Heidi Chronicles: Spring Fling 11

Thank you very much Cheryl.
Pookie (today responded quicker to "Presley" than he ever did b4 to Pookie)....hmmmI
I do so appreciate your thoughts and prayers. I .like the idea of pictures and stories on Elvis' thread. thanks for sharing the link here.
I got him at 4 months sometime in August, so we had exactly 15 years together. God surely blessed me last November when I brought Pookie home from Carolina Poodle Rescue. I am quite sure that he and Elvis are related as they looked exactly alike in profile or front on...+ came from the same area and Elvis' breeders passed away just 4 years go, so Pookie indeed could have found in close proximity to Elvis' birthplace.

Hugs to all & I appreciate the love that I feel emanating from my DG friends.

Sheri

Hugs to all

Saw the 1st baby last night, only one and only for a minute. Not sure whose it is. I had a feeling they were probably out there near the patio but hiding. Heidi used to sit right up against the back door to wait for me, but lately things have changed. Now one of the yearlings waits near the door to get my attention - they are very smart, so they realize that one of them needs to be visible when I look out to check on them. When I see that one younger female and no sign of Heidi, I figure she has already left for the night. Then by the time I get out there, there she is. It's the same thing every night lately.

Now that I've seen the little one, I'm guessing Heidi and the others are waiting a short distance away, in a sheltered spot with the babies. That one yearling is tasked with flagging me down at the door. When she sees me, she lets them know, and usually disappears, probably going back over to the group briefly. By the time I gather my things and fill the bag, the adults are all in place on the patio waiting to be fed. The little ones apparently stay in the hiding spot over in the shrubs.

Last night when the group came to the patio to eat, that one kit followed them. There is always the one adventurous soul who just can't stay back for long. When I opened the door to go out, the kit fled back to the hiding place. But now that the kits are starting to venture out of hiding and are curious about the patio, it's likely just a matter of time before they make there way to the patio.

As you probably know, seeing those kits always motivates me, even when I swear I'm not going out there. So now I'm thinking maybe I'll mow the lawn and try to get back there this weekend - although the change to a newly mowed lawn along with the change of me going out there again will likely make them more timid initially. I'll take some cookies, marshmallows (bought a bag last time I was at the store), and toys along to tempt them out of hiding.

Also, I've been touching Heidi with the empty food bag lately - to see how she reacts. It's a small bag, maybe 10" long. When it's empty and flat, I touch it to her side/neck. She just looks at me like, "What?" Then she goes back to eating.

Yahoo! Cheryl's buffet & playground will be in full swing soon... :-) (Is this later than usual?)

Neat-O! Have you got all of the toys out there and waiting for them? Gosh, I wish that you could install cameras and lighting back there so we could see them☺ I guess that there is no such thing as raccoon-proof lighting or cameras...

THey are usually there end of June beginning of July....but maybe because the buffet has been moved, they are just not coming up towards the house.

Sorry, Everyone. You know that saying, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." I guess that is me this year. I have a difficult time just getting the mandatory things done lately. I'm still hoping this is a phase that I'll eventually snap out of.

Anyhow, tonight I went out to feed them on the patio. Even as I approached the door in almost total darkness, I could make out the faintest outline of Heidi's ears as she sat against the glass door waiting and hoping. Tonight she would be very happy indeed as I was carrying the bottom 'bowl' of what had been a very lush and sweet watermelon, the outer few inches saved for her, scooped out with a spoon, and piled high inside the 'bowl' just as she likes it.

I stepped out to find that a new little one had joined the group. This one was a bit bigger than the 2 I had seen the other night but still very much a cute, little toddler. For a few moments he/she didn't run away but just stood there looking up at me from only maybe 6 to 8 ft away. Then, when the little one became overwhelmed and started to dive for cover under the roses, I spoke sweetly, "It's ok, sweetie". Incredibly he stopped in his tracks 1/2 way in and 1/2 way out, his hind end protruding from under the low shrub. I spoke some more, and finally convinced the tiny fur ball come out again where he gingerly picked up a few bits of kibble and ate them even as I stood looking on.

I was quite surprised that this little one was so willing to come near me to eat when I had not spent the time out there to get to know him/her. Clearly, this is one of the more assertive and inquisitive kits. That plus the manner in which all the adults around him were eating hungrily and showing no fear had given him the courage to come out to eat even with me there.

When I was pouring the food for the adults, the baby had disappeared briefly. When I called him back to the patio, I realized I had failed to give him a 'place' setting. I went back inside and emerged with more kibble (and a few marshmallows). While talking sweetly, I managed to convince him to stay there at the corner of the patio while I gently tossed him some food. The little fella cringed a bit each time the kibble landed at his head, but he stayed his ground, seeming to grasp the fact that I was sending him food not throwing things at him. I tossed a bit to the two adults near him just to let him see that they were unafraid.

Before I left, I tossed a marshmallow to each of the adults and one to the kit. What an adorable little fluff ball he was. I didn't stay out there very long, not like I used to, but I did enjoy my moments with him/them. At some point Heidi cast me that, "Don't you have other things to do inside?" look, and I left them to eat in peace confident that other kits would surely be joining this one very soon. (Sadly, I STILL need to mow the back lawn so I can get out there. One day.)

Thanks for the update. :)

Hi, Amanda,

You are most welcome! Sorry it was so long in coming.

I was starting to look for pictures to lighten!!! O:)

LOL, Debbie!

You'll never live that one down. It was one of those adorably cute moments here at DG.

Incidentally, the other night when that cute little one came out to interact with me a bit, I came back inside thinking that I need to take the camera with me and get a pick of him. I'll be needing a new cover pic soon anyhow.

I can't wait....been awhile since we have had some baby pictures!

I learned my lesson about cleaning up pictures....but what a good laugh that was.
Just trying to be helpful! lol

Cheryl -- almost missed it....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR FRIEND!!!

Terese

Oh my goodness! Thanks tcs for drawing attention to Chery's birthday.

Happy Birthday Cheryl! I hope you feel well enough to celebrate with the raccoon's tonight. I hope you have a wonderful & (relatively) pain-free day & year!

A birthday? I missed a birthday almost! OMG....so embarrased!

Happy Birthday Cheryl!!! I hope it is a great day.....cupcakes at the buffet tonight!

Happy Birthday♫♪to☺♫You!

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!

Thank for all of the wonderful birthday wishes. I totally understand about missing birthdays. It seems no matter how many times I look at the birthday announcements, I invariably seem to miss the days when my DG friends' names are listed.

I had a nice day, no huge celebration but nice. Most days in lieu of lunch I grab a quick bite at my desk and keep working. That works for me as I get more done, don't get stressed out fighting traffic, and don't loose speed and enthusiasm by breaking for a long lunch - lunch often leaves me lazy. Since I end up 'donating' that extra time to the company, I don't feel guilty when I need to take some time to run an occasional errand during the day. And since I don't often take a real lunch break, once in a great while when I do go out for lunch it's a very special treat.

Yesterday, I took myself out to lunch (there are just no ladies here with whom to lunch) as a small part of my birthday 'celebration'. It was nice out, sunny, a gorgeous day, mid 80's so not too hot, and I left shortly after 11AM to avoid the traffic. I haven't found a lot of restaurants near here, but recently when I went to renew my license I found an area very close to work where the fast food chains are quite upscale, not at all the norm. I grabbed a Coke and a huge and very delicious hamburger with lots of crunch lettuce, onions, and the like. It was very nice to get out, and since I don't do so often, I allowed myself the freedom to take my time w/o worrying about getting back on some schedule.

Although my burger was 'to die for', about 1/2 way through it I was too full to eat another bite, at least not w/o being miserable. I hated to throw it away, but I've learned that large, juicy burgers don't often keep well as the contents tend over time to soak into the bread leaving it all wet and 'doughy'. Plus there is no easy way to reheat such a combo of cold and hot ingredients w/o making a mess. All in all, it's just best to start over with a new burger if you want one. So rather than waste all that great meat, I rolled it back up in the packaging, placed it in the bag, rolled that up, and stuck it in my purse. I knew someone at home would be thrilled to have it.

As it turned out, Widget and Kitty shared the loot, and watching them eat with enthusiasm I knew I had done a good thing. Before giving it to them, parcelled out in small bite size pieces, I removed the onion as that can be quite bad for them . I also removed the lettuce, pickles, and tomato figuring they wouldn't like that stuff. I gave Kitty 1/2 the meat, and gave Widget the soggy bun along with the rest of the meat. All were thrilled.

As for pain, I've been doing quite well lately on that front. Sometimes I lack for energy and enthusiasm. I figure that's probably a combination of hormones and pain pills, the side effects of which likely do leave me tired. Lately, I've been able to mount great enthusiasm while at work, and I'm very happy for that, but I come home tired, wanting only to nap and veg out. I try to get the essentials done and otherwise go easy on myself.

Thanks again!

Glad you treated yourself to a leisurely lunch for your b-day. Even happier to hear that your pain has been better! I'm sure that Widget & Kitty vote that your should go out to lunch more often! Enjoy your long weekend!

Some of my nicest birthdays are ones where I have taken myself out for a meal ^_^ It sounds like your Day was nice! (and I agree that Widget & Kitty probably want you to go out to eat more often!)

Last night I turned on the patio light and there on the mat and huddled against the door were a yearling and her 2 kits. These were the same kits I had seen previously, same yearling. Of the group, aside from Heidi, she is the most comfortable near me of all the yearlings, but even she often hides when I 1st walk out, only to reemerge cautiously moments later. The tiny creatures on my door mat caught me by surprise. They were so adorable, but I knew they would scatter as soon as I opened the door - and they did.

The kits and their mom moved away from the door as I walked out, food in hand. They didn't run away immediately, but as I began leaning down to pour food at various 'stations', they did finally scurry under the shrubs and disappear. It doesn't help that their mom gets a bit anxious when I walk out. As I mentioned, she often hides momentarily only to reemerge again. Thus, from the perspective of people wanting to interact with the kits, she doesn't set a very good example. Her lack of trust makes it unlikely that these kits will ever get very close to me.

I put out cat food and some marshmallows and left. A few minutes later I returned to the door to check on them. Sure enough, there were the 2 kits sitting right out on the patio amidst the kibble and eating. They were almost too cute to be real. I wanted to take them a cookie, but I knew they would just run away again, so I turned off the light and left them to eat in peace.

Kookie! :D

I love you. I have had to stop feeding every kind of critter because the neighbors don't like it or there are too many rats or the Canada Geese leave too much poo or SOMETHING.

Guess I need to move to the middle of nowhere. I just need to hit the jackpot - but gotta play to win.

Have a great day.

A.

Hi A,

After years of great enjoyment feeding my winged friends, I ultimately decided to put away my bird feeders. Having an endless supply of sunflower seeds out there day and night really did attrack rats - big time. At the time I didn't have a cat. I started to see a rat here and there, always outside. It didn't help that my backyard is adjacent to the forest. Then one day I went outside to find a really weird looking squirrel sitting on the feeder muching away. I did a dbl take and realized that, OMG, that 'squirrel' was actually a RAT. I was horrified. I had never had rats on my property before. Then I saw a program on how fast they multiply. The last straw was when the copperhead took up residence in my backyard, having no doubt come for the smorgasboard of rats to fill his dining pleasures. It was after a few run-ins with the snake that I decided the birds feeders had to go - at least for now. Someday I may try again, but for now I'm happy to be rat free, even though I do miss the birds. (I have to young indoor/outdoor cats now, and while they would likely do a great job of dispatching any rats who might think of moving in, they would also eat the birds, so I still can't feed the birds.)

People often comment that my neighbors probably 'hate' me for feeding the raccoons, but actually that couldn't be farther from the truth. First off, I didn't bring the raccoons to the community by feeding them. They were here long before I started doing so. In fact, I tried for years to find a non-violent way to get RID of them before finally accepting them and learning to share the land and any surplus I may have with them and even enjoy doing so. (On that note, recently I stopped off at McD's for Latte a few mornings on the way to work and grabbed some pancakes, too. I ate the pancakes, but saved the syrup for the raccoons - I know I'm weird. Who eats pancakes w/o syrup? But, I've been doing that since I was a kid. Anyhow, the raccoons LOVE to sip syrup from a McDs syrup packet. I just pull the top off and hand it to them. They hold it in their two hands and sip it like coffee from fine china.)

Even though I know the raccoons were here before I even arrived, nonetheless, one day not so long ago I asked my next door neighbor if he ever had any problems with raccoons on his property at night. The mere look of confusion on his face as he said, "Raccoons?" said it all. It was clear he could not even imagine why I would ask such a thing. He went on to say that he had never seen the 1st raccoon in his decades living there. I should mention that my backyard is enclosed by a 6ft privacy which keeps my raccoon friends safely out of sight of prying eyes. As for the neighbors, apparently, since I feed them quite adequately, the raccoons have little incentive to go pilfering around other homes, even those right next door. Despite their comfort around me, the raccoons are still quite terrified of ALL other humans, running for the forest the minute anyone speaks in an adjoining yard. With a bounty of good food and friendly service at my house, they don't seem to see the need to endanger themselves by going to other houses where people (and dogs) may be less friendly.

On an unrelated note, I don't think I've mentioned it lately, but while the yearlings are a bit skittish when I go out on the patio, sneaking out timidly from behind flower pots (but still coming w/in 1-2ft of me) and then running back when I go to pour food for them, these days Heidi walks right up in front of me, a mere 1-2ft from my toes, and stands upright waving her hands in excitement and walking backward (on two legs) as I approach. It as though we are briefly locked in some weird waltz, me walking forward, food in hand, Heidi standing upright at my feet, moving backward in lock step with me.

I have no doubt Heidi's pre-dinner greeting would terrify most people who would undoubtedly interpret such behavior as aggression. A few years ago it would have terrified me, too, before I got to know and understand her. But she actually is not being even remotely aggressive, and has never, ever tried to grab the food or anything of the kind. This behavior of standing upright in front of me as I approach is fairly new, and I'm convinced it is her way of trying to communicate with me her excitement and appreciation for the coming meal. In years past Heidi was much more reserved around me, but now that she has loosened up a bit, this is the result. As I approach with the meal she acts almost like a cheerleader, standing upright (to get closer to my face, the communicating end), waving her hands int he air, and practically clapping to show her happiness. I think she wants me to know that she appreciates the meal. After that she resumes her more concervative behavior. It's one of the few moments when I get to see Heidi let her hair down, so to speak.

She does another think that is very cute. Just last night I was thinking I need to try to video record it. As I am inside scooping up kibble for them, she watches me through the glass door. But she doesn't just sit watching non-stop. What's cute is that she looks in for a few seconds then disappears back into the darkness only to reappear at the glass door ever few minutes to look in again. It's like she's checking on me, checking my progress, making sure I'm still working on the task of preparing her meal. By now she knows the routine very well, so between going back to check on the kids, hide out in the shrubs, and share the progress report with the others, she returns every other minute or so to look over the bottom door panel to check up on me and guage my progress - and you can see very clearly that is precisely what she is doing.

Sorry that you haven't been able to find a form of wildlife that you can enjoy without disturbing the neighbors and or encouraging rats. (Oh, on that last note, I try not to give the raccoons more than they will eat before leaving. If they do leave any, the opossums are usually waiting nearby on the back fence for their turn. Between them, they rarely leave a crumb. Still, I imagine a rat or mice must get a crumb here and there, but with 2 very active felines predators patroling the grounds, any rat crazy enough to come to my house will soon be found dead by the front door, offered up as a gift from my feline friends. Other than these rare gifts, I never see any sign of rats or snakes around my house now.) Give it time. Who knows what creature may show up one day just as Heidi showed up in my life/yard. You just have to be ready and have an open mind. As with Heidi, the animal that shows up may not be the one you were expecting or hoping for, but it may be the one for you, just the same.

I appreciate the sentiment - I have had my share of critters show up - I have been in animal rescue for years and even as a trial attorney did what I could on a pro bono basis until it all took its toll. Actually, now that I think of it, I suppose an animal did come to find me. A neighbor lady in the next block has a goat in her backyard (!) which I discovered this spring. My Lhasa died in December. She wouldn't or couldn't walk that far. My other dog and I passed this house and saw the goat - I thought the goat was new. Actually it was just we hadn't walked around the block in a long time.

I left a bag of sweet feed for the lady and a note saying how cool I thought it was that she had a goat in her yard. She in turn, left me a thank you note on my door which said to come over any time. She probably didn't expect me to take her up on that offer, but I went to visit and discovered that she didn't feed him very nutritious food, he was tethered and occasionally his chain would get wrapped up around the stake in the ground limiting the amount of "slack" he had, once it got hot the flies and the mosquitoes, no shade, no clean water. The woman means well. I am not sure if she is a hoarder, per se, but she has a tent full of "fancy" pigeons out back (they are really beautiful!) she feeds up to a dozen neighborhood cats, she has ferrets inside, 3 large-ish dogs, God knows what else inside.

So I've adopted the goat in a way. She and I have had our growing pains, her coming home from work to find me in her backyard EVERY DAY was probably irritating at first. I felt conflicted about it, but her pouring out apple jacks or several slices of white bread, or several lengths of bamboo didn't seem like a balanced healthy diet. I was walking around the block initially. One day I discovered he didn't have water so I came back in the car with a gallon jug. Started walking with a gallon in a canvas bag. Soon it was 2 gallons. Now I have a bag of alfalfa forage and a bag of mare and foal pellets in my Ford Focus hatchback. I drive over there with 4 or 5 gallons of water every night because usually the birds and cats outdoors need water too.

It takes me about 30 minutes. Sometimes I take bulk seed to the pigeons from the natural food store. I read that pigeons like dried peas(!), hard wheat, and barley - things they would find in the fields if they were out there naturally. The pigeons are all white with brown/black eyes. They have feathers down their legs and look like clydesdale horses! :)

Love 'em.

Well it's time to go and do some more Zoo Chores. The goat (his name is Billy) likes his butt /back-side scratched. He backs up to me as a sign. Sometimes when I am next to him scratching his back looking towards his tail, he will turn and rub my backside a little with his horns. HA! Going to give him a good butt-scratching.

Say "hey!" to Heidi and the kits.

A.

A.

Hey Amanda, Kudos to you for helping somebody well-intentioned, but not necessarily capable of properly caring for all her creatures. I'm glad she's accepted your wonderful 'intervention."

Thanks. What's funny is she says she's found a "home" for the goat (assuming one not on a chain with acres to roam) but she decided that I was the best thing for the goat and that now I am his surrogate mother. :D

She doesn't know that I can't hardly afford to feed the goat (I purchase alfalfa forage and mare and foal horse pellets for the goat from the feed/mill store, Southern States), but I will continue to do so as long as he's there/I'm here. I was sort of hoping she would give him to someone with pasture, but looks like we're stuck together. I'd take him in here, but he'd destroy my garden. I understand the city had some hearing about the goat (?). I'd assumed there was some ordinance against having a goat in the middle of the "city" but apparently the ordinance speaks specifically to cows and chickens, but not goats.

Under the law, if you include something specifically and do not include something else, then that something else is deemed to be excluded. Since the ordinance speaks to cows and chickens but not goats, it's apparently okay to have goats in the city of greensboro - who knew?!

The goat is funny as hell - has a personality - I feel a responsibility to him, and it's hardly an effort to go over there everyday. Besides, I'm down to 1 dog, 3 cats, an iguana, and 4 tropical fish. That's down from 4 dogs, 6 cats, 200+ gallons of fish/critter tanks, and a multitude of other critters and creepy-crawlies. So I have love and energy to spare. ;)

Maybe I'll start a goat thread somewhere else on DG. I have learned a lot about rearing them! Thanks for your kind comments.

A.

p.s. This photo was taken in March or April - he looks a lot better now!!! :)



This message was edited Sep 8, 2011 9:44 PM

Any chance you could record Heidi doing the cheerleader/clapping thing?

Thanks!

is there a new threAd or just not much news. I've missed the Heidi tales this summer.

Sheri

Hi Sheri,

I need to start new threads. I'll post the links to all of them here, hopefully this afternoon.

I'm afraid we all for the most part missed the Heidi tales this summer. I just didn't get around to going out there to spend time with them. Just the other day I was thinking, with a huge sigh, that this will be the 1st crop of kits who will grow up w/o knowing me since I 1st met Heidi so many years ago. It was just a bad/difficult year for me. Getting back to work was a lot harder than I ever imagined. For the 1st month I was really in a fix. I had to wear knee braces at work (very attractive look) and by the time I got home each day it was all that I could do to limp pathetically around to feed the cats before falliing into bed in agony. It really was awful back then. In the months that followed, things improved considerably over those 1st few weeks, but I still had a good bit of pain, especially in my knees. Walking up and down even that tiny step at the back door was sufficiently painful that often I would decide to skip it. Just taking care of Widget and the cats was a huge challenge in those days. I fed the raccoons sporadically but not dependably during that time. That was before the arrival of the kits.

In addition to the difficulties due to pain, I found that I also had tremdous difficulties with my energy level once I started back at work. When I was out of work last year, I could work around the house cleaning and cooking and so forth for an hour or two and then when I got tired I could stop for a nap before doing more. At work I don't have that option to take a nap when I get tired. Working 8hr+ 5 days a week was quite a challenge (and still is). Even now I have sometimes have great difficulty making it through the day. I don't know whether it's due to the Big 'M' or lack of sleep (since I often don't sleep well at night) or my pain meds or perhaps a combination of all of these things. Whatever the reason, I struggle to get through the day (sometimes, not always) and 'stumble' home exhausted. Often I literally go straight to bed, without dinner even, as soon as I finish feeding the cats. I did this all last summer. Consequently, I missed the raccoons more often than not. I would go to sleep before dark and thus before they arrived. If I woke up at all it would be around 2-3AM, and they would be gone.

Hopefully, next season will be better. This season, between my struggles with pain and with very low energy I just did not get out there to see the raccoon very much. To be honest, this past summer I've had difficulty meeting any of my obligations. The housework has fallen behind as has the yardwork. Even the cats sometimes have difficulty getting inside to eat. Since I tend to go straight to bed after work, if they aren't at the door when I get home, they don't get in. Poor kitties. I think this also plays a part in some of Cocoa's 3 day absences. Poor fella just can't get in. I wish I knew the source of and solution to my low energy levels. I did post to the Heidi thread some over summer but nothing like I usually do. Anyhow, I'll post the links for you this evening when I get home.

Cheryl,

I am so sorry to hear of your struggle to have a comfortable life. Although I am all too familiar with the difficulties you describe. On the rare occasion that I have a few days in a row full of commitments, it takes a couple days of rest to recover. I am very blessed to be on military pension + SSD.

You are in my prayers, dear friend.

Sheri

Thank you, Sheri,

You are blessed to have your life arranged in such a way that the need to work to support yourself is not an issue. It doesn't make your pain any less real nor eliminate countless other struggles in life, but it does remove one huge source of stress and anxiety.

I'm doing pretty good right now with respect to the pain, but that tends to be a constantly changing situation. Any day, at any moment, the pain could ramp up with a vengeance, and probably will at some point. Knowing this and knowing that I must somehow manage to keep working is always on my mind. Just lately, I'm having difficulties sleeping. Many night I will be awake all night long, but I still must go to work. It's hard. very hard. Yet, I know, that I too am blessed in many ways. At least I have a job and a good job, as many do not. Anyhow, I'm hanging in there. It's a day to day thing right now, but I'm hanging.

Oh, as you can see, I didn't get to make new threads yet. Like I said before, in the mornings I'm always overly optimistic about what I will get done after work. Hoping to get to that soon.

I've not been feeding the raccoons the last few weeks. Just too much going on right now. However, one night last week I put out some leftovers. I had warmed one of those large, family size, frozen entrees, a chicken & rice dish from Stouffers. As far as frozen meals go, I find them to be of higher quality than most - except for the healthy & vegetarian types like Amy's, that is. The dish was full of large chucks of white chicken meat, enough to have chicken in pretty much every bite, but, while impressed with the chicken, I wasn't that fond of the dish. I ate 1 serving and decided to toss the rest. I hated to send all that rice and nice chicken breast meat to the landfill when I knew the raccoons and other night creatures would love it. Thus I decided to set it out on the patio, sill in the folded paperboard dish it came in (and cooked in).

Later that night, I heard some noise out back and went to the patio door to get a look. There at the door was one of the youngsters, a yearling. She was too cute standing there, so I went out to give her some cat food. The large, paperboard dish that the chicken/rice came in lying there on the patio where it was already totally empty and opened out flat, now just a piece of heavy paperboard, no sign it ever contained food. The noise I had heard had been the raccoons out there arguing over the last of the food. I put out several small piles of cat food, said 'goodnight' to the one yearling who was willing to come near me, and then went back inside. I haven't been out there since, but seeing how quickly they found those leftovers it's clear that they still come by here each night to check.

I can't even recall the last time I saw a raccoon at the feeder, until tonight... I do believe it was a different one, as when i saw Buddy in the window, it seemed a bit uneasy.. plus this one is much larger then the mother i used to see. there was the few times i saw mom and kit, or a few [once i thought i saw 3 lil ones together] but again... it's been months.

water is Off in the Park [we are seasonal - 6 months on 6 months off.....] this is considered the Off Season -- we go home on Thursday....
i miss seeing the coons... but i think i have saved a bunch not buying so much BOS. a few time i tossed chx bones in a bags and tossed them under the deck across the street... just knowing someone would come and get them... but I have had no sightings in months. Plus... DH would not approve that i feed the critters... birds and squirrels are enough, but not coons. so I do it on the sly... I ran out to out something in the "burn pile", and put out a small bucket of BOSS, I'll see in the AM if the raccoon came back for it.... when i went out, it had left the feeder... but i did hit the leaves being rustled, as something was running up a tree.

Glad to hear you still have visitors..... certainly hope Heidi makes it another winter.

Yes, so do I. Heidi and Cheryl!!

ROTFLMHO, Sheri!

I hope Heidi makes it through another winter, too - AND Cheryl! It's the 'and Cheryl' I'm laughing hysterically over, of course. I'm quite somber when thinking about Heidi and the risk that sooner or later she won't make it back. I sure hope it will be a long time before that day comes. I fantasize about moving away, moving to another house somewhere, moving for some other reason, perhaps to downsize both my house and my bills. Then in a Schrodinger's cat sort of way, Heidi would live forever. She really wouldn't, of course, but in my mind she would. What I'm saying is if we never actually see her go, never witness the event, then it didn't really happen. Right? If she were still alive and well when I moved, we could go on forever believing she was still alive. Unfortunately, I can't move in this financial climate. I would loose my shirt - and my pants - in the sale. The good news is the old girl seems quite healthy still. She really seems to be hanging in there.

Lately, I've been so caught up in Cheryl's issues that I forgot all about Heidi's age. I guess I should get back out there and feed her through the winter. That's the one thing I can do to try to prolong her good health and strength.

As for hoping Cheryl makes it through another winter, I found that to be adorable. All my problems and complaints not withstanding, I think, short of an unanticipated event, I think I can probably hold out another year. lol.

Truth be told, I'm really worried about my sister. She's a good 10yrs younger than me. I always thought of her as the healthy one, but lately she's having some serious health problems. I've been wanting to tell you guys about it but just havent had time. Now it seems the longer I wait to tell you, the more things keep getting piled on her list of ailments. It really is getting scary. Hopefully this weekend I'll find time to make new threads so I can tell you about that on the OT thread. Gotta run. work becons.

I have kept your sister in my prayers. That darned infection debilitates and weakens the whole body. My cousin had it in his leg 18 months ago and still has not gained his health back. I had teased him for the last 20 years about his being the oldest living member of the family (he is 64 now) and now that he really looks bad, I can't say anything about it. Well, he noticed that I had to admit to being afraid that he was too ill to tease... I am sorry that your DSis is in the same boat as he is.

Thanks, June,

The oldest living member of your family is only 64? Wow, you might be in the same boat as my sister & me. I think our oldest living family member may be 50 something, and mid 50's at that. It's not encouraging as to the life expectancy of our DNA. Better to have a couple of family members in their 90's and still going strong, I think. Ouch. Sorry to hear your cousin realized your were feeling too bad for him to even tease him anymore.

Actually, my sister's finger, that's where she had the infection that time, did finally heal. The finger has some lingering nerve damage, but the infection is long gone. But now she has something ELSE which may be worse. It's like I can't let her go out of the house at all w/o her getting some horrible malady - and she is only like 40, btw (don't tell her I gave that away), not nearly old enough to be having all these problems. She still has a kid in elementary school for heck sake. I don't know what I'll do with her when she gets older - not that I'm doing all that much better. I'm telling you, we don't seem to have the good genes for longevity.

Here is the link to my newly created OT thread and the story about my sister: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1226697/
I hope your cousin will be better soon.

LOL, Cheryl, I'm so glad that you saw the at my problems are not a look around to see the humor in my last post, as it was meant. Sometimes I have to really take really that big compared to so many other suffering people. We'll be fine, just keep your chin up (wonder how that saying got started?)

Hugs & prayers,
Sheri & my house full of quadrupeds & fish (lg aquarium)

Oh, did I tell you that my new pup is a Maltese-poodle mix named Harmony. Those round dark eyes and black button nose really tug at my heart. She is pretty smart too, knowing the correct name of many of her toys when I ask her to find whatever.

Almost forgot to mention. Last night I had baby back ribs for dinner. I gave Widget one cleaned bone to gnaw on. It's like a baby's passifier for him. I put the rest of the bones outon the patio with meat and fat still on them. I left the sweet BBQ sauce on them, too, and left the sauce in the bottom of the container. It was about an inch deep in sauce. I considered putting the sauce down the disposal and just giving them the bones/meat, but then I remembered how much they always liked sweet things and decided to leave the sauce.

I was a little concerned about the patio floor, not wanting all that sauce spilled all over the place, but I needn't have worried. When I turned the light on later to check up on them, every drop of the BBQ sauce was gone, and the bones were all stripped bare. True to their usual tidy nature, they did not spill even a drop of the sauce. I keep forgetting they are not dogs though. They enjoy getting the meat and fat, but do not gnaw on or eat bones. Well, they do eat chicken bones, but I guess that's because cooked chicken bones just crush easily under the pressure of their sharp teeth. For them eating chicken bones is like eating crackers, just crunchy food. They could probably have eaten some or all of those small rib bones, too, but it would probably have taken a lot of gnawing, like what dogs do, and raccoons don't seem to have time for that sort of thing. They come. They eat. And they leave, no time for things like bones and rawhide, the things dogs love to chew on.

What I wanted to tell you though is that I turned on the light to find that one yearling out there, the one that often comes up to the door and stands upright asking for food. She was there with one kit. The kit was getting up in size, like maybe equivalent to a 10yr old but still very noticeably smaller than even the smallest adults and still very, very cute. They were both out there finishing up the ribs and looking around for crumbs. The kit saw me 1st but didn't run away. I was at the door, on the other side of the glass. The kit lifted its head from the now empty dish it had been licking and just stood staring up at me. It was only about 5ft away.

After a minute or so the mom saw me. She came right up to the door and stood upright looking in at me clearly hoping I would see her and give her something. When I went out with the food, she and the youngster hid behind nearby shrubs just as I knew they would. She has always been that way. She spent enough time around me the previous year to feel very comfortable coming up to the door to ask for handouts, and she is the only one of that group that will do so, but unless Heidi is around to enbolden her, she always disappears when I go outside but comes back minutes later to eat what I left.

Oh, well. It was nice to see mom and kit.

Hi Sheri,

Yes, Maltese do have adorable, little faces. Glad things are going well with your new little one.

Unfortunately, I could not read the 1st paragraph. I think keyboard problems took the meaning out of that one. Check it out, and you will see what I mean. I know you are having issues with your laptop keyboard and that you are waiting for a model/design change before cashing in on your warranty, but I think I have the answer to your problem in the mean time. I don't know why I didn't think of this before. Check it out. All you need is a USB keyboard. You can get one for under $20. All you have to do is plug it into one of the USB slots on your laptop and start typing (w/o the problems posed by your current keyboard). Wouldn't that be great? Here is a link showing one: http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-920-002478-Keyboard-K120/dp/B003ELVLKU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319592419&sr=8-1

And here's a quote from that same page: "Wired for simplicity. Simply plug it into your USB port and start typing—works with Windows-based PCs. " (It works for Linux, too, but I know you are using Windows.)

There are plenty of others on this site, and they are also available from virtually any store that sells computers. We use these at work all the time, so I can't believe I didn't think of it before. You don't have to know anything. No setup required. Just plug it in and type. Unplug when you want to put the laptop away. Just be sure to get one that says "USB keyboard". The "USB" is very important. You may or may not be able to plug a 'regular' keyboard into the laptop, depending on the types of connectors available, but USB will be much simpler to deal with. What do you think?

I hate my laptop's keyboard and I use a plug-in keyboard (and a regular mouse)