Heidi Chronicles: Long Live The Queen!

Sheri,

Forgot to mention that I have seen the raccoons eat side by side with the opossums in the past. I was even shocked one time to see Heidi allow a small opossum to eat from the side of her dish - and neither of them growled or otherwise showed signs of arguing. On another occasion I witnessed an unexpected even in which some yearlings were eating side by side with an opossum, and everything looked fine until the opossum suddenly and unexpectedly (to me, at least) turned and bit one of the yearlings on the hind quarter for no apparent reason. Each yearling and the opossum had his/her own separate pile of food on the ground about a foot apart, yet for some reason the opossum decided to bite the raccoon eating beside him/her.

The incident didn't end well for the opossum, however, since the attack prompted the yearlings to evict the aggressor from the buffet. That's the only time I ever saw signs of aggression between the two species when eating together. My guess is the opossum thought he/she could get away with such bad behavior because all of the raccoons there at the time were youngsters.

So far though, I've not seen the cats here show any willingness to eat together with any of the wildlife.

Speaking of the cats. Although they have been moved to their own thread, occasionally the cat story and the raccoon story may overlap as is the case with the events discussed below. I had originally typed this post in on the thread in the Pet Forum but decided to relocate it here. It was just too difficult (in the pet forum) to explain the presence of the raccoons:

Because of the incident that one night when Kitty was outside growling at the raccoons, I've been keeping her inside at night when I feed the raccoons. Just as I had feared would eventually happen, the other night I was unable to find her and get her inside before feeding time. I called her and called her but to no avail. Finally, I had little choice but to just go on out to the buffet to feed the raccoons (with Kitty still outside somewhere) and hope for the best. I figured if she showed up, I would play it by ear.

Hmm. This time Kitty was there in the backyard with us, although she kept her distance, but, thankfully, she didn't come around growling and hissing and trying to provoke a fight as she had done previously. I didn't even realize she was out there near us until, when I headed back for the house, she came running from a nearby part of the backyard. She met up with me at the door and we entered the house together. I was very glad to see that she had behaved better this time.

Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come. I guess she is beginning to see that the raccoons are not hurting or threatening me, and I don't need to be protected from them. That particular night I was talking to the raccoons a good bit, mostly telling the youngsters repeatedly that there were "no more cookies". I wonder if my talking, particularly my tone in talking to them, may have helped Kitty to see that the mood was friendly and I was not threatened or under attack.

At any rate, we made it through a feeding session with Kitty nearby and, this time, without incident.

Really glad to hear that Kitty was able to observe dinner at the buffet without incident this time. I have no doubt that your tone of voice in talking to the coons helped to convince her that you weren't being threatened. And Kitty is a smart female kitty. The fact that all her growling and fussing accomplished zero to deter the raccoons, and that in fact they came over to check her out with the "What's UP with this chick?" expression shown in your photos, probably went a long way to convince her that this was a battle she couldn't win.

Ruth,

I had been careful to keep Kitty inside during buffet hours since that one event but had always feared that sooner or later I would be unable to find her at the appointed time. At least it went well.

On a different note, I gather from your explanation of such things that I should also refrain from trying to pick Heidi up by the scruff, huh?

Yeah, I probably wouldn't try that, Cheryl. LOL

LOL, Marylyn,

Good to know the protocol! ;-)

Ruth,

Kitty sure was determined that 1st night when she was after the raccoons. They chased her back to the house when she was behind me. I could believe it a few minutes later when she reappeared off to one side there (where she was in the photo), growling and hissing all over again. I'm glad she finally stopped that.

About Heidi and the kibble variety. I guess to her it may just be a taste thing. I've just seen this from her so many times. She would rather have 2 or 3 kinds of kibble vs just one. I do think she likes the Iams kitten best but just likes some other flavors on her plate.

If I just give Heidi a bunch of Iams, she'll eat about 3/4 of it and then go over and bounce one of the yearlings and take her Dog Chow. Then she will eat Dog Chow for the rest of the evening until she leaves. That always frustrates me because I paid extra for the Iams just for her and hate to see her 'waste' it - although it's not really wasted since the bounced yearling ends up eating it. Tonight, I just went ahead and gave Heidi about 2 handfuls of Dog Chow along with her Iams. I put them on opposite sides of her imaginary plate and then watched to see which she ate. She ate them both together, moving back and forth eating a little of this and a little of that just like a human diner who eats a bite or two of steak and then some corn and beans and then back to the steak and so on. Tonight, when I gave her some of both types of food, she stayed at her own place until she was ready to leave for the night.

The yearlings don't tend to eat in such a systematic and consistent manner as Heidi, BTW. But I am convinced that Heidi really prefers to have a variety of kibble as long as it's kibble that she likes, and Purina Dog Chow is one of the foods of which she approves.

Oh dear, the mental image of anyone trying to scruff Heidi is simply mind-boggling, isn't it? That is just too awful to contemplate.

That is what I thought too!

My internal image of how this goes starts with me grabbing Heidi by the scruff, something I probably could actually accomplish these days given her current comfort level around me - something I could do for a pico-second anyhow. If this were shown in as a cartoon strip, the next few squares would show the characteristic ball of dust and dirt with arm and legs sticking out here and there at various angles. The last square would show Heidi holding me by the scruff.

Recently I learned that, believe it or not, the yearlings do still play with toys, at least when no one is looking. Last month when the gardener cleaned up the growth in the backyard, he picked up all of those old [raccoon] toys, filthy though they were, and put them in a bucket on the patio. (See, that the kind of thing I appreciate about him. Those toys were so filthy, I didn't even want to pick them up. Many people hired to cut the grass back there would have just driven the mower over the toys.)

I left the toys in the bucket, thinking I would just put the bucket back out there at the buffet once the new kits showed up. Then one night I went out to find 1 toy out of the bucket and carried to over to the far side of the patio, then 2 more...and now the bucket is turned over and toys are strewn all over the patio. Apparently, the yearlings play with the toys while they are sitting around out there on the patio waiting for me to show up. I guess they are just like us - hate to sit around waiting at the Dr's office or inline at the cash register or in traffic and need something to play with to make the time go by faster.

Your idea of how the 'picking Heidi up by the scruff' would turn out is hilarious ! I agree completely.

>>Your idea of how the 'picking Heidi up by the scruff' would turn out is hilarious !

I agree.

I love the fact that the kids still play with the toys.. especially when waiting for dinner.

Love that "cartoon" image of scruffing Heidi....though it is probably pretty close to what reality would look like.

Really cute that the yearlings still enjoy the toys, but feel like no one should notice.

Just catching up. Wonder if that baby possum is one from the original possum you had around the place. Can't remember it's name off hand. Seems possible since all the critters that seem to feed from your yard know it a good place and a safe place and pop backup.

Sitting here chuckling. Heidi has to have her invisible plate, likes her two kinds of food. Wonder is she will get to the point where she doesn't like them touching and ask you to separate them for her, but really waiting for the day when she asks you for a napkin and a finger bowl set net to her plate . LOL

Good one, starlight! Given how raccoons enjoy dipping their food in water, I can really see the finger bowl and napkin!

The other night I noticed the yearlings looking at something behind me. When I looked I didn't see anything. I had a feeling Kitty, who was out that night because I couldn't find her, was nearby. This went on for the entire last 1/2 of our visit. Heidi wasn't there that night. The yearlings kept noticing something behind me, but I was never able to see it. Then when I headed back to the house, Kitty came out of the shrubs to walk back to the house with me. She had, in fact, been hiding out in the shrubs behind me apparently watching the goings on at the buffet. This time she didn't cause any trouble, no growling or hissing, just watching. She's my little guard kitty.

Heidi missed dinner for two consecutive nights. Then last night I took the night off, so when she showed up tonight, it was the 1st time I had seen her in 3 nights. I thought she would never get through eating. She ate 3 days worth for sure, and tonight I could see that she was showing a strong preference for the Iams kitten over the dog chow, even though the kitten food pieces were so much more difficult for her to pick up in the grass vs the large, nickle-sized dog chow chunks.

Heidi and the Lt were the only ones there when I went out. They would have been the only ones there period had I not stayed so long waiting for Heidi to finish eating and eating and eating. The others showed up shortly before Heidi left. While she and the Lt were the only diners, I watched as the Lt went over to the pool. I had forgotten for days to fill it. I shone my flashlight over there and saw that it was bone dry on the bottom. A few months ago it couldn't stop raining, but lately it never rains. Everything now is dusty dry.

Concerned that there may not be adequate water available to them in the forest, I decided to try to go back to the house for water. Sometimes the raccoons run away when they hear me returning, but Heidi will usually hang in there and wait for me if I speak to her when I come out the house. I call her name and say, "It's ok" so she will know it's me.

I brought back a quart container of cool, clean water, filtered at the fridge. Heidi was the only one there when I returned. I could hear the Lt scampering over the fence. As I approached, even Heidi was backing away. I've not been doing that lately (making multiple trips), and raccoons are always leery of any deviation from the routine. I spoke to Heidi and convinced her to stay.

I sat down and put the container of water down beside her but off a little to one side so the Lt could have some. As soon as I put the water down, Heidi started drinking. She put her lower face down into the water and began pulling large quantities in with a continuous motion, drinking the way one drinks after working for hours outside on a hot day. In the one draw, she consumed almost 1/2 of the water.

When the Lt came over for water, Heidi grumbled with her but let her drink some. The Lt took a long, deep drink just as Heidi had done. At some point Heidi made the Lt stop - before the Lt's thirst was quenched. After that, Heidi owned the water, guarding it jealously. It was the most coveted item at the buffet. I was so glad I had brought it out. I only wished I had brought more. From time to time the Lt would try to sneak up for another drink, but Heidi was firm. No more water.

When the rest of the yearlings arrived, the Lt helped Heidi protect the water from them, and Heidi permitted the Lt to take a few more quick sips. They refused to let any of the other yearlings, even Heidi's others, have a drop of water. It was clearly too precious a resource to share. When Heidi left there was only about 1/2in of water left in the container, so clearly there was not enough for everyone.

Tomorrow MORNING, I'm going out there to clean and fill that pool. I usually wait until afternoon to do that. The problem seems to be that I get very tired by late afternoon and end up saying, "tomorrow".

While interacting with the Lt and the water, Heidi ended up walking around to the 'other' side of the water, my side. She basically walked on and stood over the toes of my boots. That's how comfortable she has become with me now.

When Heidi came to dinner tonight, the bottom 2/3 of her fur was wet, something I'm not accustomed to seeing with Heidi who is normally spotlessly clean and impeccably dressed. As dry as it has been lately, I can't imagine she found that much water anywhere except one of the ponds. She was up close to me and I checked her out with my flashlight. There was no sign of mud, just water, so she didn't look as though she had been in mud. I wondered if she had gotten so thirsty as to take a chance at going to the ponds - a very bad idea as the alligators hang out there. Considering how much water she drank at the buffet though, she didn't appear to have gotten much to drink wherever she went to get so wet. At the buffet, both she and the Lt drank as though they had been thirsty for a while before they arrived.

Heidi always knows what's good for her; the higher protein in the kitten chow is definitely worth the extra effort, especially when she missed three nights. And if you're not getting rain, water is definitely a precious and very important resource. There are probably very few potable water sources in your area during a dry spell, and the idea of the alligator ponds is truly scary. Great idea to provide it for them!

Referring to how dry it is here lately, today I noticed that large sections of the front lawn were severely wilted, shrunken, and in places even crunchy. This morning while working with the iris, I also noticed some drying of the area where the buds grow on the bloom stalks. One plant's buds had even shriveled beyond the point where water might resuscitate them.

I have an in-ground, automatic sprinkler system, thankfully, but as we often get more than enough rain, I don't run the sprinklers on a regular schedule. I run them only when needed. Today, I decided water is very much needed and so have turned them on.

Yet another indication of just how dry it is here now. This morning I got up late and forgot to clean and fill the pool. I'm going out to do so as soon as I eat my lunch. It's 3:46PM, and I'm famished.

I live in a drier part of the country that often has droughts. So I put water out for wildlife just about year-round. Especially during the two-year drought that ended last fall...it got so dry and hot last summer that about all of the insect life died out (I was down to one species of beetle that I actually could see)...and trees were dying! I envy you the automatic sprinkler system. I spend way too much time watering! In fact, my feet are still damp right now from watering the yard. The deer are starting to come back here just lately...they disappeared last summer also.

Linda,

For the reason you mentioned, plus the sheer aggravation of dragging hoses around, I do love the convenience of the underground sprinkler system. It came with the house. I don't use it all the time both because we don't usually need it here (our avg rainfall is 52in/year or 1in/wk) and because the water (I'm on city water) can be costly. The guy I bought the house from paid $150wk just for water for the lawn. But when we have the occasional dry spell as we are having now, the sprinkler system is wonderful.

I've seen and heard of some systems with sprinklers heads that are visible above ground at all times and pose a mowing hazard. This one is excellent. When the sprinklers are 'off', you can't even find the spot where they come out of the ground. I know. I've tried before. When planting and such, I have to turn the sprinkler on to get the heads to pop up so I can see exactly where they are located. Then when I turn it off so I can go over to the spot w/o getting wet, sometimes I still can't find the spot. They pop out of the ground and then when they go back down, the grass makes it almost impossible even to see the hole they came out of. When not in use they are far enough down there is no risk of whacking them off with the mower. I love the sprinkler since all I have to do is push a button and forget it. I dread the day when some part of the system breaks as surely it will eventually.

As for putting out water for the wildlife, I normally do this. I was leaving water out for birds and wildlife even before I started feeding the raccoons. I have some 4 or 5 birdbaths now plus the copper basin from an old birdbath which I keep at ground level along with the 5-6ft child's wading pool and plastic litter box (never used for that purpose) that I bought for the raccoons. Until recently I was always careful to keep them washed and filled. I would go out every few days to rinse and fill them all. In the past year or so I've had a lot of often excruciating pain in both my knees and back, the latter due to a car accident. For a while there I had a very hard time getting anything done. Then recently, I had about a 6mo break from the pain during which I was taking meds that made me almost pain free, but a few weeks ago I ran out of one of my pain meds. Now, I don't have enough of it in my bloodstream to control the pain, so I'm in a lot of pain again especially in the mornings and evenings. I need to go back to the Dr to get more meds. Anyhow, the pain causes me to edit things from my todo list, editing down to the mustDo's.

Seeing your plants and trees suffer from lack of water must be particularly difficult. The past few years we've had occasional dry spells in summer, usually for a month or so, but most of the time it stays pretty evenly wet here. Our area is sort of semi-tropical so humid, wet, and hot - most of the time. I would think having the insects die off would be a good thing. Our warm, moist climate supports a plethora of insects, not a good thing. A friend who moved here from Ohio swears there are insects here that still haven't been classified by scientists, insects that aren't even known to the rest of the world. "OMG, what the heck is that awful thing" has become her favorite saying.

I did go out this afternoon and clean and fill the pool, BTW. I know the raccoons will be thrilled.

I wish things like fleas, ticks, flies and mosquitos would go away or die. Most insects don't bother me too much, however. One thing that was bad about losing the insects was that some wildlife...like birds, for instance, need them for food.

Linda,

I'm like you. Except for the annoying ones like those you mentioned (along with the ones that eat flowers and plants in the vegetable garden), I don't mind them or even notice them. Still, I wouldn't miss them either if they were gone - except for earth worms. I love them because they help to make the soil nice for plants. I hadn't thought about that whole circle of life thing and how many creatures I do like depend on insects for their existence. Good point. Everything in the circle is ultimately connected.

The one thing that people always, always ask or comment on when they learn about my buffet program is whether the neighbors hate me for it. The thinking is that by feeding the raccoons, I draw them to the area causing them to also hang out in the neighbors' yards.

I've never really understood this line of thinking, to be honest. The raccoons were here long before I started feeding them. I know because for years I tried to get rid of them before finally giving in and learning to live with them. If they were already here, nothing I could do could attract them. I mean, I can't bring them here if they are already here. And I feed them. Why would they go over to the neighbors' houses to look for food when they know that I'm serving all of their favorites and they are cordially invited? Thus, I've never really understood this line of thinking.

I did consider that raccoons might check out other homes just out of their abundance of curiosity, but when well fed I can't see them spending much time there and/or making trouble. Still, today while talking with the neighbor, I decided to check it out. Without admitting to anything or telling him anything, I just asked, in a leisurely manner, whether he had noticed any problems with raccoons in his yard. He said, "no". He said he couldn't say for sure that none ever came into his yard but that he had never seen one there.

I was glad I had asked. He thought nothing of it, thought I was just asking as a concerned homeowner, and I was finally able to find out if my activities at the buffet are causing problems for my neighbors. This neighbor, BTW, lives directly beside me. His yard also backs up to the forest edge just as mine does, and unlike my yard, his has no fence, so raccoons could just walk right out of the forest and onto his lawn - as apposed to my yard where they have to climb the fence which is somewhat difficult even for them, especially for the pregnant females and for the young kits. Still, the neighbor indicates he has never seen a raccoon in his backyard.

Good news and good to know.

that is good to know.

I've been back in Wisc for a while now... and the 'one' is back. he/she has been grazing at the squirrel feeder, draining my hummer feeder [homemade nectar] twice already.

last night i was watching, as was Charlie and BUddy... it did not phase 'her' one bit. so it's either the same one from last year... or a new one that is not bothered by being watched.

i plan to 'secretly' leave her some cat food.

when i;m up here by myself, i'll leave out an egg or cat food, plus some water. Since we are not here all the time, could be home for days or a week at a time... the food supply does run out.

Good to know the neighbor has no raccoon issues; though, honestly, they could be passing through his yard in the evening all the time. He probably wouldn't notice from inside the house unless they're creating damage of some kind, which clearly they're not. And as you said, there's little temptation to hang out in other yards when the critters all know exactly where the buffet is served.

Ruth,

As long as the raccoons aren't causing problems for the neighbors, I'm happy. :-)
It means I'm off the hook for possibly attracting them to the area (which, again, I really didn't do anyhow) and, more importantly, it means the raccoons are safe. If they were annoying people they would be at greater risk of some bad fortune or other.

That neighbor does have a sliding glass door between the rather smallish den (where they watch TV) and the back patio increasing the likelihood that one of the MANY people (they have 3 grown kids + a couple of their kids + the grandmother along with the kids' friends) over there would have seen at least one raccoon by now though.

True, Cheryl, but remember what superb ninjas the raccoons are; they absolutely excel at avoiding notice when they want to do so. In any case, as you say, the important thing is that they pose no problem for the neighbors and thus are safe in their travels.

Ruth,

Oh, yes, you are so right. How could I forget how the little ninjas can sneak up on me when I'm sitting right there. It's quite freaky sometimes to turn and find one right up behind me, like an inch or two away, and I had no idea.

One of the yearlings, one of Heidi's I believe since she was there when Heidi was away and her 4 were the only buffet guests, sometimes stands up and rests her hands ever so gently on my hip or knee. I absolutely love it when she does that. It reminds me of the old days when Dennis would stand at my knee. I love being touched by the sweet, gentle, non-threatening ones. However, most of the time I don't realize she is even there until she touches me, so momentarily it scares me, and I jump. Sensing my reaction, she tends to avoid doing it again. I wish I had a way to tell her that I'm not really afraid of her, and I actually love it when she does that. I only jump because she catches me so off guard. I have no idea a raccoon is that close to me, and then all of a sudden something touches me in the dark and ... I jump.

I know I said I would keep the cat stuff in the pet forum, but sometimes the cat stuff and the raccoon stuff collide. When I can't separate the two, I find it easier to put it here. I just don't feel up to explaining the raccoons to the pet people (those who aren't already part of this thread series). So...

Last night was fairly uneventful except that I had cut the grass earlier that afternoon - finally. The lawn tractor had a dead battery, so the grass hadn't been cut since back when Barry, my landscaper, was here in late winter to slay the weeds and prune everything back severely. If you recall, Barry cut down all of the tall plants and weeds that the raccoons had used for cover. I guess they had taken some comfort from the tall grass that had grown back though. I was surprised how reluctant most of them were to come out across the barren expanse of freshly mowed lawn.

One of the more skittish youngsters, but one who normally joins us at the buffet, stayed back on the slope beyond the pool. I had to toss her some food back there as she was afraid to come all the way to the buffet last night. I had also moved a few items, large flower pots and such, putting them against the fence so I could mow past them. I wish you could have seen her as she came down eying that [moved] flower pot as though it were a monster about to spring at her. It has been out there since before she was born, but it had been moved to a different location and turned upside down. That was enough to set off her "something's different here" radar making her exceedingly suspicious and cautious. It took forever to coax her down off the fence. Then she inched slowly up to the scary flower pot to check it out, looking for all the world like she was creeping up on a venomous snake that might strike at any moment.

But, cautious though they were, the raccoons did eat at the buffet last night. Then, near the end of the meal the quiet night air was suddenly pierced by the clear, loud, and demanding sound of a meow. Uh, oh. Kitty was outside at the time, having failed to show up at the house in time to get tucked away safely inside.

There it was again, "ME-OW!"

It was clearly the sound of Kitty calling me. There was nothing threatening or combative about her 'words' this time, just a clearly demanding call. I heard it a 3rd time as I looked around to see her standing about 20ft behind me, just around the bend, the 1st point between house and buffet at which one can see around the shrubs to the buffet. She wanted me to let her in the house, was telling me clearly that she was hungry, too. Apparently, she thought I had spent enough time out there with the raccoons and should now come and feed her.

The raccoons were starting to look her way, curious about what she wanted, I guess. To avoid any risk of trouble, I said my, "goodbyes" to the raccoons and headed inside. Kitty joined me as I passed her on the path. She ran ahead a bit and stood at the patio door, her front feet perched on the door facing, meowing again, and demanding to be let in. Once inside I gave her the dollop of canned cat food which she now gets 2x a day (somehow she managed to extend her original 1x serving to 2x. Not sure how, but I didn't get a say in this.) I put this on her chair beside the dry food that is available to her any time she is inside. She had been out gallivanting earlier and thus had missed the dollop of canned food which she normally gets in the late afternoon. I guess, as it was after 10PM when she showed up, she must have been quite hungry. I guess that's why she was so demanding in coming to the buffet to demand her dinner.

It's interesting that she did this because in the mornings she accompanies on my garden rounds as I check out new blooms (iris right now) and take photos. It's very clear that she gets bored and restless long before we finish our rounds, and she wants to get back inside to eat (and get her morning dollop), but she never, ever (so far) meows to demand to go back inside and be fed. She gets very restless, but never fusses.

I have been most interested in reading about this interaction between wild raccoons and their human friend. But I have a serious question (aside from the possible rabies issue). Do you garden? If so, do the raccoons dig up your new beds, plants, etc? I have been having a problem this spring with some cute raccoons that I fed all winter - not realizing this issue would arise. They apparently dig in moist loose dirt looking, I assume, for worms and bugs. They cannot distinguish "wild" dirt from my carefully planted beds and pots. How do you deal with this? I have no solution as they rip up stones and bricks placed around the plants and dig away. I have had to stop complaining about this as my DH has seriously suggested he just shoot them and end the problem. I quickly said that was not necessary (now I just quietly replant what got dug up overnight) and don't whine about them. He has kindly not reminded me that he warned me not to feed them over the past few months. Anyway how do you deal with their tendency to destroy human stuff while pursuing their lives?

stillwood,

I'm so sorry to hear that you are having this problem. I guess I've been very lucky as mine almost never bother my stuff, well, except...

Before I finally gave up (for other reasons - snakes) and stopped feeding the birds, the raccoons used to routinely destroy and/or carry off the bird feeders, thistle socks, suet feeders, hummingbird feeders, etc. I don't count this activity since the raccoons were doing it long before I started feeding them. For years before I started feeding them, I tried to get rid of the raccoons because they trashed the bird feeders.

The raccoons also eat my grapes, blueberries, and other fruit, but, again, they did these things even before I started feeding them.

As for my plants, they never bother them except one year, back around 07 or 08, there was a raccoon named Dennis. Heidi let me play with Dennis when she was a tiny baby, so Dennis grew up being almost like a pet. That one winter when Dennis was an older youngster maybe 8mo old or so, I had a bunch of iris rhizomes that didn't get planted in late summer/fall (around here I can plant them as late as Feb and they still live, grow, and even bloom that same spring). I filled a huge pot on the patio with soil and stuck the iris rhizome in it.

One day a few weeks later I found one of my favorite irises lying on the patio floor, its once healthy new roots dying in the dry, cold air. I stuck it back in the pot thinking it had fallen out. A day or so later I found several iris on the floor - including my favorite one. Eventually, I saw Dennis out there pulling the iris up and playing with them. She dug them up almost daily and I put them back. Then rain water collected in a bucket near the pot of iris. By this time it was down in the low 30's by night. Dennis would pull the iris up and 'wash' them in the bucket of rain water where she would leave them over night (in the cold water). That year I learned just how tough iris rhizomes can be. I can't tell you how many times I planted those poor iris. I might have gotten angry, but I really thought a lot of Dennis. She was one of my all time favorites.

You are right that raccoons dig in dirt to look for insects (slugs, worms, etc.), but I have found that the youngsters will play with things (dirt included) just for the fun of it. They love to feel things with their very sensitive fingers/hands. They are playing but are also exploring and learning about their world. They will play with just about anything.

When Ruth (spartacusaby) comes by, she may have some ideas to help. She often recommends a product called Ropel (as long as the plants are not edibles or near edibles, human edibles, I mean). If other things fail, you might try offering them a few toys to play with. If the culprits are youngsters, giving them something else to play with may help. (Note that there were no insects in my fresh pot of soil and iris rhizomes, so clearly Dennis was simply playing rather than looking for food.) They like small dog and cat toys, both small stuffed animals and all manner of small balls. They also like to play in water. Even a container the size of a cat litter box or smaller with water in it makes a great place to dunk toys and float balls. Before you consider this though, be aware that they will likely take the toys all over the yard, so consider if that will bother you or you husband.

As to the issue of rabies, 1st I should caution that I don't recommend that others do what I do. It is not w/o risk. For the most part, the raccoons in my yard are very gentle and non-aggressive and don't bite or scratch me, but there is no guarantee that other raccoons have a similar temperament. Heidi appears to teach her babies to be very gentle this way. Others aren't always so gentle. In addition, even the gentlest of pets (dog, cat, etc) will sometimes scratch or bite us by accident while playing, for instance, so there when I feed them by hand, which I only do with the ones I trust, there is still always a small risk involved.

Two years ago I had the full set of rabies shots, so I have some protection - although I really need to get my blood tested to see if I'm still protected or if I need to get shots again. BTW, in case you, like most people, have heard all of the horror stories about the shots, I hasten to tell you that getting the rabies shots was a total non-event for me. There were some 5, maybe 6 shots, don't recall now. I had to go back on a schedule over a course of so many weeks to get all of the shots. The shots did not hurt me at all. It was no different from getting a flu shot, totally painless. I got the shots in my arms, BTW, switching between arms each time I went for a shot. The shots were painless, and my arm did not hurt, wasn't stiff, nothing. When I got my next to last shot, I noticed a bit of a lump on my arm (afterward), but even that didn't hurt at all and went away in a day or so.

A lot of the yard damage that raccoons did in past years here were mostly done by the little ones playing, I think. Hummingbird feeders being emptied or destroyed...that part really bothered me. BTW, if you think raccoons can do damage to your landscape...armadillos are SO much worse! And feral pigs can be even worse...but a good fence can keep them out! A lot of people in Texas complain about the deer...ditto on the fence. A good fence is worth its weight in gold around here.

I must remember to take the camera back out with me.

Things were pretty normal tonight. Freida (the other adult) was back. Looks like she was out having her babies. Heidi was missing. I didn't get out there until 10:20. She almost never waits much past 10. That one sweet youngster stood up at my knee again. Lots of normal stuff.

Then about the time I was getting ready to leave (the raccoons were still there nibbling around), I saw what I thought was one of the raccoons crouching in the edge of a nearby flowerbed. The raccoons go into the edges of the beds that way sometimes to eat special things like their cookies in private. Just curious, I shined my flashlight on him/her, but what looked back at me from the darkness of the flowerbed wasn't a raccoon at all. It was that very young opossum that often tries to steal Cocoa's food at the front door.

I really was surprised to see the little opossum sitting there so close by in the edge of the flower bed watching us. He/she sure is adorable, but I guess I mentioned that before. She, I'll call her a she, is awfully small, 6-8in long maybe (not including tail). Every time I see her, I just want to hug her - not my usual reaction to opossums.

I tossed her a handful of cat food and was all the more surprised when she didn't run away. The opossums always, always run away when I threw food at them the 1st 20 or 30 times. It always takes them a while, a long while, to realize that I'm not attacking them but tossing them dinner. Snowball was probably the only one who ever 'got it' and then only after many tries, but this was not Snowball. Somehow, perhaps because she is so young and still learning, this little one doesn't seem that afraid of me. She 'got it' right away. She had probably been watching for a little while, long enough to see the yearlings crowd around me for cookies without harm, but that sort of thing wasn't usually enough to convince the older opossums to trust me throwing things at them.

I could hear her crunching cat food, and even when I shined the flashlight on her to watch, she seemed undaunted by it all. Remembering that opossums enjoy sweets, too, I reached in my bag and tossed her a couple of animal cookies, then watched as she looked beyond the cat food to eat the cookies 1st. I tossed her a few more.

A yearling walked into the flowerbed after the cookies. The little opossum was pretty gutsy. Despite being seriously 'outsized' and outweighed, she held her ground and growled. I figured the opossum would ultimately loose the battle, so I quickly rummaged through my bag for more cookies and tossed one just behind the yearling to distract her from the opossum's food. That worked for a while. I kept tossing cookies and small handfuls of kibble to the opossum making sure to keep the yearlings busy with cookie pieces and kibble, too.

I really enjoyed the little opossum. Eventually, I ran out of animal cookies and even cat food though. Shortly, after that one of the yearlings went over to evict the opossum and take her remaining goodies. After that I came inside.

Linda,

Unfortunately, raccoons, adults included, LOVE hummingbird nectar. They love pretty much anything sweet. Mine would actually climb up to the hummingbird feeder and tilt it to pour the nectar in their mouths so they could drink it. They usually end up damaging the feeders eventually. For a while they had me thinking I had a bunch of very thirsty hummingbirds since the feeders were emptied daily.

I am SO glad that we don't have armadillos yet. I heard on the radio a few years ago that they are in Charleston, but I've not seen any yet or any signs of their work. I don't think they are well established in the area yet.

I'm glad you brought up deer as I was going to mention that raccoons are not the only animals who damage plants. Deer come out of the forest each evening and eat my roses down to nubs. In fact, I have more problems with the deer than with the raccoons. I have a fence, but only in the back yard. HOA rules don't allow for fences except in backyards here. I get to enjoy my roses until May which is when the deer show up each year to munch on them. After they finish eating the flowers, on subsequent days they will eat the leaves and all of the young branches. They all but kill the roses. I wanted to mention this because I didn't do anything to attract the deer to my yard - other than planting roses. I didn't feed them (other than the roses). My point (for stillwood) is that you can have conflicts between wildlife and your garden plants even if you don't do anything to encourage them.

I do have one of those [water] scarecrow things. It works but is not set up right now. I might get it out. The scarecrow might even work to dissuade the raccoons if you set it to 'shoot' low enough. They love water, but they don't like having it squirted at them under pressure.

Cheryl, it's interesting that you saw Kitty's meowing as a sign of hunger; I see it more as a sign of jealousy, and an attempt to see who will take priority for you. Either view could be correct, hard to know.

Stillwood, yes, unfortunately raccoons love to dig, especially in fresh-turned earth. Though Cheryl is right that the young ones can be doing so in play, in most cases the coons are searching for worms, bugs, grubs, etc., all of which are part of their omnivorous diet. There are lots of things you can try to deter them. The scarecrow Cheryl describes is a motion-activated sprinkler that gives a brief but fairly powerful spray of water in the area toward which you aim it; I believe it also makes a sound, but you can turn that function off. I've heard very good reports on it from many people; the only drawback is that it will also spray you if you forget to turn it off before working/walking in that area, lol; any motion will activate it. Ropel is a taste repellent, and one application lasts outdoors for up to a year; it works wonders if the coons are nibbling as well as digging, and might even work just on the soil surface (haven't tried that). I routinely dip bulbs before planting them, and never have them dug up by little creatures. For foliage, I spray it on the foliage; it does no harm to the plants. Just try not to get it on your bare hands; it has an unbelievably bitter and disgusting taste, and one knows immediately why it works so well. The cheapest fix to try is just to buy a giant-size can of black or red pepper, and sprinkle liberally around new plantings; or spray hot pepper sauce on foliage. Again, these don't damage the plants; but they do need to be reapplied after rain. Though sometimes the critters learn their lesson fairly quickly, eliminating the need for reapplications.

And on the subject of rabies, Cheryl is absolutely right that her level of close interaction with the raccoons has its risks, and should only be undertaken by someone who's had the preventive vaccinations. That said, the vast majority of raccoons are healthy, even in areas and at times of major increases in raccoon rabies cases. If this were not the case, the species would have long since become extinct in the eastern US; and this is most certainly very very far from true. Simply having raccoons present on your property poses absolutely no threat to your health, at least from rabies. If you have children, and raccoons use the kids' sandbox as a litter box, there is an intestinal parasite that's of some real concern. In order to contract the parasite, you must ingest something contaminated with raccoon feces; this is highly unlikely for responsible adult gardeners. To contract rabies, you must be bitten by an animal who is actively ill with rabies; it is not air-borne or transmitted by contact with unbroken skin. And take it from someone who has unfortunately seen many rabid animals in a variety of species, the one thing they have in common is that they all look unmistakably, horribly ill and/or act in a way that would be incomprehensible in a healthy animal (like the cat who chased an adult male person and his very large dog inside). All of your internal alarm signals go off at the sight of them, telling you to stay clear; our instincts do a great job of protecting us if we're willing to listen. Common sense, good basic hygiene, and trust in our instincts are all the protection needed to avoid illness borne by the wildlife surrounding us. Close contact requires greater precaution and, in the case of rabies, preventive vaccines. Good luck with the garden, and let me know if I can help in any way.

Linda, I truly don't envy you the armadillos and feral pigs. They aren't here yet, thankfully, and I never had to deal with them in my shelter years; but I've seen the damage they can do, and it's truly epic.

1st let me express my concern and sympathy for all those along the gulf coast who are in the path of that awful oil spill. Words simply cannot express the extent to which my heart goes out to you and to the wildlife along your coasts. With all my heart I hope and pray that this spill will somehow be abated and will not create the huge problems that have been projected.

With that said and realizing that the greatest impact is expected along the gulf areas, yesterday it was announced that experts now believe some of the oil will eventually end up following the gulf stream up the east coast. If this happens, it is possible that this awful mess may even have an impact, possibly even substantial, on the feeding grounds of Heidi and her gang, not to mention the areas inhabited by all of the prior generations born in the buffet area and later sent off on their own.

It may be easy to forget, but we are right smack on the Atlantic coast here. While the home of Heidi and friends is not on the beach it is in wetlands/marsh along the banks of a river that leads to the ocean. Anything that permeates the coastal waters will probably end up in these wetlands. There is a lot of marsh land along the coast, 'land' that is neither ocean not land but a combination of both. This is some of the land our raccoon friends enjoy, so called pluff mud where a human might sink up to their knees or beyond and even get stuck and where raccoons might find yummy seafood meals. (This is why I've so often told you that I can't walk back there. It's marsh, not solid ground at all but wetlands along the Atlantic coast.)

I sure hope those working on the oil spill problem are able to find a solution to mitigate the effects of this mess before it reaches our coasts as it stands to cause considerable damage and problems for all of us otherwise. Until yesterday it did not seem to pose a risk to those of us along the east coast but experts indicate that this has likely changed now.

Ruth,

I hadn't even considered that Kitty might have been jealous. I think you might have hit on the real explanation though esp considering that she doesn't meow that way at other times when I know that she is hungry, such as our morning garden walks when she is visibly bored and ready to go in for breakfast long before the walk is over. I guess I still have not fully 'gotten' the cat mindset. Kitty 'ignores' me most of the time, and yet it seems she watches me like a hawk, especially observing my interactions with others from raccoons to Cocoa.

Even when she doesn't seem to want attention for herself, she shows concern if I pay much attention to Cocoa. Many times, if I put food in the chair for her, even her favorite canned food, and then go out to feed Cocoa, she will leave her food (even though she wants the food) and escape through the door while I'm going out. She does this just to see what I'm giving Cocoa and to sit at the end of the walkway with her back to us where she observes our interactions while appearing disinterested. She is a sly one. Many a day she has run out there to sniff Cocoa's food as if to see if he is getting something better than she is. Actually she gets the best food, BTW. She gets a bit of canned food 2x daily and gets most of the water drained from tuna and chicken whereas Cocoa rarely ever gets anything except dry cat food. He eats his dry cat food like its steak, and I'm reluctant to give him anything to change that. Still, Kitty persists in watching us and sniffing his food just to be sure.

If I can get her indoors, I give Kitty a dollop of canned food before I go off to feed the raccoons. That used to keep her (and Widget who stays with her) well occupied while I was exiting the back door, but lately even food doesn't work. When I go to the back door and start packing my things, she show up (as though by coincidence) where she will look at the raccoons through the patio door and hiss at them. She definitely shows an interest in my relationship with them. I just didn't put all the pieces together to realize she was potentially jealous of them, too.