Heidi Chronicles: Dreaming of Spring

Terese,

The light bulb factory story is precious. ROTF!

That sounds just like me. Wish I could think of an example of my own gullibility. Love yours.

Hi Ruth,

Good to see you are still with us - and didn't leave thinking I had lost my mind. I was expecting we would hear strong words from you regarding the impossibility of the Apr Fools scenario w/Heidi. I thought the Kitty & Cocoa story would also seem very implausible to everyone, just the idea that someone would be looking for her after 16mo - but, again, I threw those stories together on the spot, and I'm not good at thinking on my feet that way.

One thing which I thought made the Kitty story improbably is the fact that she was very hungry when I found her (or she found me). If she had had a home a few blocks away, surely she would have gone back there for a meal or two during the time she was raising those kits on her own - and instead of coming here to approach a stranger for food. Oh, and if she did live anywhere in the neighborhood, you can be sure that Gladys would have known - and would have told.

Gladys makes a point of knowing everything that goes on in this neighborhood, and she is good. lol. I didn't mention it before, but she has been over here a few times over the past year trying to find out my job/financial status - ever since she 1st noticed that my car stopped leaving the driveway last year.

>>ever since she 1st noticed that my car stopped leaving the driveway last year.

one time years ago... our neighbor had come over to ask if DH lost his job... i think he had been home for a month or so... DH replied... Nope, just on vacation. [he was at a point, seniority-wise where he could 'build' his time off around vacation time into having about 2.5 months off. ]

those were the days....

but yea... i guess one does notice when a neighbor is out of work.... happened to both of my neighbors - both in the mortgage industry.
One is back on his feet, where the other now is in short sale....

June,

That's a good one, the google face recognition s/w. I love those techie apr fools jokes. As to 9/11, I watched it unfold more or less in real time after the 1st plane hit. I was in my office. My XF was at [his] home still. He had the news on while getting dressed and called me as soon as the 1st plane hit and the news cut over to the footage. I believed him but thought it was probably just another small plane like had hit the towers previously and by accident. When he kept insisting it looked more serious, I tried to go to cnn.com to see for myself.

Once I saw that I couldn't get to any of the news sites, I knew something serious was going on. I left my office and went down the hall to the main conference room where a bunch of us watched things unfold on the big 52in screen in there. An hour or so later after the Pentagon hit, I took the rest of the day off knowing I was too upset to get much of anything done that day. I definitely concur that the credibility of the person telling the story is essential to whether you believe it.

Terese,

One big difference (I hope) is that Gladys never stops by unless she is snooping for some specific info. She never visits just stops by on the sidewalk to snoop/gossip - and you can see her doing the same thing all the way down the street, not stopping everywhere just at strategic places where she thinks there is news to be gathered.

Your DH's story was a good one. Over the years I've worked from home a lot so my neighbors didn't pay much attention until the car hadn't moved (hardly) for a month or two. Even when Gladys came by to check up on me, she asked if I was working from home. I played it off much like your DH. I said, "No, just taking some time off." I told her after working so many long hours I felt I needed some time to unwind and smell the roses.

You guys were the only ones who got the real story. I kept a calm, poker face with everybody else, always maintaining that I was just enjoying a much needed sabbatical. My next door neighbor's [grown] daughter kept dropping off Avon books hoping I would buy stuff from her. (I never liked Avon and wouldn't have purchased even if I were still working, but you gotta figure she wouldn't have dropped off books for me to buy unnecessary things if she had known how broke I really was.) After a few months, even Gladys apparently fell for it as she stopped asking. When months went by, and I was still calmly playing with the cats in the front yard and tending my plants and the house hadn't gone into foreclosure, everyone decided I was ok. I'm rather proud of my poker face. lol.

I'm working my way s-l-o-w-l-y through responding to posts from the past week (or so). That's it for tonight as I'm 1.5hrs past my official bedtime - which I never make anyhow but still hoping.

Oh, Heidi is still carrying those kits. I feed them every night (except for those emergencies like Friday). They do a lot of amusing pushing and shoving but never fight. I see some very amusing things out there some nights. It's like when I turn on the light everybody freezes in whatever position they were in at that moment.

One night it looked like two yearlings were doing handstands, there tummies and feet together and practically in the air - if you can picture that. They got that way because both were trying to lay claim to the same circle of food. They had gotten 'butt' to 'butt' while each trying to push the other out of the way and get her body over the food (and nibble a little off the very edge - in front of her chest). They had pushed and shoved until they had somehow managed to get their back halves perched up into the air, each holding the other up like opposite sides of an A frame building - and STILL neither would give an inch, so there they stood when I threw the light on and they looked up from that positively silly position.

Of course, when I see that there are not enough piles of food, I add more. That particular time I believe there was another pile sitting untouched, but they both wanted the one that was farther from the door - location, location, location, even for raccoons.

Sheri,

I keep forgetting to answer your question about how Heidi looks when pregnant. I took a number of pictures of 'Beach Ball Heidi' over the years. If you scan back through earlier threads esp around this time of year (mar, apr), you should see them. To me the cover pic for this thread looks like pg Heidi, although she is actually just looking 'fat' there due to her coat standing upright in the cold last winter. When she gets really, really pg, she looks like on the cover shot except that her sides protrude out another 6in or so on each side. Near the 'end' when carrying a large litter she actually reminds me of a beach ball with head and legs, almost like those cartoon characters that get pumped full of helium.

Upon closer inspection, she doesn't look as huge this year as on some prior years, btw. I'm thinking maybe 3 kits.

Heidi is STILL out there eating. I always give her the most food, and she has been leaving a good bit behind most nights. Also, she is usually gone in 1/2 hour or so. While doing last minute things before bed, I checked out there and was surprised to find that she was still out there (an hour or more later). She had finished all of her food and was nibbling around on the patio alone, all the others having left already. I went out and gave her another pile of food. I checked again just before coming to bed (after walking Widget), and she was still out there. She had almost finished the 2nd pile of food.

I'm wondering if this may be the sign. Often she eats a 'ton' of food right before she goes off to deliver. Apparently, she knows it might be a while before she gets to eat again, so she eats like a football player the last night or so before the kits arrive. Looks like she might be doing that now.

The wind is really whipping to and fro out there. We have some potentially bad weather coming through tonight with risk of tornadoes. Can't do anything about that, so I'm off to bed. Had a very good day today, btw. Virtually pain free. Those shots really helped a lot. Good night, All!

Almost forgot. Remind me if you don't mind, and I'll switch the threads out tomorrow.

Sure sounds like Heidi is near to term, between the ravenous appetite and the defined look to the belly. Such a smart lady to stock up on food before going into labor, esp. since she always looks so rough when she first returns.

Ruth,

Heidi is always one super smart lady. I would LOVE to be able to suspend reality for a moment and just sit down and chat with her one on one just to 'pick her brain' - maybe next April Fools day. Wouldn't that be awesome though?

So far she is still around. No sign of a birthing yet.

They are really putting the kibble away right now. They started the new bag of kibble on Saturday. I will be surprised if it gets us through this Friday before it's empty (1wk). There are some 10 raccoons out there with her group/shift and 2 more shifts (smaller, 5 or less) after them. I'm hoping she will trim the size soon. If not I'll have to cut the food back a bit to 'remind' her.

Will try to remember (and find the time) to switch the thread tomorrow.

Oh man, that would be awesome to sit and just talk things over with Heidi; I'd love to hear her perspective from her own point of view. That's an April Fools I could really get into.

That would be a neat conversation!

I would tell her aboutn that neat hidey place for her & babies under cheryl's bed ^_^

ROTF, Sheri!

Good one. :-)

Ok, Who spilled the beans? Who told Heidi what I said last night about wanting her to cut down the number of raccoons out there? Ruth, did you tell? Weren't we JUST talking about wishing we could have a chat with Heidi? If anybody gets a chance to do that, please ask her how she knew.

Tonight, just one day after I typed that about wishing she would cut down the number, I turned the light on to find her standing there alone. By the time I went outside, I found 2 others, a total of 3 including Heidi. Yesterday there were 10 or more. Even after I put the food off and turned the light out for a few minutes, no others showed up tonight.

Either this is one heck of a coincidence or (1) someone told her what I said or (2) Heidi reads this thread daily or (3) Heidi reads minds, mine at least. Either one of these options is hard to believe. lol. But she sure did get rid of that whole annoying crowd - and fast. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm back to that image of the raccoons holding an after hours meeting in a clearing in the forest where they bring their laptops and log on to DG to read what was said about them.

Well, as you can see, I didn't get the thread changed YET. Truth be told, I guess I'm still having some difficulty adjusting to this whole work thing after my hiatus. This morning I slept 30min with the alarm blaring in my ear, got up late, and rushed to work STILL sleepy. 3 cups of coffee later, I came home this afternoon, fed Kitty & Cocoa, walked Widget, made a quick check of my irises and clems with Kitty and Cocoa in tow, took a few photos, fed Kitty again, then came inside where I passed out only waking up 30min ago to walk Widget again, pet Cocoa some more, feed the raccoons, and write this after which I'm going back to sleep. That's my new schedule, at least for now until I get the hang of this.

I am sure that she checks the thread every so often - she probably keeps a blackberry hidden in all of that fur.

ROTF! Of course. I forgot about all the connectivity options for raccoons these days.

Edited to add a phrase.

This message was edited Apr 8, 2011 12:46 AM

Now there's a priceless image: Heidi and her smartphone (4G, of course) chairing the nightly forest meeting. And she is always, always one step (at least) ahead of the human, isn't she? Truly amazing, and humbling.

I bet she has an IPad in the nest. LOL.




akk! can't spell!

This message was edited Apr 8, 2011 6:03 PM

And she probably keeps a daily journal on that iPad, not to mention the minutes of the daily forest meeting....

I think she was impressed with the hidey place under your bed and the fact that is was small. She must not have wanted anybody else in on her secrets, or getting any big ideas about sharing your bedroom. After all, we all know how proper Heidi is about things including manners and order. The other many raccoons?....not so much.
Just her way of protecting you, Cheryl

I thought Raccoons used the "blackberry" line.

Good one, Debbie!

Uh, oh. Guess who never DID change the threads? Yes, Me-E! Sorry. Getting used to working again has been tougher than I thought. I am slowly getting the hang of it I think. Don't have time to switch threads right now though. I'm already 13min past bed time and haven't even had a chance to sit down and just rest yet.

I wanted to tell you a few things. Only have time for the one now though, so here goes.

The raccoons are out there having a HUGE patio party tonight. I ran out of their cat food on Friday. Not a money issue this time but a time/energy issue. Still getting used to the job thing. Coming home beat. Yaddah, yaddah. Over the weekend I rested and cleaned house. Never did find time for shopping, until today that is.

Saturday when I looked out at all those hungry raccoon faces and me with no food for them, I improvised. I did my best to put together pot-luck dinner from things I needed to get rid of anyhow and things I had been saving for them and forgetting to use. I served it up in multiple courses, going back to look through the fridge, freezer, and pantry again and again each time they finished the last course and kept looking at me for more.

I have to confess that I actually served up a few handfuls of the pricey, EVO, dried cat food from the cat room for Heidi. I know she doesn't like left overs. Heidi is very special to me. I figured it wasn't too much to ask to feed her the premium stuff the one time, and maybe the extra nutrition would be good for the babies. So Heidi got EVO. Ok, two servings, several handfuls each, plus 2 'old', outdated eggs which she said were perfectly fine, and part of a block of suet (for dessert).

As to the others, for the 1st course, I served the remains of the last batch of dog treats I made for Widget. Those were my best yet. Widget loved them, and even Kitty and Cocoa gave them a taste - their choice. Cocoa actually ate a small piece of one, and Kitty gnawed on one, a large one, for a few minutes. I had maybe 4 - 6 cups left, not nearly enough for the raccoons, but all I could think of at the time, so I put them out for whoever wanted them along with a handful of 'less than perfect' grapes that had fallen to the bottom of the bag and a package of s/w buns that got a bit of mold before I could use or freeze them, the result of my being to exhausted and pain-wracked the 1st few weeks of the job to use them or put them away. Thus they became raccoon food.

When that was gone I went back to the drawing board, I mean fridge, and came out with some eggs that expired in late February. They were probably still good, esp since I had kept them in what I knew to be the absolute coldest spot in the freezer, but I don't like to take a lot of chances with eggs, so out they went. Heidi had finished her food and walked away, heading to the forest, but she actually turned around and returned when I went out there with the eggs - just goes to show how good their sense of smell really is.

I rolled the 1st egg across the patio to Heidi. One of the others made a run for it, but Heidi quickly made it clear that THAT was HER egg. While she was eating the 1st egg, I rolled eggs to the others. I saved one last egg just in case Heidi would care for 2nds - and she did.

When the eggs were gone and the raccoons were STILL out there, I once again ran around the kitchen looking high and low and thinking, "raccoons, raccoons, what do I have that raccoons would like?" That's when I saw those blocks of suet stacked on the shelf. I had bought years ago for the birds. They were the premium stuff with lots of fruit and nuts in them, different flavors, and one with insects. These were the ones that remained after I gave up on feeding birds (for now). When I was cleaning some months ago, I ran across them and put them aside for the raccoons. They always dragged the suit off when I put it off for the birds, so I figured why not serve the remaining suit blocks to the raccoons directly.

I removed the blocks from their packages and set them out on the patio to see who might be interested. Actually, they were quite popular. Heidi even ate some (for old times sake). I messed up though as I should have cut them into chunks 1st. I put the whole blocks out, and the 1st raccoons to reach them grabbed them up, one each, and ran away with them - to avoid sharing.

Finally - no, that's still not all - I went back for the last of a box of maple walnut instant oatmeal. It was an old box, part of the pantry stash, one of the few items that was deemed too far gone to eat. It was dated some 4 or 5 yrs ago and had that rancid oil smell, probably from the nuts. That was enough to keep me from eating them, but instead of tossing them I put them aside for the raccoons. That night they came in handy, too. I poured the 5 remaining packets in a large bowl, added water, nuked them about 2 minutes, and shoved the bowl in the fridge to cool about 1/2 way through the multi-course meal. When everything thing else was eaten, I went back for the oatmeal. I put it in the plastic containers the suit came in and set that on the patio to see if the raccoons would eat it. They LOVED it.

When the pot-luck was done, it occurred to me that the raccoons had actually got over. They had gotten more food that night than on a regular night. Usually, I just put a spot of food down for each raccoon and leave. I don't stand around serving 2nds and 3rds until they are full, not this year anyhow. With the pot luck I was so concerned about finding enough food for them that I ended up stuffing them to the gills. All in all though, it went well. The raccoons left sated, and I had managed to pull it off with 'throw away' stuff - and get rid of the stuff. All's well that ends well. Right?

Unfortunately, when Sunday came and went w/o me making that trip out for kibble, that night I ended up turning the lights off and pretending not to be home - like you do on Halloween when you're out of candy. And I PROMISED myself that I would get that food after work today - and I did. I had a full chore list for after work today and got it all done. Now the raccoons have finished their feast, and I'm off to walk Widget one last time and go to bed. All in all, a good day.

I'm REALLY going to try to get the thread changed tomorrow. Honest.

That's quite a feast: the raccoon version of Christmas in April! And a great use for stuff that would've gone to waste (except for the dog treats, maybe).

Ruth,

I felt pretty good (and thrifty) about that meal. Widget was still enjoying the dog treats, but I was willing to 'sacrifice' them since I knew I could make more over the weekend. The treats had also been made largely with throw away items, flavored as they were with hamburger drippings and a small box of chopped spinach that had been in the freezers since well before my recent 'vacation' (another item from the old food stash). Between my vacation, dog treats, and raccoon meals, I've managed to use up just about everything from that huge stash of slightly aged pantry goods. It also feels good to have cleared the pantry and made use of those items.

I FINALLY started that new thread. I'll be back later to post the End photo.


Link to new thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1174498/