On the raccoon front...
Little Petey was so CUTE today! While all the others were way over on the other side of the buffet arguing over kibble in such close quarters, and his 2 siblings were jammed up against Heidi who was eating about 2ft in front of me, Petey managed to sneak around behind me. I felt something moving behind me and looked over my shoulder to see Petey standing upright and playing with my near waist length hair.
I reached around and put a handful of kibble behind me and he got down to eat. He wasn't a foot or so away. He wasn't even 6in away. His side was right up against the back of my seat as he ate. After he finished that handful, he wandered around to the side, still close up against the seat.
I put some more food down for him where he was beside me. While the others argued over food and space, he had his own supply and no one nearby to try to take any of it. A little later when I wanted to check on him, he was so close up against my seat that I couldn't see him. My shoulder was in the way. I leaned over to the side to see down beyond my shoulder not realizing that this would put my body directly OVER Petey who was eating below.
When I got far enough over to see him, I guess he sensed my presence over his body. He looked up, pointing his nose straight up into the air, his eyes looking up at me hanging over him, but rather than freak out and run away, he looked up at me for a minute or two - and I looked down at him eye to eye - and then he put his head back down and continued eating. He stayed down there until I left.
Edited to fix typo
This message was edited Sep 29, 2010 1:36 AM
Heidi Chronicles: Cookie Time - Won't You Join Us?
Awwwww!
How sweet!
I had subscribed to your YouTube account to get e-mail updates when you added more videos to the Heidi Chronicles and was SO happy to see that you had loaded 7 new ones ^_^ I am off to view them now, I just had to stop in to DG to see if you had written anything else. Thanks!
Fun videos! Thanks for sharing. It must feel so strange to be out there alone surrounded by all those sweet masked little faces.
Thanks, June,
I hope you read the info above about each video. It will help in understanding what's going on.
Thanks, Susan,
Actually, the funny thing is that it has all become very natural to me now. I've been doing it for 5 years now. They are like pets to me now. Having them rush down the fence and run over to me and having them all around me eating is no different now than being in a similar situation with a bunch of dogs or cats. I interact with them and talk to them (where necessary) all as calmly as if they were any other pets. Sometimes I have to remind myself that, oh, yes, these are wild animals, btw.
For instance, these days when Heidi is eating from her dish and is running low on food, I think nothing of putting my hand down in front of her nose to put another handful in the dish, something I would never have done just a few years ago. Like I said, these days they are really no different from Widget, Kitty, and Cocoa - well, except that I don't invite them inside - yet. If they are on the patio when I open the door, Heidi and Dennis try to poke their heads in as far as possible to get a look around though. I think those 2 would like to come inside and look around, you know, just to see if there is anything else inside that they might like to have: a throw or faux-fur wrap to keep the nest warm in winter, a can of tuna, extra cookies, etc.
Wow. Not sure what happened with that storm that was heading for us. We are all under flash flood warning. Rain from earlier in the week is still standing on top of the ground, and we were expecting another 6 to 10in from that storm. The storm was expected to be here tomorrow around noon, but we were on high alert for flash flooding today. As my house is built 'on the slab' with no crawl space I worry about rising water. I've been somewhat concerned since yesterday and have been monitoring several weather sites in case I needed to take sudden action.
Earlier today the storm was upgraded to TS and named Nicole. All sources showed it coming right through here. Just now I checked for updates. I was hoping maybe updated projections would move the cone over a bit away from us. I was confused to find that all sites had removed their projections cones completely. I didn't know what to make of that.
Then I saw that the noaa site, which also currently shows no cone of projection for the storm, says the storm dissipated at 5PM today. Wow! I've never seen this before, but I think this means the storm died - is gone. Wow! Super! I feel like holding a 'no-hurricane' party. Everyone's invited. Yippee!
I sure hope I'm reading it right - that the storm has fallen apart and is gone for good. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to get all those raccoons, cats, and dogs to get along in the house together until the storm was over. Whew! Glad that's over. (Last night I counted 12 raccoons out there with me, kits included since they are getting almost as big as adults now, and that wasn't even the whole gang. Dennis and her 3 kits weren't there, nor was Bast and her 4. One or more of the yearlings and there kits were also missing. The total is 25 or more.)
Just added a new video. Sorry. This one I shot sideways by mistake. I do that a lot with the camera for photos, but unlike photos, I don't have a way to turn videos around. I'm posting it anyhow despite the error because it's very short and it shows the 2 kits arguing briefly over rights to the dish of food. The one kit 'bumps' the intruder away from the dish in a modified Shove pattern.
Usually, in the Shove, the 2nd raccoon would brace himself and push back so that the two would form a triangle of sorts (like an A frame roof) such that they are pushing against and supporting each other and if one moved away the other would fall. Here, the 2nd kit doesn't brace and push back, so he gets bounced away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24ZdexwwW70
I took this photo a month or so ago to show that raccoons love their toys no matter what. This is the leg/foot from the blue plush dog. One of the kits had taken the dog up near the house to play with it. They regularly move the toys around the yard/patio as they take them to different locations to play with them while waiting for dinner. It's a little like those toys you sometimes see in the doctors/dentists' waiting rooms, I guess. When Mom says, "let's go to the patio to see what's taking so long" the kit grabs a toy to take along.
One day while mowing grass, I accidentally ran over the blue dog. It came out of the mower chute in a couple dozen pieces with clumps of stuffing everywhere. I picked up all of the pieces I could find and tossed them. Obviously, I missed this one foot which must have been blown some distance away where I didn't see it. Soon after that, it appeared at the buffet, a good 40ft or more from the site of the accident. Since then it has moved around the buffet and yard many times. It's clear that the kits are enjoying playing with this thing, so I leave it for them.
I shot this picture one day while I was waiting for them to show up. Just wanted to show you this 'toy' they are still enjoying. I think they might even like it better now. The dog was almost as big as a kit. I find they prefer smaller toys. The foot is just right now.
Foot! The weather channel says even though the storm has dissipated (and much of the east coast which may include many of you as well) are still under high threat of severe flooding, wind gusts, and power outages. I don't understand this exactly but it seems as though the remnants of the TS have combined with existing systems and this is the result.
As I've explained before, our power lines run along a road that is virtually entombed by limbs of old oak trees which arch over the road from both sides to form a tunnel of moss dripping downward. In storms, these old trees loose limbs which in turn take out power lines and transformers. We loose power for hours in almost every severe storm, so be forewarned that I may go offline for some period of time over the next day or so. Don't assume that we're injured or anything like that. We may just be sitting around by candlelight waiting for the 21st century to be restored to our corner of the world.
Ok, things are turned the right way again now. Here is Dennis and her kits coming down the fence to dinner. Sorry, I didn't catch the part where the bush jiggles before they appear, but they do come down in that same spot where most of the raccoons come down. If you notice, you can see that little holly bush right beside where they appear on the fence.
They eat for a little while and then Dennis hears something in the neighbor's yard. She stands upright to get a better look. This was taken a while back when the kits were younger. Dennis, who normally isn't that concerned about little noises, was on high alert then due to the presence of her kits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsolLeRUZRw
Again, many of these videos were shot over the past few months. When I had the camera with me I would often just run it in video mode for a few seconds repeatedly making short videos of the kits. I find that I need to be videoing when something cute happens; otherwise, I'll miss it. Often, nothing particularly special happens and I end up with a bunch of short videos of raccoons just being raccoons. I keep them anyhow, as they form a great record of the gang over the years. A lot of the time when I'm out there, these are the kinds of things I see. Sometimes they do especially funny or cute things, but often this IS what I see.
Therefore, I'm showing you these video bits anyhow despite the fact that nothing special is happening in them. Some of you have expressed the desire to see what I see, and this is largely it, raccoons being raccoons, raccoons eating.
This video shows Heidi and her 2010 family eating. The one on the far left with his butt in the air is Mr Petey, of course.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uB7Mv6UegmE
Kits eating. When a new kit arrives with his mom (a yearling), one of the existing kits tries to scare the new kid away.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IehxxKaNK5g
Kits eating. Some things the kits do just defy words. Some things you just have to see for yourself. These kits get in cute positions as they eat. These videos are of Dennis' kits back in early summer when they were quite small/young. Back then Dennis was the only one bringing her kits to the buffet, hence they starred in most of the videos taken back then.
This was before the kits recognized cookies and before they had learned to see me as the giant treat dispenser.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9pe55NqJc4
Very short video of Dennis' kit eating animal cookies. This video is still from a while back, but here the kits are getting a little older than in earlier videos. Note how they now know about cookies. They know they like the sweet cookies and they recognize the cookies when they see them. In earlier videos when they were very young, the kits would walk around ignoring the cookies. Here they are actively looking for them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWnz46OK8_I
Another short video of kits eating animal cookies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOgquD6a_Uk
Last one of Dennis' kits eating cookies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huqQGgXHTAc
It rained - light to medium - all day today. Every time I checked it was raining. It was just a matter of how much. The best one could hope for was to find a moment of lighter rain if one needed to go out in it. Widget had to go out in the rain a few times as did I and the cats.
It was even raining lightly when I went out to feed the raccoons. I think they've grown accustomed lately to me not coming out when it's raining. They looked very happy to see me today. Before I could even sit down, I saw raccoons waiting at the top of the fence and called to them to join me.
While I was fixated momentarily on the raccoons coming down the fence, Petey, who must have been hiding in the nearby shrubs, came up beside me all happy and excited and looking for food. I gave him a handful of food and petted him. I little while later after everyone had settled down to eat, I leaned forward and petted him again.
It was only after I had been petting him a minute or so that I looked up to see Heidi watching me. I don't know if she was watching to be sure I didn't harm him or if she was just curious. She didn't try to stop me, and didn't say anything to him. She just watched quietly. When I stopped and sat back on my seat, she resumed eating.
Because it had been raining all day and for days and I knew the ground would be soaked and because it was raining still, I didn't take a lot of food out with me. I took maybe 1/2 what they normally eat. I just didn't want to see it go to waste. Even though I tried to find higher spots on which to locate the food, still it quickly swelled with water from both the ground and the rain that was still coming down.
Raccoons don't mind water, of course. They like it. Petey was standing in water while eating and was fishing bits of soaked kibble out of the water, but I know will not keep its shape long when exposed to so much water. Raccoons will eat wet kibble, but if it stays wet very long it will begin to disintegrate such that they can no longer pick it up. I didn't want to see valuable resources washed into the gutter system in route to the ponds, so I didn't take a lot out with me.
I tried giving each one a smaller quantity so that the bag would last longer and I would have some for new comers. Still it ran out quickly. When it did, I beat a hasty retreat as I didn't want to be out there when others arrived. I didn't want to have to explain that I was out of food for the night. But, at least everybody got some food, maybe not all they wanted, but some. (and it's STILL raining, too)
Cheryl- Thank you so much for each of the videos recently posted.
I know you have spent lots of time reviewing them and others just to decide which ones to post and then to compose a bit of narration to go along with the posts.
You are definitely one of a kind!!
Your devotion to the animals around you and also to sharing your "critter cuts" with us is so appreciated. I know that I would not know even a smidgen of what I have learned about Raccoon behaviour were it not for your Heidi thread.
How are you with supplies? I know you are t=still out of work and have wondered about your cabinet running dry.
I also am concerned about your pain/ activity status. re your meds working such that you have been able to carry on your chores and household activities at a tolerable comfort level.
I won't ask about job prospects, as I 'm sure you would have announced if you had any offers.
These are such hard time for so many people.
DG family often helps each other during lean times. Please let us know if you are in need of a little help for the buffet or yourself.
A hug & a prayer,
Sheri
Hi Sheri,
Thanks for thinking of me. I'm doing ok. Can't complain too much. Not having any pain at present. I've passed that part of the cycle now. Remember I said I would probably be great again by Monday. Well, by Tuesday I was able to go 8hrs or more beyond the time for my normal dose of meds and still with no pain. I was tempted not to take it at all, but finally decided I should go ahead and take it anyhow. I have little or no pain right now.
Other things in my life are daunting, but I'm working on them as best I can.
We managed to get through the remnants of Nicole w/o serious flooding. Are you effected by this system? I know flooding is expected in parts of NC.
Ruth,
I hope the storm isn't going to be a problem for you either. I think you are far enough off the coast to be ok. Hope so. Hope you don't have any flooding.
Wow, I saw North Carolina in the news with the flooding there. I'm so glad you escaped that; I was concerned!
still have 3 days to catch up on.... havent been on line in a few days... but holy cow, watched the weather today...
Cheryl -- did you have any flooding?? i was seeing photos of NC and thought of you!!
KyWoods & Terese,
Thanks for your concern. We made out ok. Parts of the downtown area that normally flood in heavy rain were flooded. In my area the water was laying up across the road [leading here] in places. At one point the ditches along the sides of the road were overflowing onto the road, the river was at its peak, the ponds in my neighborhood were overflowing onto surrounding lawns [because they could not empty into the river as designed], and there was standing water along the sides of the street I live on [because that water could not empty into the overflowing ponds as designed]. Needless to say, we were at our limit when the rain stopped, but we were incredibly lucky. My yard and house were not flooded, so I am immensely thankful.
On Tuesday, I was pretty worried because even the weather channel and noaa indicated that "dangerous" (their word) flooding was expected here in Charleston. When I woke up on Wednesday, we had all kinds of weather alerts and warning all indicating that we were going to receive some 7-12in of rain in that one day and dangerous flooding was expected. Local news had us all monitoring emergency information in case we needed to high tail it for higher ground.
But in the end, we were very lucky. We didn't get the kind of flooding that NC did. It looks like they got the flooding that had originally been forecast for us.
I will feel a lot better when this hurricane season ends. The waters of Africa just keep lobbing storms at us one after another and even stacking them up in route. I check the Atlantic ocean for hurricane stats several times a day lately because there is almost always one near us and one or more farther out in the Atlantic and heading this way. It gets nerve wracking.
Back when all the forecasts indicated that storm was coming through here and we were going to be flooded, I was surprised that no one responded to my posts. (I guess everyone was busy.) It looked pretty bad for a while (according to all of the weather sources). At one point it looked virtually inevitable that we would face severe flooding and possibly even a hurricane to boot. The ground here was already saturated from days of heavy rain earlier in the week, so if we had gotten the heavy rained they were predicting, we would have been in serious trouble. (And we are right at - and in some places below - sea level here, so we have drainage problems to start with. Many houses are built up on stilts for this reason. It would not take much to flood us.)
Thanks for thinking about us. Looks like we survived this one. Now I need to go check up on that other tropical depression out in the Atlantic and headed this way. (My heart goes out to our NC neighbors.)
It is totally soaking wet here though. Not dangerous, just very yucky. Everything is soaked. The ground squishes when you walk on it. Even the pressure treated wood of the back fence is completely saturated. The front lawn is on a fairly steep grade such that it rarely even gets enough water. It's quite rare for the front lawn to be water logged, but it is now. When I walk out there with Widget, I go 'squish', 'squish', 'squish' ever step of the way.
The buffet area is largely under water now, but, luckily, the raccoons don't seem to mind that at all. And I wear rubber, garden boots back there anyhow.
It's so wet that even Kitty has chosen to stay inside all day long today and most of last night, something she rarely does lately. I imagine she is staying inside because there isn't a dry spot anywhere outside for her to nap. There probably isn't a spot out there that isn't like a fully saturated sponge, a place that won't yield a few inches of standing water as soon as she tries to lie down on it.
But we managed to avoid the devastation of being flooded, so I'm happy. If the rain will stop for a while, the ground will dry out.
...about that tropical storm and the predicted flooding...it probably didn't help my attempts to get the word out that I basically said something like, "here are some videos of cute, fluffy, baby raccoons. We are about to be flooded in 2 days. Oh, and here are some more videos of those sweet, little raccoon babies."
;-)
I've been having internet problems - it keeps slowing to a crawl... I couldn't even post comments to the UTube videos and DG keeps erroring out.
Thank you so much for the videos♥
It was cute to see that when they are eating cookies, they lift their heads and sway around like they are transported to nirvana. LOL.
I've been praying for you a lot with the weather being so threatening, and will continue to do so. I hate that you have had it so bad this year. This must be one of the wettest on record for your area.
Me, too, keeping you and your weather conditions in prayer!
I will probably get to the library tomorrow so I can see all the videos--looking forward to it!
June,
I'm sorry to hear that you are having internet problems. I'm practically like a fish out of water w/o internet access. I don't know how we lived w/o it in the 'old days'.
I still have problems getting on DG every now and then, not often, but it does happen. The other morning around 4:30AM I was trying to check for updates when it errored out repeatedly. I gave up and did something else for about 15 min and then was able to get on DG w/o problems. I've not had a problem at YouTube, but I don't spend a lot of time there, nothing compared to the time I spend on DG.
You are very welcome for the videos. They were kind of 'ordinary' in that the raccoons weren't doing anything unusual, but I thought maybe you guys would enjoy watching them anyhow. I think the kits are just adorable no matter what they are doing. I'm glad you enjoyed them.
Don't you love the way they express themselves when eating those cookies?! I get a kick out of that. I was particularly trying to catch that on video along with how they sometimes hold the cookie between their two hands. In several of the videos you can see me repeatedly tossing cookie pieces into the picture for that very reason.
Did you also notice how the kits changed in their reactions to the cookies as they grew and aged? In the earliest videos when the kits are still very young, I keep tossing cookie pieces at them (almost like it's raining), and they just ignore the cookies - and me. If they finally eat a piece of cookie it's more accident than anything.
Then just a few weeks later when the kits are bigger (they grow like weeds at that age), you can see them walking around the area actively seeking those cookie pieces. At that point they also look toward me repeatedly because they realize I'm the source of the cookies. It's interesting, I think, to notice the changes in their behavior in such a short time. (In one video you can see Dennis rush into the picture to 'steal' the cookie I tossed to the kit, her kit.)
This has been a trying year. It's true. But I'm getting by - so far. As for the weather, I feel I can't complain too terribly much, not when I see the damage that system has wrought elsewhere from NC up through DC and even Boston. All things considered, I was very lucky. It can be nerve wracking this time of year when there is such a constant stream of tropical storms heading our way from both Africa and the Gulf (where that one originated). Heck, even now there are 2 such storms brewing out there in the Atlantic. Thankfully, it will be over soon, at least for this year. The good news, weather-wise, is that it is finally relatively cool here, low 80's by day, 70ish at night, a huge improvement over our temps just a few weeks ago.
Thank you so much for thinking of me and for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you, KyWoods,
Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. (I say us to include the critters. I'm sure flooding would ruin Kitty's day, and Widget...well, I have to drag him outside when their is dew on the grass as he just hates to get his feet wet.)
I hope you will enjoy the videos. Most of these are just the day to day normal stuff, just raccoons being raccoons, kits being kits; but as I said, I think kits are cute almost no matter what they do.
For about a month now the size of the group at the buffet has been fairly daunting. Mathematically speaking, the number of raccoons is actually the same as in early summer, but whereas the tiny kits of June barely nibble a small spoonful between playing and arguing, the tweens and teens of October eat like small ponies, or at least like their parents. So in June there were 5 or 6 adult raccoons out there, and they almost never all showed up on the same day - and the kits didn't count. Then in late August to early September all that changed as the kits kicked into gear and became eating machines.
For a while in early September I couldn't figure out where all of the food was going. Soon I was lugging a small dog food bag out there daily - filled to the top. Seeing how fast we were going through food, thinking I was being reckless, and recalling my earlier plans to cut back the amount served, I tried several times to cut back, but each time I took out less I found myself running out of food before everyone had arrived.
I actually couldn't figure it out for a while there, and then finally one day I looked around me and saw all those 'giant' kits, each now almost as big as its mom. A quick head count revealed that I was feeding a gang of 12, large by any perspective. Just about every adult out there had 3 kits this year it seemed - except for Bast who had 4. Ok, Cissy and one of the yearlings only had 1 each and Jerry only had 2, but 3 seemed the dominant litter size this season.
Bottom line, that nice manageable group of adult females we started with in spring somehow morphed into a huge, hungry gang about a month ago. It was a mixed blessing though since it was all those adorable kits bounding down the fence and toward me that made the past month at the buffet so much fun.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed the overcrowding. It has taken me a while to notice the trend, but it seems that Heidi has been in the process of thinning the crowd. I noticed weeks ago that Bast stopped showing up. Then a week or so ago I noticed that I wasn't seeing Dennis and her kits around very much. For about a week her kits didn't come to the buffet at all, and Dennis only came twice. The last time I noticed that she went the long way around the outside of the buffet area to allude Heidi's kits who have recently grown large enough to start taking over the 'Lieutenant' slot(s) and are now assisting Heidi in reminding others that their presence at dinner is no longer desired.
A few days ago Heidi and her kits were the only ones at the buffet. Then one of the yearlings showed up. Heidi went on alert as soon as she became aware of the yearling approaching in the distant forest and long before I could either hear or see that an another buffet visitor was in route. Well before the yearling actually arrived, Heidi started watching the forest. When the yearling came down the fence, Heidi growled an unmistakably serious warning.
As the yearling approached us, it became all the more apparent that her presence was no longer desired or allowed. Heidi continued to hurl threats at the yearling and a few times it looked as though she might attack. The yearling dragged me into it by sneaking around the outside and coming up to me to beg for food even after we both knew all to well that Heidi had told her to leave.
The yearling had never been that 'chummy' with me before, but she came to me because Heidi was poised to chase her off. If the yearling had 'parked' for dinner anywhere else in the yard, Heidi would probably have gone after her, but she came up beside me to eat because she knew Heidi was unlikely to start a fight so close to me. I hate it when they put me in the middle like that. It's hard for me to withhold food. I gave the yearling food and told Heidi she needs to reinforce her policies in the forest, because if they show up in the yard, I will feed them.
When she 1st came over the fence, the yearling had been accompanied by a kit. As soon as Heidi started growling at them and telling them to leave, the kit dropped back. The kit stayed back near the fence until the yearling received food and settled in to eat. Then with the disagreement apparently resolved, the kit tried to come over to eat with its mother, but Heidi would not let the kit come into the buffet area, and unlike its mother, the kit lacked the courage to disobey Heidi. The kit stayed over by the composter, alone, and hungry. I felt sorry for the little fella, so I tossed a handful of kibble all the way over there to him/her. I'm sure Heidi didn't appreciate that very much, but I had to do it.
Once I saw Heidi telling the kit in no uncertain terms that he/she could not eat at the buffet, I realized that Heidi was thinning the group. I knew that Bast hadn't been around for weeks and Dennis and her kits had all but disappeared recently. Heidi doesn't try to run them all off at once. She's much smarter than that. She cuts them from the herd one at a time. That way she only has to risk fighting with one raccoon at a time. Once that one is gone, she cuts another and so on. Thus she had cut Bast 1st, then one yearling, then Dennis, then another yearling, and now she's working on that one last yearling.
Basically, it looks as though Heidi plans to eliminate everyone now except her 3 kits. And, of course, if that's Heidi's plan, it will happen. I have greatly mixed feelings. On the one hand, all those growing youngsters were really packing away some food. It would be difficult for me to keep up with all of them right now, so from a financial perspective it's for the best. Still, I'm really going to miss all those adorable 'kids'. They really made it fun out there. (I sure hope they will remember me when they come back next spring.)
I'll still have Petey to 'play' with along with Heidi's other 2 kits. Heidi's kits are some of my favorites anyhow, but it won't be the same without that large group of friendly kits. I'll also miss Dennis. Knowing Dennis, she will probably sneak past security another time or two (sans kits) before she finally leaves for the season. It was fun having Dennis back this year, especially since she was so much more mature and well behaved. I know she also had a lot to do with making the kits (all of them) feel safer around me. I sure hope she will find a way to talk Heidi into letting her come back again next year. (Fingers crossed)
The others are not entirely gone yet - but they will be soon. For some reason Heidi and her kits didn't show up yesterday - and news must travel very fast in the forest, because everyone else showed up yesterday, Dennis and her kits (who hadn't been around in over a week) plus 2 of the yearlings and their kits plus Jerry and her kits. It was as though they all somehow knew that Heidi wouldn't be showing up. I can't figure out how they all knew that - unless they really do have some kind of community out there in the forest (despite what scientists say about raccoons being loners). It's as though Heidi mentioned to one of them that she wouldn't be at the buffet that day because she had to do 'xyz' and then that one told another one and so on and so on, pretty much the same way it happens it human society.
Tonight in addition to Heidi and her kits, that one last yearling was there, the same one that defied Heidi the other day. This time she didn't bring the kit with her. She came to me again, and once again I gave her food. Like I told Heidi, if she doesn't want them to eat here, she needs to keep them from showing up. Jerry also showed up along with one of her kits. Heidi wouldn't let them enter the buffet area either, but Jerry stood upright where she was back on the slope. Naturally, that melted my heart so that I had to toss her and the kit some food. So a few stragglers are still hanging on and trying to come to dinner, but I know Heidi. She will have them all gone very soon.
I just made it to the library and watched all of the above-mentioned videos, plus some of your others. I think I'll have this smile on my face for a long time! They are sooo adorable, and I just love hearing the interesting 'trilling' sounds they make. Thanks ever so much for sharing these, Cheryl!
Thank you, KyWoods!
Thank you! I'm so glad that you enjoyed them. :-)
Terese,
Your YouTube comment reminded me that I still had a group of additional videos ready to post. Thanks.
Yay! More video fun.
Like the others, these are older videos some taken as far back as early summer when the kits were new. Nothing earth shattering just more opportunities to be me at the buffet for a few seconds here and there.
This one shows a group of kits running into the nearby brush to hide after hearing a sound next door. One lone kit stands around wondering where everybody went (and waiting to be eaten by the imaginary predator) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33iRikaqRY
I really dont venture in there [Utube] often ... i[ll be home in a few weeks where i will have more free time - so i'll be able to check out the new videos.
Dennis' kits coming down the fence to dinner. Again this was shot in early summer (July 14) when they were younger and before they learned to think of me as the cookie dispenser. So this was also before they started running over to me on arrival.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A4NL8ACaVA
Ok, Terese,
I don't go there often either, mostly only when I have videos to upload. When I uploaded those the other day it said I hadn't been there for several months.
I was just letting you know that, thanks to your comment, we have more videos to watch. I forgot that I had put some aside the other day expecting to come back later and upload them, so I'm doing that now.
I keep forgetting to mention this but in some of the videos you can hear Cissy's [damaged] kit trilling and screaming in the background - which just shows how old the videos are. If you hear that wailing sound in the background in some of them (including those posted the other day), it's Cissy's baby.
Whatever happened to Screech? He just stopped appearing?