This is the ongoing story of Heidi and friends, raccoons who eat at my backyard buffet. Heidi's 09 kits have finally made there appearance on the scene and others are sure to follow. It's time to clean the pool and get out the toys!
prior thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1016205/
1st thread in series: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/603944
The pic below is of Heidi eating her watermelon while Mishka sneaks a bite from the side.
LOL, isn't it funny how animals have us trained? I love the 'goosing' story.
I did buy kitty toys, but they were hard plastic balls with rattles in them. They enjoyed batting them around, but the coons stole a couple. I found them at the edge of the woods with holes chewed in them, and the rattle missing! I certainly hope they didn't swallow it. I learned what toys NOT to get.
KyWoods,
LOL, yes, I am very well trained.
I buy those same balls for the kits. They love to play with them. They used to drive Heidi crazy with the bells, but I think she has gotten over it now. Raccoons are extremely curious creatures, so naturally they can't stop until they get those little bells out of there. Mine take all of the toys to the far ends of the yard. I think the older kits do that because they want to get off away from the crowd to enjoy their toy. When they are very young, I think they take they find a safe place to hide out to play while mom is eating and they take the toys with them. Sometimes, just like human children, they take the toys with them when they leave and then drop them somewhere perhaps when Mom says, "Put that down! We are not carrying that thing home."
Sounds to me like you got the right toys in that they enjoyed playing with them. Raccoons are hard on toys. They also like other types of small balls. There are many types made for cats that don't have the bells. Those seem to last longer out there as do the practice golf balls. The latter get taken all over the yard, but on the occasion that I find one it is usually still pretty much intact although it may be caved in on one side. They also love those squishy fabric balls that are made for people, to fill with water and throw, I think, but be warned you will likely never see those again if you put them out there. Every time I put when out there, a raccoon grabs it and heads up over the fence and up a tree with it immediately without even stopping to play with it in the yard 1st.
I think raccoons are like little boys in this respect. Destroying the toy is part of the fun.
LOL at your thinking I had a 7 foot woman(Amazon)in a cage. I had to go back to see what I had written. It certainly sounded like that didn't it. Yes,my Larita is a 33 year old parrot!
I love the mental picture of Echo getting your attention in the manner she has come up with. They are quite inventive! I am seeing differences in my gals out back like you do. I don't know if I could ever tell the difference in as many as you have but I can tell three of the four apart now. I think maybe some one may have brought a kit or two out as the stuffed toy that has been ignored for the last 4 or 6 months has been moved and played with.
Judy
Judy,
Larita is very pretty. I love parrots and am hoping to paint some - one day. Well, I don't actually plan to paint the parrots themselves, as they have very lovely colors already, I was thinking more along the lines of putting paint on canvas in the shape of a parrot. I love the brilliant plumage.
To be honest my 1st thought upon seeing the word Amazon was of the online retailer, but then realizing you probably didn't have them in a cage for the night, my mind then went to the next definition on file, that of the 7ft woman, but that didn't work well either, so that's when I finally searched my databanks and found 'parrot'. Among the choices, online retail giant, 7ft woman, and parrot, the latter emerged as the best fit.
Yes, when the toys start moving around, that is a sure sign that kits have been visiting. Cautious moms like Heidi often prefer to bring the little ones out late at night when its safer. Mom can run pretty quickly when someone turns on a light or comes outside, but it's not that easy for her to round up 3-5 toddlers and get them to safety as you might imagine. I just went out this afternoon to clean and refill the pool for the little ones. While out there I noticed that they have been playing with the new blue dog I put out last fall. By the time I got that dog the 08 group was getting too old to be interested in it. It sat in the same spot forever, but now has finally been moved into the brush area where the kits often play. Many of the other toys have been moved as well. Some I haven't seen in ages have resurfaced near the pool.
No melon tonight, and Bast didn't show up. Dennis was there. She ate iced oatmeal cookies and cat food. When her 1st few cookies ran out, I tried to give her grapes, but she just walked off, went around to my tote, stood up, reached in and pulled out a cookie so fast she was done before I could say, "no". The one thing I like though is that she doesn't turn things over. She just reaches in and gets a cookie like you or I would and sits down to eat it.
I gave them some left over angel food cake and the excess frosting from a slice of carrot cake. The cake was good, but I found the frosting too sweet esp in large quantity. Knowing how much Heidi loves frosting, I ate the cake around it, and took the frosting out to her. I set it in front of her face, but her two grands ate most of it before she could finish her cat food. Heidi fussed and grumbled and even bit one of them, but they obviously knew she wouldn't hurt them, so they just kept at it. Motherhood, and by extension Grandmother-hood, is difficult.
I keep that box of jelly packets at the door. Some nights like tonight I grab a handful or two of the packets to take out with me although I don't always think to mention it. When they finish eating and are looking for something more, I open the little containers one at a time and pass them around being careful to give each raccoon only one packet. They are so cute when they take the packet. Some will take it gently in their mouth. Others, and these are the cutest ones, will stand upright take a lick as from the container as if they are going to eat it from my hand and then reach up with their little hands under the container and take it in a manner that reminds me of little children reaching for a sandwich or something like that - you know the way kids will sometimes take a s/w or whatever with their two hands open like a book.
Heidi left early again, so I knew she would be returning with the kits. I still had Bast's food plus some grapes and a few s/w cookies I held back just for the kits. I tried to wait her out, but ultimately she won. I have work tomorrow. She has all night to sit in the tree and wait for me to leave and all day tomorrow to sleep. Clearly I can't win this one. In time, she will bring them with me there, and I will just have to bide my time.
Love the image of you and Heidi waiting each other out; and you're right, for someone who has to punch a metaphorical time clock, that's not a fair contest. Oh well, this too shall pass.
Ruth,
I know in time and not that much time, she will bring the kits out with me there. Right now they are easily frightened and I've proven un-kit-friendly. I find it frustrating yet amusing to see how just the one mistake got me taken off the list of creatures who could be trusted around the babies. LOL. I find it both humorous and rather amazing how sensitive Heidi is about the needs of her kits. It is so clear to me that we humans greatly underestimate the complexity of animals and their capacity to be every bit as sensitive, caring, and compassionate as the best among us.
NOT ABOUT RACCOONS! The Following Post is Back on Topic and All About Raccoons, However!
I just know everyone is eager to hear about my day. Right? Well, last night I had difficulty getting to sleep. It was around 2:30AM before I finally drifted of to a blissful sleep only to be awakened about an hour later around 3:30AM by the shrill scream of a smoke alarm blaring its foreboding sound. I hurried out into the middle of the house to look around but could see no sign of smoke or flame. Furthermore, no sooner than I reached the great room, the alarm had ceased. But before I could even get back into bed it was screaming again.
This on and off blaring of fire alarms continued until some time after 6:30AM. When the alarms finally stopped, they remained silent until 11:30AM when I left for work (late, after catching up on the sleep I'd missed). I've not heard an alarm since I've been home this evening.
This problem is further aggravated by the fact that the house is large, some 3400 sq ft if you include the partially finished ROG and, as you know, I have bad knees and back issues. It's not that easy for me to run up and down stairs to check every inch of the house. Add to that the fact that the house has at least 8 smoke alarms many of which are relatively close to each other and the open design of the house and you have pandemonium whenever an alarm goes off because you can hear them all quite well from anywhere in the house and it's virtually impossible to tell where the noise is coming from - esp at 4AM.
As if those problems weren't enough, all of the alarms are 10 or 12 ft high, so I have to go out to the garage and drag a ladder up the stairs in the middle of the night. Scream! I finally found one that was flashing its light. Figuring it was the one screaming, I took the batteries out, but it kept blaring! I tried to remove the alarm from the ceiling only to find that it was connected to the house wiring! Aaaaaaaaaaah! (Lucy face, Lucy face)
If the alarm goes off again tonight, I'm going to sell the house and move into an apartment where i can call the mgt to fix it!
So, I got to work around lunch time looking like a total slacker! On my way to put my lunch in the fridge a colleague called me aside to tell me that one of my other colleagues, an even closer friend that the one previously discussed had suffered what appeared to be a mini stroke or ischemic event over the weekend and was now in MUSC. OMG. I was SO shocked. My emotions ranged from true concern for her to fear for myself and confusion about the whole matter. She is almost a decade younger than I. She is thin while I am not. She is active and exercises regularly while I can barely walk these days, eschew exercise to avoid additional pain, and have extreme difficulty keeping up with her even when she is obviously trying to walk as slowly as she can for my sake. It just makes no sense that this should happen to someone of her age and condition. Perhaps this is a wake up call for the rest of us.
Oh, and don't even say to me that some people just have better genes than others. Both of my parents died of natural causes before the age of 60. Genetically speaking, I'm toast.
So then I was elected to take care of sending flower to her, something I was happy to do because I am truly concerned for her. As there are only 5 of us going in on this, the guys wanted to donate $5ea so I could get her $25 flowers; they were generously willing to go $30. Say what? I can see that their wives/girl friends do not get flowers often. I ordered the flowers online. Heck, I had to pay $15 just for the delivery charge! Needless to say, I ended up getting my friend some nice flowers and paying the difference.
Picking out the flowers, tracking down her address, changing it later when we learned that she was in the hospital, finding the names and spelling of everyone for the card, and just picking out the flowers, etc took another hour or so.
Let's just say I didn't get much done today. Now I'm sleepy, and I sure hope I will be able to get some sleep tonight. If an alarm goes off again, I'm tempted to take the broom handle and knock it off the ceiling or beat it up or whatever it takes to shut it up - but then what if there really is a fire brewing somewhere and I'm sleeping soundly and...
Well, time to feed raccoons now.
Edited to add disclaimer at top to let you know that this lengthy post contains no raccoon stuff
This message was edited Jul 27, 2009 10:45 PM
Cheryl,
I have had the similar issues with the smoke alarms. When it gets hot outside...and even hotter inside..the air doesn't circulate. I am sure you have air conditioning, but I am wondering if you had rooms shut off or air shut off in areas of the house, that this could have happened? It especially happens when it is humid out with no breeze whatso ever.
I am sorry about your friend. I understand what your feeling, especially since I had the TIA in February. So hard to keep up with what the doctors want also....just try your best.
Get some rest. I am here daily reading and lurking....enjoying.
Hugs,
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
Thanks for the info. It is so good to hear from someone else who has observed this - not that I wish it on anyone. Everyone else I ask looks at me like I've lost my mind, leaving me to think that this only happens to me - and that causes me to question if there really is some smoldering fire-to-be lurking somewhere in here, although one would think it would have burned by now.
My house has this very open floor plan, not a lot of walls. The upstairs opens into the downstairs where several of the downstairs rooms have 20+ ft ceilings that go all the way up and join the balcony upstairs (if that makes any sense). It is not possible to close off the kitchen from the great room or the great room from the dining room and hall/front entrance or the living room from the front entrance. It is also not possible to close off the downstairs from the upstairs. Only the bedrooms, baths, and office can be closed off. Since the uninhabited bedrooms make up such a negligible part of the overall sq ft and as I have read that closing off vents really doesn't work that well anyhow plus the bedroom doors are not air tight, I don't close off any of the rooms. I've read that airflow is best when rooms/doors are left open. I A/C the entire house. The office upstairs is closed because the french doors up there look better closed when viewed from downstairs, but the vents are open so that room is cooled.
It is quite hot here at this time of year, make no mistake about that, and so humid that I take at least one of those 'frosty' photo each night before I remember to wipe then lens; so humid that every time I get out of my car in the morning to go to work I have to put my frosted glasses on top of my head so I can see where I'm going; so humid that when I awaken each morning my house looks like a giant frosted beer mug because all of the windows are frosted over; so humid that sometimes on a cloudless night I get in my car and can barely drive because I can only see out the windshield with the wipers going and cannot see out of any of the rest of the windows or the back because the whole car is frosted over!
It is interesting to note that while I normally leave the master bedroom door open lately including last night I've been closing it to corral Widget and prevent nighttime mischief, and while I am not entirely certain I believe it was either the one in my room or the one just outside my room that was going off. Tonight I will try leaving the door off. (Widget will thank you for the idea.)
The only part of my house that is not A/C'd and where heat builds up considerably is the attic spaces of which there are 3 and the garage, but none of these spaces have smoke alarms - to my knowledge. I lived here several months during which I could not figure out what this one light switch in the front entrance was for. Nothing ever happened when I switched. Finally, I figured out that it offered a secondary way to turn on the light outside the garage, but since that bulb was burned out at the time, I was unable to see that the switch did anything. Thus I say, "to my knowledge".
Thank for the input and the much needed hugs. ; )
At least tonight was a good night at the buffet. : D
I turned on the outside light and the kitchen light while I was preparing the raccoon's dinner. Then, I stood right up against the door to grab a few handfuls of those jelly packets, raccoon noses pressed against the glass, eyes watching me in anticipation. I opened the door like any other night, Widget's "gotta go" bells attached to the inside knob clanged and jingled as always, and raccoons, Heidi included, peeked in through the gap in the door. "Move", I said as I always do to clear the way for me to join them outside.
As the raccoons moved back, I stepped out onto the mat and turned to close the door as I always do. It was only then that I saw the two adorable little furballs standing on my patio, right by the door no less. They were right beside me and seemingly non-plussed by it. Then as Heidi moved off to one side, the kits followed. OMG! I could not believe it. I was IN again. Heidi had not only decided I could be around the kits again, she had brought them right up to the back door to teach them how to panhandle!
The kits did not join us at the buffet, however. I gather they took the covered path behind shrubs and through the weeded area to return to the tree. Or Heidi may have stashed them in the willow beside the buffet. The willow is in the yard and is surrounded by the weeded area making it a great place for temp housing, and it has grown quite large now. I saw a raccoon come down from it just the other day.
As if finding the kits at my back door were not enough, a little while into the dinner and after I had given up on Bast's arrival but while I was still holding on to her food just in case, I turned to see a raccoon standing at my left side a little toward the back. It took me a minute or two to realize it was Bast. I was not accustomed to looking down on her back this way - and her standing! That's right, Bast was standing.
I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am to tell you that it is possible you may never get to see that side shot of Bast walking on her hands. Throughout the night Bast stood up to eat from time to time and sat the rest of the time. When going to and from the water, she walked on her hands some, and sometimes she dragged herself part way while getting upright and walked the rest of the way the normal way. When it was time for her to leave, I got my camera ready. There were lots of raccoons out there, so I was sure she would go back across the lawn and I was ready to get that picture - with card and battery. I was right. Bast got up and headed back across the lawn. I threw the camera up and pressed the button. Flashes went off and i got the shot, but it was not the shot I had expected at all. What I got was a picture of Bast walking on all 4's, a little stiff but not limping. She walked the entire way back across the lawn on all 4 legs!!!
If that had been all, it would have been a great night, but there is more. Earlier in the night, when the crazies showed up, Bast got up from her place beside me and went over to the spot by the edge of the weeds and sat down. For some reason she feels safer there close to the exit route even though she really is safer by me because esp with the vinegar solution I can keep them well away from her. All this time, when she sat over there I could not convince her to come back. This time I sat calling her while she sat over there nibbling. I really wasn't expecting her to return, but I called her with a gentle but authoritative tone, and she got up and came back to sit beside me. I was very humbled by her decision to trust me to protect her from them.
The vinegar is working so well that most of the time I can just point the bottle at them and say, "No" and they will RUN not walk away. They seem to understand exactly where they can and can't go, too. They are very smart. It didn't take Bast long to realize that now I really can keep them well away from her.
Later in the night while Bast was getting water, a dog barked next door. Bast ran into the weeds. Everyone except Heidi ran away. Even Dennis ran away. Heidi alone stood in front of me eating. Bast didn't return. I figured she was done for the night. Back when she was in such bad shape, she never came back once something caused her to leave. So much time elapsed that I finally let Reba and then Mishka eat her food. They also understand completely that once Bast leaves it is ok for them to come in the forbidden area. They are SO smart.
After a while I felt a presence beside me and turned to see Bast. She was standing beside me again. Mishka was eating her food still, and Bast was standing beside me, facing me, her nose only an inch or so from my arm. She seemed for all the world to be saying, "she's eating MY food! Please make her stop". So I told Mishka she had to go and showed her the bottle to make sure she understood it wasn't a question. She left and Bast sat back down in her spot and continued eating.
And as if that were not enough...
At some point during all of this Heidi disappeared. Reba and Freida took her place and were busily gobbling up her food. It was a little while before Heidi returned, but when she did she appeared to be alone. She came up beside her area which now was Freida's area and stood there looking longingly at her spot. She didn't make any attempt to evict Freida. As you may know according to the rules once you leave and somebody else takes your spot, it's not yours anymore. But Heidi knows that esp since I got the water bottle, whenever she wants her spot back, I spritz whoever has it and give it back to her. That is not against the rules BTW. Human intervention cannot be helped and renders the rules moot. I really think that Heidi has learned that I will do this and was standing there for that very reason. She wanted her spot back and was counting on me to get it for her, and so I did. We are a team, after all. (The other day she again ran a raccoon off from beside me after I told it to stop bothering me.)
After Heidi got her spot back she nibbled for a few minutes and then disappeared only to emerge from the weeded area beside the pool a few minutes later with two little furballs in tow. One of the others was in the pool. Heidi got into the pool, kits at her side. The other growled, put her head down low, ears back as if to fight. The pool was hers or so she thought. Heidi didn't growl, didn't fight. Facing the other, kits at her side, Heidi put her head to the water and took a drink. She reminded me of the tough guy lead in a Western, the guy who when threatened to a shootout 1st stops to down his drink before calmly turning to fire. Heidi didn't 'fire'. She didn't have to. She stood nose to nose with the growling snarling raccoon with his ears pinned back. With her kits at her side, she took a long, calm drink - to give the other time to rethink his next move. After a moment or so, the other turned and left the pool.
Heidi didn't have to do that. She could have gone around the pool. She could have gotten water from another of the containers. She seemed to do it intentionally. Perhaps she was letting the other know where things stood, or maybe she was showing the kits that Mom could take care of things, and they were safe, or maybe it was something else entirely.
More below...
When she had taken ownership of the pool and she and the kits had drunk their fill, Heidi walked right over to me, kits at her side. She walked 1st to her spot and finding it empty came right up until her nose almost touched my knee and stood there looking at me as if to say, "See I brought my very special babies to you, and now there is no food. Could you give us some more - for the babies?"
I could not resist that look, but I had not one crumb left. Even the cookies I had been holding back for them I'd finally given away after accepting that I would not be feeding them any time soon. If I got up to go for more food with Heidi and the kits this close, surely they would run away in terror, but Heidi was clearly communicating with me. She wanted to show the kits the yummy cat food. She wanted me to get some food for them.
I told her that I would be right back. I told her to wait. Then I turned around slowly on my scoot before rising to walk away slowly hoping against hope I would not hear the familiar sound of claws on boards behind me. I put 3 scoops of food in the bucket and being careful not to let the jingle bells ring as I opened the door to go back out, I called out quietly to Heidi so she would know it was just me, and headed back out s-l-o-w-l-y.
Knowing how very careful Heidi is with her kits, I just knew when she heard me returning she would run and hide with them just in case. My only hope was that she would take them into the weeded area and wait there until she knew it was me. As I rounded the roses, I was surprised to see Heidi and the two kits not just waiting for me, but standing right up against the scoot where I sit. I approached slowly. The kits showed no sign of fear. Because they and their mom were standing right up against my seat, I figured I couldn't sit there tonight. Had it just been Heidi, I would have walked up expecting her to back away and give me space, but I didn't want to risk scaring the little ones again, so I stopped about 10ft from them and tossed the food to them. Even that was risky since unknowing raccoons will usually spook when the kibble rains down on them, but Heidi stood calmly eating, and the kits trusted their mom and stayed, too. They stayed very close to her side, but they stayed. I sat for a few minutes on a chair back near the house. I wanted the kits to get used to me and to my smell while they were still young enough to accept me. Then I turned and walked back to the house very slowly.
awwww, I adore your stories. This is just wonderful!!
=^..^=
Oh, Thank you, Susan!
I'm going to add that to my list of good things that happened tonight. : )
Oh, hey, just realized. I think I forgot to tell you that my sister is out of the hospital now and still has all 10 fingers and 2 hands! Yay! Part of her finger is all black and looks necrotic - to the untrained eye, but it does look a lot better than the horrible pics they took of it before and during her hospitalization. I was thinking about showing you an cropped pic of just the end of the finger but am not sure if I should do that. I don't want to gross you out.
But the good news is, she is out of the hospital!
I am so very pleased to hear that!
So sorry to hear about your co-worker, Cheryl, but the news about your sister is just great! So happy for her and her family, including you of course. A five-dollar contribution to online flowers??? Whoopee do. And we've had the exact thing you describe happen with hard-wired smoke detectors. It is the strangest feeling when you disconnect the batteries and the darn thing keeps screaming, isn't it? I kept thinking I must have switched to an alternate universe where the usual rules don't apply. We couldn't see paying an electrician for an expensive service call to diagnose the stupid thing, so we just disconnected it and went back to detectors powered by batteries only. One night with multiple wakeups is more than enough, thanks very much.
What a wondrous night at the buffet: Bast able to walk on all fours again, even if not yet consistently; the kits finally arriving in a way allowing you to interact with them; Heidi teaching them to approach and trust you; it's all very very good. Wonder if Heidi just has the two, or if more will emerge later?
Wow, how exciting about the kits! Isn't it the most incredible feeling when an animals trusts us like that? I remember my grandma's cat bringing her wild kittens to my sister and I every summer, and repeatedly carrying them back and dropping them beside us if they tried to run away. I guess we were the designated kitten tamers!
We've had the same thing happen with hard-wired smoke detectors, and it was infuriating. DH finally took it apart entirely (after shutting off the power to it, of course) and found a thoroughly toasted spider. LOL
I missed what happened to your sister's hand somewhere along the way. Glad to hear she is doing better! Sorry about your co-worker, though. Medical understanding of strokes has come so far, they can do so much more to halt the damage if it is caught quickly! Glad to hear she is getting the medical attention she needs.
Angie
Hi Angie,
Interesting about the spider. I have some of those. My friend emailed from the hospital yesterday on her blackberry, so she doesn't appear to have any kind of severe damage thank goodness.
More good news. Yesterday, for the 1st time in ages on a work day, I didn't take any pain meds or muscle relaxers - and never had a moments pain! Yay! Now if only this will last for a while.
I really enjoy your raccoon pics. We have had our first visiter this summer. My kids were on our deck, playing guitars and eating popcorn when all of a sudden a big raccoon jumped up on the deck hopped in the open seat and started eating popcorn. He or she has no fear of people and shows no sign of aggression. After my kids quit freaking out we were able to get a pic. Our visiter has returned each night for treats and to listen to music
Wonderful news about your sister and I am glad your co-worker is doing better also. Lets hope your pain stays away and you have the freedom of easy movement for a long time to come.
Wow you did have a great night at the buffet. I"ll bet you had a smile from ear to ear.
Bless Heidi's little heart for bringing you such heartfelt joy at a time you have been a bit down.
Blast never ceases to amaze us with her will to not only survive but become the mobile raccoon she once was.
Joan your visitor is just precious. I thought about popping some corn for my group but never did. Now I know they like it I may do some for them soon.
Judy
Ruth,
Thanks for the info on the wired in smoke alarms. It's interesting to hear how many people have seen this very same thing. I feel so much more at ease now and more able to accept that it really is just a malfunctioning alarm. In truth, as much as I hate the sound and disturbance, the worst part is the terror that grips me thinking a fire may be smoldering somewhere in the house even though the alarm comes and goes this way. Thanks for helping to alleviate this fear.
I didn't get the impression last night that Bast was all well and ready to walk again, but seeing her walk part of the time gave me the 1st real reason to thing that in time she may be able to live a fairly normal life and even feed herself. Who knows, perhaps with time she will be able to walk well enough even to reproduce.
It's difficult to tell for sure if the two kits I'm seeing are the only ones. We all know how Fraidy showed up one night well after I was sure Heidi only had 4 kits that 1st year. Still my guess is that there really are only 2 of them. Heidi never got all that large this time and never looked all that unquestionably pregnant. She was never a beach ball, never waddled around, never showed any strain when climbing the fence. I think I even guessed back then that there would probably only be 2 and that I would be surprised to see a third one. Of course, that was a novice guess based on only a few observations. Time will tell. Who knows, as small as they are and as closely as they stick to mom one minute and as well as they hide the next, there could be 3 with her even now.
Thank, Joan,
Welcome to the Heidi threads! Your visitor, almost certainly a she, is quite a large and pretty lady. She reminds me a little of Heidi. I can see she is quite comfortable in your yard.
Hi Judy,
I think it's a real gift and a sign of great trust when they are willing to 'share' their small babies with us that way. I know how careful Heidi is with her babies, so I don't take this at all lightly. It's like when someone has a new baby and asks if you want to hold it. It's a gift. They are entrusting you, even if only for a minute or two, with the most important thing they will ever have.
I'm extremely excited about Bast's progress and her prognosis for the future.
Tonight I went to the door to turn on the outside lights and found Heidi standing their her front feet and two adorable little kits on the door facing. Even after I had turned on the floodlight overhead, the kits remained there against the door. I was running late, and Heidi looked in at me with a sense of urgency. As I walked about the room and out of sight gathering supplies she looked on with clear concern lest I should leave again without serving dinner.
I was so amusingly giddy to see her there with the kits up against the door that I ran to and from gathering everything in sight: peanuts, cookies, snack cakes, eggs, dog candies. I wanted to give them everything and was tempted to cut them a piece of the as yet uncut melon on the counter but realized that was pushing it a bit. There would be time for that later. Might as well hold back a few surprises for their next week.
There was a HUGE crowd at the buffet. Major pandemonium. A bit nerve racking really. Thank goodness for vinegar because the crazies were there, too, including the young males. Bast was there. She walked on her hands out to the buffet, stood on all fours for a few minutes to eat, sat most of the time, and walked on her hands to leave. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera with me this time. She looked very good, interacted with me quite well, and seemed in excellent spirits. Recently Bast hasn't wanted the s/w cookies when I've had them. Tonight I broke one in fourths, bite size pieces, and dropped on in front of her.
A few minutes later while I was busy dealing with Dennis and Heidi, Frieda and Mishka, Echo and ..., Bast got up onto all fours to reach her nose over and touch my arm to get my attention. I was surprised by this manuever something she hadn't done since her injury. She had plenty of cat food, so I knew she was asking for more cookies. I began crumbling cookies in 4ths and dropping them in front of her, and she sat back down to eat them. Until the bag ran dry, Bast kept pace with Dennis, Heidi, and the others in eating cookies. She ate more cookies and with more obvious enthusiasm than I have seen since her injury.
At one point I dropped her 1/2 cookie, a piece too big for a single mouthful. Since her injury she has had difficulty putting her weight on her back legs to free up her hands, so she has eaten only bite size things, avoiding peanuts, eggs and a the like. Tonight, she responded to the 1/2 cookie by actually sitting up and using her hands to eat it. I was careful to only give her small pieces after that as I didn't want her to have to strain her legs right now.
I am not at all concerned about seeing her walking on her hands more tonight, nor do I consider it a setback. I had expected as much and am actually glad to see her giving the legs more rest. I believe she will continue to walk on her hands for some time to come, sprinkling a bit of regular walking in here and there and increasingly so over time until, hopefully, in time her legs will heal and she will resume normal walking full time. I suspect that walking a bit yesterday was beneficial for keeping her muscle from atrophying but also made her legs sore today. I went through this with my knees. Three steps forward, two and a half back some days, but you get there eventually.
Like yesterday, when I got out to the buffet, Heidi's kits were no where to be seen, but then I could hardly imagine since tiny babies out there in that rowdy crowd. As I continued scanning the crowd, keeping and eye on things, I was surprised to see one of the kits, the more adventurous one from the other night I'm sure, standing off to one side about 10ft from me and at the 'back' of my right side. Heidi was in front of me as usual, the kit no where near her. He was actually closer to me than to her. He had obviously come out of the foliage on the arbor path.
The little fella, so tiny compared to the adult raccoons around him, was obviously waiting for something to eat. He wasn't calling his mom but was just standing there quietly. He seemed at that small age to understand that I was handing out goodies, perhaps because I had tossed him the cat food last night. At the time, I was feeding broken cookies to Bast, so I tossed a bite sized piece directly at his feet. The little fella picked it right up and ate it, not the least afraid of me throwing things at him. (This is something I the kits usually have to learn to overcome, so this one is off to a good start. They usually run away the 1st few times I throw food at them.).
I tossed the kit more broken cookie pieces and a handful of cat food and he stood over there eating just like everybody else. I was surprised to see the others giving the little guys his space. As I said there was a huge and animated crowd out there. He was on the outer edge of the group, but there were a few adults near him. Eventually, I heard him hiss and looked over to see one of the adults trying to take his cookies. That little guys was doing an amazing job of defending his things, too. He hissed and lunged at the adult like he meant business. "Don't touch my cookies, you big bully!" The adult didn't fight with the kit, she was just trying to muscle in and take the food - so I spritzed her! I'm getting pretty good at aiming that thing. I can shoot right past one to hit the one he's sparing with. It worked. After that, I continued to toss food and cookies to the little guys and spritz anyone who tried to take them.
After a while a 2nd one showed up on the other side, peeping out of the weeded area. I tossed that one some food, too. Unfortunately, with so many to guard eventually one of the adults took that ones food. That was the less assertive one. Unlike the other one, that one didn't stand his ground and fight long enough to give me a chance to intervene.
All in all, you could say it was a pretty good night.
Sounds like you're getting very skilled with the squirt gun: another new skillset for your resume! Surely all these new skills must be marketable somewhere (lol)... but probably not in a high-tech field like yours.
You're right, Bast's progress will inevitably be mixed with regressions; it will take quite a long time to fully rebuild her leg strength. The fact that she's now willing to indulge in "junk" calories is another excellent sign. And I too would not be surprised if Heidi has only the two kits this time...though time will tell if they are the only ones. As animals get older, their litter size usually decreases; and given the age Heidi must be based on how many years you've seen her, the fact that she can still reproduce is probably a testament to your nutritional support. And speaking of skillsets... Given Heidi's truly remarkable social and nurturing skills, and her ability to pass these on to the offspring who are willing to learn, it will be a real loss when she's no longer able to raise kits.
The kits sound absolutely adorable, as always; and Heidi's up close introduction of them to you seems to be letting them feel comfortable close to you much sooner than in past years. Love the story of the one kit defending his food against the adults; that's a spirited little guy!
Joan, your visitor is beautiful and, as Cheryl said, likely a female. It's very very unusual for an adult raccoon in the wild to approach people close enough to share a bowl of popcorn; makes me think she might have been raised as a pet until she became too big/wild to be manageable. Keep in mind that raccoons use their hands for self-grooming as well as eating, and the roundworm common to many wild raccoons can be very dangerous to human health. I'd seriously recommend telling the kids to serve the raccoon her own portion, rather than allowing her to share the bowl. And of course they shouldn't try to pet her or restrain her in any way. We all have to remember that Cheryl's experience is most unusual, and that it has taken years to build the trust the raccoons have in her; what she does routinely would be very unsafe for most people/situations. Not trying to scare you, just preaching wise and necessary caution; enjoy the magic, just do it safely.
Cheryl,I don't recall you talking about the cough Heidi had in previous pregnancies so much this year. Before it was quite a bother to her(and you). That in itself would indicate a reduced pressure on her her body due to less babies. Am I right in the fact she did less of the coughing this year? I can't imagine carrying two babies much less four or five!
Judy
Thank you all so much for the info. She really scared us at first. In our county raccoons are destroyed if someone reports them to animal control. Because of a high incidence of rabies. I have been trying to keep her off the deck, having the kids throw food on the ground when they see her. We put in an above ground pool and I think that is the draw. We live in a small subdivision and this summer we also had 5 full grown peacocks for a few days. The last time the kids heard her we were shining a flashlight towards the woods to see her. When we couldn't find her I turned around to go back inside and she was standing 3 feet behind us as if to say what are you looking at. She is quite big and it was more than a little intimidating to have her between us and the door. Shoo did not face her, our boxers at the door didn't scare her. She sat there until she was ready to move. We of course waited. She is very pretty but I have the upmost respect for what a wild animal can do. I think she is so fat from eating kit and kaboodle cat food. We feed our cats 2 on the front porch and I think she has been sharing. Joan
I really need to get to sleep early tonight, so I'm going to leave you with just these few words:
I didn't see the kits tonight either at the door or the buffet, but it is not unusual for Heidi to leave them home sometimes early on.
Tonight Bast alternated between walking on all fours and on her hands. I tried to get that elusive pic of her walking back across the lawn, but she caught me off guard. The camera had gone into sleep mode. By the time it woke up, she was almost to the shrubs and gone. There was no time to aim as I tried to follow her [behind me] with the camera while waiting for it to wake up. I ended up just barely catching the last end of her on the edge of the picture frame. Although it is not much better than the pictures I had shown previously, I've attached it below.
Tonight in addition to her cat food, Bast ate all the animal cookies she could get, all the vitamin and mineral lased dog candies she could get, and 2 packets of jelly. Until tonight she had refused jelly. Tonight when I was passing the packets around to the others I saw her nose stretching up toward me as though curious about this food, so I offered her one. In stead of taking it in her mouth as I had expected, she licked it for a few minutes while I held the end. Then she reached up with her hands (another good sign) to take it.
The BIG, 'you won't believe it' news tonight is...I had Widget's peanut butter yogurt candy with me again. They were such a bit hit. I tossed a bunch to Heidi when the cat food began to run out. Later, when she came to my knee in search of more, I held on out to her to see what she would do. Without a moments hesitation, she reached out with both hands to take the small nickel-sized candy from my hand. The pads of her hands touched mine gently, no claws. After that I gave her 4 or 5 more the same way. This was the 1st time that Heidi had ever taken anything that small from my hand. It wasn't that long ago that she was afraid to take a cookie from my hand with me holding it by the very edge between thumb and forefinger; back then she would either ignore me altogether eating the cookie only if I dropped it, or she would reach out with one hand to paw at it gently and I would drop it so she could eat it. It had taken a very long time for her to trust me enough to reach out and take a cookie from me. For a long time she did so with trepidation. Tonight she reached up to take dog candies as calmly and naturally as Dennis. : D
Edited to add: Since what is going on in that photo is not be at all apparent, I thought I would interpret it for you. Those are Bast's hind legs held aloft as she is walking on her front legs.
This message was edited Jul 30, 2009 12:54 AM
I'm still trying to figure out how on earth Bast does this "walking on her hands" trick. What are her back feet doing? Are they up in the air, like she's doing a handstand? I keep picturing it like she's doing a wheelbarrow (like where a friend holds your feet and you run with your hands) except without anyone holding her feet. I can't see how she'd do that! I have to chuckle every time I think about it.
I enjoy your stories so much! I feel like I know your raccoon friends personally! You have a real gift for conveying the attitudes and significance of their actions. Thanks for sharing your experience with us! I look forward to it every day!
Angie
Hi Angie,
Thanks for your kind words. Glad you are enjoying the story. Her hind feet are in the air but are tucked up close to her body as apposed to being stretched up into the air as when you do the wheel barrow thing. Otherwise, it is much the same. Her body is up in the air the same way. As many times as I've seen her do this, I still have difficulty making sense of how it is possible. What she is doing seems to defy the laws of physics. I only know that it works.
In the photo above, you are seeing the back half of her, the part that is up in the air, as viewed from behind. I barely got that part of her. The front part was out of the picture frame. In the photo, those are her hind legs, up in the air, tucked against the body, and viewed from behind as she is walking away from us on her hands.
Ruth,
Yes, I am gaining quite the unusual set of job skills. Not quite sure how to market them though.
I could not agree more about Heidi's very unique personality and abilities. She will be missed and will be quite impossible to replace.
I seem to recall also that you mentioned (back when I was guessing she would have a small litter) that if Trouble was the father, as a young male he to would be more likely to sire a small litter, and and here we may have had the combination of an older female and a younger male (if it was Trouble), thus greatly increasing the chances for a small litter.
The tiny kit was really cute to watch as he lunged at the adult to protect those cookies. The little ones seem to be able to move faster than adults when lunging that way and jump farther as a percentage of their body length. The little fella looked like a snake striking. I don't think he realized that I was squirting the vinegar on the other raccoon, so he probably thought he was running the adult off. I'll bet the little guy (or girl) walked tall all the way home that night saying, "Who the man? I'm the man!"
To take one more stab at explaining that photo above, you are looking at her back feet which are up in the air and at a little of her tummy. You are behind her, so if you were to grab those feet and lift them up in the air, you and she would be in the wheelbarrow position. See?
(having trouble shutting down for the night) here is one more pic. bast scratching. taken tonight. I really, really think that hock looks swollen, and something just doesn't look right in that part of the leg to me. It looks that way in every picture I see, too.
Ok, o-n-e more. A very 'nursing' Heidi sitting down to rest a moment and enjoy a vanilla sandwich cookie. (You can see she looks a bit old compared to the others - but still the boss. Heidi is 'old' in the sense of those old, gray haired CEO's of major, multi-national corporations.) This was taken last night.
When viewing the facial expressions of the raccoons in the photos, esp those take from up close like the 2 above, note that often the expression you are seeing is not the one I saw when I 'took' the picture but a reaction to having all those flashes going off in their eyes at close quarters.
Reba with cookie (last night and also effected by flash)
(I don't want to sleep! But tomorrow morning I will wish I had...)
