked like an adult.
About that cherry the other night, I put foods into a couple of categories: (1) universal foods, loved by virtually all raccoons, (2) foods loved by many raccoons but turned down by others, (3) food some raccoons love but most turn down, an (4) foods most raccoons will eat if they are hungry enough. The 1st category, the universally loved foods, is small, limited to dry cat/dog food and maybe peanuts and grapes. No raccoon has ever turned down cat/dog food in my yard and it is rare for one to turn down peanuts or grapes. Most of the foods I list as favorites, foods like eggs, marshmallows, watermelon, cookies, jelly, frosting, etc fall into category 2. Most love them, but some will turn their noses up. For instance, while Heidi loves watermelon and most of the yearlings drool at the thought of getting a bite, Dennis has no use for the stuff. Cherries from what I've seen fall somewhere between Cat 2 & 3. About half of the raccoons out there like them. Heidi rarely eats them. Dennis will sometimes eat them. They are not super duper high on the 'likes' list. Also, I have noticed, particularly with the females this time of year that when pregnant and nursing they may refuse some foods that they enjoy in late summer and winter. As much as Heidi loves watermelon and grapes, while pregnant she would not touch either of them. She seemed to need all of the space in her stomach for protein.
