Heidi didn't show up last night. It could mean nothing, but circumstances suggest that she may now be off having the kits. For sure, if she is a no-show again tonight, that will be the most likely reason.
On all other nights she has been out there regardless of whether I arrived early, late, or on time. Last night I was right on time, but she was not there. Several yearlings were out there in her place. This plus such recent events as her intense hunger and noticeable crankiness all seem to fit the picture of impending birth. She usually eats a lot when preparing for the arrival, perhaps knowing that she will be unable to eat for a number of days once the helpless newborns do arrive. This, the need to stock up on quality nutrition in the week before the birth may even be why she showed up on the patio when she did.
Time will tell.
Heidi Chronicles 2012 - A New Chapter Begins?
That sure explains her cranky attitude & voracious appetite the other night. She may have even been in labor or having Braxton-Hicks contractions as she hurredly ate all she could get too.
Cheryl thank you so much for sharing AND for making the time for these critters. My heart is warmed by your every post.
xox
A.
I'm glad that Heidi got some good meals from you, before she retired to the nursery...
Hello,
It seems the time has come when I should introduce myself to you. My name is Alain Dubois. I am a sociologist. The Heidi Chronicles has been part of my doctoral work at Ecole Polytechnique in France where I have been conducting a study of online human behavior & relationships.
Regrettably, I must now inform you that the characters of Cheryl and Heidi as well as the many other members of the Heidi and friends family are all fictitious composites created by myself and colleagues at the university for the purpose of our work. I have been the primary individual making posts in the guise of Cheryl, although a few colleagues have filled in during those times when I was too busy or otherwise unable.
Each of you has contributed, albeit unknowingly, to my doctoral work through your posts on the Heidi threads. I greatly appreciate your help and apologize for having misled you in this matter. Hopefully, you will understand that it was necessary to our research.
This week I successfully defended my doctoral thesis, so I will be wrapping things up over the coming month or so. Thus I felt it was time to introduce myself, explain what has been going on here, and thank each of you for your help.
Over the years, some of you have interacted with 'Cheryl' through an address and phone number we established in the US for this purpose. The phone, when 'manned', was answered by various departmental research assistants posing as Cheryl. A few of you even very generously sent treats to the 'Cheryl' address for 'Heidi' and the other raccoons. Your generosity in doing so was most touching. In the coming days I will be posting an address where you may write to obtain a refund for the cost of anything you may have sent to Cheryl or Heidi.
I have very much enjoyed working with each of you, and, again, I greatly appreciate all of your help with my research and with my doctoral work.
Thank You,
Alain Dubois
April fools day to you also.
Dang, you got me! Thank goodness Debbie's aware of the date & its implications. I've been sitting here telling my DH all about this....
Cheryl's messy/dirty patio as seen in Debbie's generously 'fixed' photos is also fictitious!
ROFLMBO, That is right, and I am really one of those high tech photo choppers...that can superimpose anything into a picture, trash cans, planters...you name it!
LOL, Debbie,
...autumn leaves, trash bags, you name it.
Ok, you got me. April Fools!
So, Liz,
What did your DH think about it all? I mean, before you told him it was an April Fool's joke?
I had been 'saving' this one for months. Sadly, today I'm not much in the mood - killer allergies today - but I could not afford to let this day slip by w/o springing my AF joke. Didn't want to have to wait another whole year.
He said he'd heard of things like this happening... but didn't think it was really okay... In retrospect, I think it's awesome!
You know, we are all so easy to fall in love with animals and wildlife stores....we could very easily get sucked into a story/scam like that. And with internet (and photo chopping) who is to say what is true and what isn't. We just have to trust each other....thats a bit step itself.
I honestly had to read it twice...then I kind of said "Wait, this is Cheryl" and I remembered another "scam" in the past about Heidi coming in the house! lol
I could not believe it, we've talked on the phone, I've prayed for you & with you. You didn't fool me, although I did do a double take.
Someone even d-mailed me that they were "deeply ofended" after reading it.
You got us good Cheryl, but you remain one of my favorite people.
hugs,
Sheri, Sara, Marlie, Dogwood deKatt & Chester ( who all told me not to believe everything I read)
It really was a keen 4/1 tale though.
Someone else wrote a fictitious article which seemed heartwarming when I read it the first time. I replied in kind. She replied telling me it was fabricated. I didn't know what to say so said nothing!
When I read your post I thought I was pissed, but fortunately reading the following posts in between took the sting out of it. Yeah, ya got me. Ya big jerk. :D
oxo
A.
I'm really, really sorry if my little prank upset anyone. I hadn't really considered that folks might get that upset. Big sorry.
I am real. Flesh and blood real - and I just finished feeding the 'imaginary' Heidi and her now 2 companions (the number always grows this way). Seriously, I don't think anyone could have fabricated my mixed up, crazy life replete with back & knee problems, hormonal issues, job issues, yaddah, yaddah, much less all of the things that have happened with Heidi and her group along the way.
As I mentioned, I originally thought this up quite a few months ago and have been like a gossiper trying to keep a huge secret ever since. A friend in whom I confided the idea did respond with, 'no one will ever believe anything you say again'. I do hope that isn't true. The Heidi story is true, and I have always, except maybe each Apr 1st, been careful to tell you the facts exactly as I have observed them.
I added the part about maintaining a fake address and phone # here, because I knew some of you had called me and or sent me things over the years and otherwise immediately know it was a hoax. Seriously though, I don't think that would even be possible, not with a real SC address (not P.O box) and SC phone number (not an international number). It would surely not be feasible on a university budget or research grant. The last time I checked, Europe, France included, was in a worse budget crunch and economic mess than we are (the US). It would cost a small fortune to rent a house here and fly back and forth to pick up mail.
There are other holes in the story. The length of time the Heidi story has been running exceeds that of any doctoral research project. Those who have attended college on any level will know that there are always limits on how long one can attend before one must graduate. The same is true at the PhD level.
Oh, and, OMG, think about how LONG some of my posts use to be - and then during the very active times like back when Dennis was with us and such, I used to write SO much that I had to split it into multiple, still very long, posts. I'm pretty sure anyone who was out to scam you with a made up story would never have taken the time to write such huge posts day after day after day for all these years.
I could pick up a news paper tomorrow and then photograph Heidi eating on it. Would that help allay your concerns that we are real?
We have always been told to be careful about anything we read on the internet, and rightly so, but I think with something like the Heidi threads it's more than just trust. We all have an inner voice that alerts us when things just aren't quite right with a story. Even when we are 'taken' by something or someone, we can usually think back and realize that, at such times, we heard the little voice warning us but continued anyhow. With the Heidi story, I think you trusted it because it rang true. I think we innately recognize the truth, even though we may sometimes ignore our inner knowledge.
On a more tangible level, there are laws against researchers doing certain things to deceive people in this manner, at least in the US. I don't know about other countries but would think such rules would exist in most major countries. In the US, these laws were enacted following one very particularly, notorious psychology research project in which subjects were tricked into believing they were administering electrical shock to real people. The fall out from tricking people in this manner led to very strict rules about what one can and cannot do for the sake of research. Playing with people's heads is now considered seriously unethical.
Cheryl, we know its you....it was good fun.
And honestly, you saved MY day because it reminded me of April 1st. SO when my son called me from college, telling me he and his room mates were at the Sheriffs office and people were pressing charges because they got in an egg fight....well, I went along with it. Told him "What are you thinking...you are old enough to know better, as are your friends, and calling me to bail you out....you can just sit there and rot! I know what you were thinking, your 19...and APRIL FOOLS DAY!" His friends all busted up laughing in the back ground...thankfully
Glad Heidi came for dinner tonight. She looking any thinner?
Sweet dreams,
Debbie
As to photoshop and such for creating all those photos and videos. No way that would really be possible. There is a lot involved in trying to cut & paste pieces of photos together and make them look real. One huge problem is lighting. If the lighting (direction and type of light) is not the same in the various items used to try to compose a picture, it will not read true and will not be believable. I'm talking here about trying to 'cut' an object from one photo and 'paste' it into another. Your brain knows when it's being messed with, when shadows are in the wrong places, etc.
They 'cut' things together in TV and movie studios, but (1) they spend millions of $$ for equipment and highly trained people to do this and (2) by staging things with very strong studio lighting, they are able to control the lighting problem mentioned above (by intentionally taking all shots with the same lighting so things can be pasted together).
If you are unsure about an image - whether it is real or has been altered - use a photo handling program (like photoshop) to zoom in all the way to the 'bit' or pixel level. At that level you will be able to see the 'seems' where/if things have been stitched together. Various means of 'brushing' and 'fading' can make things appear to fit together when viewed at the 'normal' level, but if you drill down to the pixel level, there will always be telltale signs where things don't actually fit together properly.
Thanks, Debbie,
Oh that is hilarious about your son. SO glad you were able to see through that one; otherwise, that might really have raised your BP through the roof. (I know nothing about your BP, just know how any concerned parent would react.)
As to Heidi, sorry I didn't get back sooner, but I was wrong about the reason for her being missing that one night. Guess we just missed each other that night. She was back the following night and has been every night since. Now that you ask though, she doesn't seem quite as huge lately. Not sure. When she has her kits, she is usually gone for more than one night as she needs to stay with them for a while. In the past she has been gone anywhere from a few days to 2 weeks (that one scared me, you might recall). When she does give birth, it's hard to tell from her girth, because she continues to look 'fat' for some time after the birth. Every year when she returns from giving birth, I always end up commenting that she still looks pretty large, to which someone reminds me that it takes a while to loose the weight after giving birth.
For the past week or so she has been accompanied by not one but two yearlings both of which appear to be hers. I say this because she will permit them to steal some of her food and even eat with her for a minute or so before she starts protesting, and even then it is clearly a Mom's protest and not what one would expect if any other raccoon were to try to eat her food.
A few nights ago I got up the courage to 'pet' Heidi. Last year I had touched her with the food bag several times, touching it to her back and head as she ate. I don't think I ever mentioned it. I did that to gauge her reaction. Mostly she ignored me back then.
This time I stood over her while she was eating - something which would normally be perceived as threatening by a wild animal - and quickly touched the back of my hand to her head. The 1st night I just barely touched the hairs on her head (raccoon hair sort of stands up such that it is not flat against the body). She ignored me, so the next night I brushed her ear with my hand. She just flicked her ear and went on eating.
I was surprised at her non-reaction. I had expected her to probably step away from me at the least, but she did not. Finally, I reached down and brushed her head lightly and quickly. This time she looked up at me in much the same way as you might look at someone who suddenly started touching your hair - and then she put her head back down and went on eating. That time I was all the more surprised that she had not stepped away when touched.
Heidi has always been the one whose space I most respected. I think of her as 'really' wild. The others were all raised around me, thus accepting me from a young age. Heidi was raised wild, w/o such contact with humans. Being able to now touch her, however briefly, is to my mind HUGE. It's like the final frontier in this story.
About the April Fool's Hoax:
As I mentioned (and, yes, this is the very real Cheryl speaking now), this idea was born some months ago. Thankfully, I had the forethought to plan things ahead of time. Today (Sunday) I had a killer sinus headache and probably wouldn't have followed through had I not done the work ahead of time.
I have long been a proponent of the powers of the internet. I use the internet constantly, every day at work - and at home. It's a wealth of information. The ease with which I was able to find the information necessary to create the Alain character is a wonderful example. A quick search for "Top international universities" yielded a list of the top 100 for each of the past several years. Harvard was #1 last year, Cambridge this year, btw. I decided the story would sound more believable if the university were not one of these very obvious names. Ecole Polytechnique is a real university in France and is currently #33 or so on the list - a more 'comfortable' position from the believability perspective, I thought.
Having chosen a university complete with location and even address, I then needed a name for my fictitious researcher. I like the idea of a non-US individual, and decided to go with a French person to coincide with the location of the university. I went with a male because that just 'felt' right to me. I googled "male name French" and quickly landed on a sight with 100's of such names alphabetized. I picked a handful I 'liked'. Next I googled "French surnames". This led to yet another alphabetized list.
My 1st thought was to have my researcher work in the area of psychology, but that seemed too obvious, somehow. A quick look at a well organized list of courses on the Ecole Polytechnique page yielded the perfect solution, sociology, less obvious and even more concerned with group behavior.
Thanks to the power of the internet, it took me less than 10min total to create an apparently somewhat believable character using information previously unknown to me. The same search just a few decades ago would have required a trip to the library and some leg work. It would not have been done in 10min. After completing this exercise, I was all the more impressed with the internet as an incredible repository for information - and a tiny bit scared by the implications of the same.
Finally, this exercise led me to think I might, at some point in the future, like to consider creating some more fictitious characters and weave an even larger web of intrigue with the help of the internet - a novel perhaps.
Edited to correct one obvious word omission which leapt off the page at me even as I hit 'Send'. That's not to say there aren't others. BTW, when I was going over the 'facts' of my fictitious character, I noted many holes (which I hoped people would not notice immediately). One such hole was the condition (grammar, spelling, wordiness,etc) of much of my writing here. It seemed implausible to me that a doctoral candidate would be so careless. LoL
This message was edited Apr 2, 2012 3:15 AM
Amanda,
I want to thank you for your recent comment about how your heart is warmed by my posts. I'm very happy to hear that you feel that way. It is comments like this that help to keep me motivated when times are rough.
I don't know if you've ever read the early/beginning threads, but I was originally motivated to start feeding Heidi when she started coming over the fence toward me in daytime and the rehabber from whom I sought help explained that she (Heidi) was almost certainly a nursing mother desperate to find food and get back to her vulnerable babies. The rehabber explained that "it's rough out there these days" for wildlife trying to find food (since we humans are constantly building on more and more of what used to be forest). She said Heidi needed to find 'fast' food as close as possible to her den/nest, so that she could (1) get enough food for herself to keep the milk flowing and (2) get back to her vulnerable newborns before they were found and eaten by a predator.
Hearing this, my heart went out for Heidi. Before that I had been annoyed that she was eating my bird seed, but I truly felt for her out there nursing 5 kits, hungry, and having to leave her kits to go out to seek food. The thought of her worrying that the kits might be eaten before she could get back really tugged at my heart. It made me realize how much easier we humans have things in comparison. That's when I decided to share some of my food with her.
The rehabber asked me to consider, if I could, putting a little dry cat/dog food out for her, to put it back by the fence, as far from my house as possible. That's what I did, and that's how started feeding Heidi. A few weeks later when I walked out of the house to find Heidi out there teaching her tiny babies how to rob the bird feeder, I just melted at the sight of those adorable babies. Suddenly, I was willing to give her/them the whole feeder, seeds and all. That's when I really got hooked.
Despite all the bad things I've heard about raccoons, it has been some 7yrs or so now, and they have always been incredibly well behaved guests. That is what has allowed me to continue for all this time.
Thanks again.
Cheryl.... while I am certainly no animal expert .... my though is, Heidi can smell your scent and she knows you are not a threat to her. She trusts you with her babies... that speaks volumes.
Terese,
I think you are right. As to the scent issue, there is no doubt in my mind that Heidi knows who I am (i.e. recognizes me, undoubtedly by scent) even before I exit my house. When she is sitting at the door watching me, she already knows it is me. Sometimes lately I see her sniffing under the bottom of the door. I think when she does that she is double checking for any other/unknown people or animals that might be a threat.
She just started doing this (sniffing under the door to check for unknown people inside before I open the door) lately since the landscaper started working in the backyard. For a while he was out there several days a week working all the way up to the forest edge. I was afraid at the time that she might be afraid to come to the house (due to the presence of his scent in the yard). I think she is checking to make sure he (or anyone else) isn't around when she sniffs under the door that way. From now own he will only be back there 1x on a biweekly basis.
I know she recognizes me. When I get to the door most nights, by the time I turn on the outside light to check for her, she is already up close to the door and standing upright as if trying to get my attention. I suspect this is because many times in the past I have walked right past her in the dark not realizing she was even there.
I was just never sure just how much she really did trust me. She was always different from the ones who grew up knowing me. I guess you have a point about trusting me around her babies. I don't believe I have ever seen a mother, human's included, who was any more careful about her babies than Heidi is. The way she tends to her kits has made an impression on me that is probably much greater than comes across in print. Lets just say I am very impressed.
You seemed to understand that Heidi already trusted me quite a while back (that it was not something I needed to work on but rather something that already was). It just took me a little longer to catch up.
Cheryl - I burst out laughing at the thought of you trying to get a photo of today's paper with Heidi in it - Debbie can help you out there, no? :D
I didn't read much into your hoax post, because the comments that followed it were swift and immediately dispelled the initial. heh.
The "other" story I read here on DG was one of those articles you see on the sidebar when you go to the home page. An acquaintance asked people on a thread to read her story and vote for it (?!) for some reason. When I commented on it, she'd replied that the story was fabricated, and I didn't know how to respond! But I got over it. I had nothing invested. ;)
Your threads go on way too long, crazy hours of the night, etc. I have read back - I think I did go way back because when I tripped into your thread I didn't know the background. I think the reason I went back originally was because you kept talking about the picture that was doctored and I wanted to figure out the joke without interrupting the thread. :)
I remember last season when Heidi (?) stood up in front of you I think and remember you said that startled you. I regret to say I don't think I'll ever even trust my own domesticated animals, much less a wild animal. They can react in crazy ways in different situations. I think the nice thing about your backyard is that it's a static situation and the risks to all parties are known. I think that's why you are able to have such a close relationship with Heidi and her babies. As she is a leader among them the others trust you too by her example.
I was raised in a crazy animal loving family so it's not surprising for me to read about you sharing your food with them. When my mom had aluminum siding put on the house I was very young, but I remember her telling the contractor to go back and cut holes in the roof overhang where the starlings had nested. We have gone long and anthropomorphized an animal in every way. Instincts are strong, but certainly they are sentient beings. There is debate among "learned" men and women in animal welfare and animal rights circles about how much an animal knows and feels. You have seen firsthand behaviors that are not "instinctual." Therefore, actions that follow are learned behaviors and you COULD write a paper, a doctoral dissertation on your observations. Hell, this is how Jane Goodall made herself known.
After I quit my law practice for XXX reasons I did a lot of volunteer work in animal rescue/welfare causes here around the state on behalf of local and national organizations. I burned out very quickly. It's hard to feel so strongly about something and keep it from impairing your "independent professional judgment." Then I went and taught animal law at Tufts. Came back to NC to get myself a degree in natural resources so I could . . . ....? Hurt my hand last spring at work so I've lost myself in DG and it's been very therapeutic.
I am still involved in rescue, both with domestic animals and with wildlife. Last season I had a crow in my living room and actually brought home a dead rabbit to put in his cage (in my living room!!! GAH)
After the crow I had a possum for a couple of months. What a treat! We would have kept her as a pet, but the thought of keeping her from a life of her natural joys won out - we took her to a remote state park for release, far from cars and domestic cats.
The only instance I felt was unnatural and harmful was last summer when my ground feeding the birds resulted in swarms of brown rats under my birdfeeders. :/
When I use the word "teeming" I don't use it lightly. The yard was teeming with brown rats. I had to stop feeding everything completely. It caused a neighborhood "problem" because the rats fanned out to other neighbor's yards who fed birds. Soon they were "my rats" and a nice (not) man from the city Health department showed up in my driveway.
He said, among other things, "the neighborhood has a rat problem." I said, "yeah, I've noticed." He said, "something's going to have to be done." I said, "the hawks in the area seem to be taking care of the problem." He looked at me like I was crazy. Then he said, "people are going to have to put out poison." I said, "You're not going to put poison in my yard." He looked at me again and said, "What?!" I said, "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO PUT POISON IN MY YARD." He said, "well something's going to have to be done." I said, "Well good luck with that." And walked off. I think one of the neighbors hired Ortho. Very sad. Unfortunate. But I learned my lesson. GOD this has turned into a long post. Sorry. Just to say that
I thought I could "control" the hawk population and keep them from "feeding" in my yard. They prey on birds in winter you know. Crows and hawks compete for territory so I decided to make friends with the crows to keep the hawks away. Started feeding the crows on the ground, and the rats came. Stopped feeding the crows on the ground and the crows came less frequently. The hawks came back. Slowly the rat population dwindled. Ecology. Everything is connected.
People who gripe about animals at their feeders are ignorant. The animals were there before they built their house at the edge of the woods. People annoy me on so many levels. I think you all have already made that observation. We are in good company here, so it DOES warm my heart to find like minded intelligent people. And they say WE are the crazy ones. Sheesh!!!
Had enough? I think I'm thru. I am not offended by your posts Cheryl, or anyone else's here. I do also appreciate that you take the time even given your hectic schedule and physical exhaustion. Some of my critter chores are such that I cannot rest until they are done. For me, the racoons in the yard would be as much a daily part of my routine as brushing my teeth or letting the dog out. Just one more chore to do before bedtime.
Peace and love to you.
A.
Cheryl, how exciting that you're able to touch/pet Heidi! It will be interesting to see if she starts to enjoy your touch, as time goes by. You mentioned that you're sure that Heidi recognizes you. I can understand that animals identify your smell or even the sound of your car, but I'm amazed that one of the feral cats I feed (at work) recognizes me walking toward her from a distance of over 20 feet, (she runs if it's someone else)!
Amanda, very interesting to hear a bit about your animal "adventures" & your comments about them being sentient.
Just returned from feeding the raccoons. While out there it occurred to me that, oops, I forgot to pick up that newspaper today. I'll try again tomorrow.
Today, I offered her the back of my hand again. She had just begun eating I hadn't moved back from my position yet up close to her, the position I had taken to pour the food. These days she comes up to eat even as I am pouring the food from a very small cat food bag (used to handle/transport food taken from a much larger container). She's that comfortable around me now. By comparison, the other 2 used to run around behind nearby shrubs to hide while I poured food, but now they are starting to stay closer although still well out of reach.
Anyhow, when I reached the back of my hand up close to her face while she was eating, Heidi lifted her head and touched her nose to the back of my hand, touching the hand some 3 times in fairly quick succession before lowering her head to continue eating. Her nose, btw, was cold & wet, feeling just like that of a dog. I didn't make any attempt to pet her today.
When I got back inside, I saw the couple of McD's syrup containers on the baker's rack by the door where I keep raccoon supplies. I had saved the syrup from a breakfast meal almost a year ago & put it there for the raccoons. They love sweet things, something I learned back when they used to climb up in the tree to drink 'nectar' from the hummingbird feeder - by actually tilting the thing up in the air and drinking the nectar as it flowed over one edge.
Back when I used to sit out with the raccoons some years back, I always saved those little containers of syrup for them. For those that were super comfortable interacting with me, I would hold the container while they lapped the syrup from it. For others, I would remove the top and hold the container at arms length or set it on the ground for them to take in their own hands & eat some distance away. A DGer who used to be very active here once sent me a large box of those restaurant jelliesjams she had saved (tiny plastic 'bowl' type, not newer squeeze type fast food pkg). I would peel off the tops and pass the little jellies around for dessert. Very popular.
Tonight I peeled the top off and then walked up to set the syrup container down beside Heidi. To do this, I walked up so close (inches from her feet) and in such position that, as I leaned down toward her, my body blocked the patio light casting an ominous, dark shadow over her entire body. I say 'ominous' because this sort of thing, one creature casting a shadow over another, evokes a very visceral reaction from any animal, humans included. It's something that no doubt goes back to the earliest evolution of creatures crawling out of the primordial ooze. That shadow means you are about to be food. Every creature instinctively knows it.
Heidi stood her ground for a few seconds, my shadow still enveloping her. Then, giving in to her discomfort, she took a few steps backward, just enough to get out from under the shadow. I remained in place, still leaning down over her food. I called her, "Heidi, Heidi". Obligingly, she took the 2 steps forward walking back up under my shadow and returning to her food.
I stayed in that position for a few minutes as she began lapping up the syrup. Then I backed away several steps to continue watching. As she lapped at the sticky syrup, the little package slid away slightly on the patio floor. I was concerned that she might end up spilling it (as my dog wood surely do). Clearly it has been too long now since I sat out there watching them eat. I should have KNOWN better. Raccoons are too smart and their hands too articulate to ever spill 1 drop of food.
Watching them eat is always even now much more fascinating that it must sound. She lapped the syrup gently not sending splatters across the patio as a dog might. Then when the container was about 1/2 empty and started to tilt, she used her two 'hands' to hold it exactly as a tiny person might, one hand on either side holding the container upright side as drank the remaining, sweet liquid. Before leaving, I took her a dish of water, realizing she might be especially thirsty after consuming the syrup.
That Heidi immediately stopper eating the dog food to drink the syrup is HUGE. Clearly, the syrup was a big hit. You may recall that, unlike most of the others, Heidi eats in a very methodical manner almost always finishing her cat/dog food before eating any other treat. Be it peanut, egg, or frosting, dinner (the kibble) always comes 1st. Always. The only exceptions to this rule have typically been watermelon and occasionally an egg.
As with the watermelon and egg, I suspect she probably broke her rule about finishing the kibble 1st to avoid conflict with one of her yearlings over the coveted prize. If she leaves such an item sitting beside her 'plate' while she finishes her kibble, one of the others will try to steal it. She could stop them, but it would require a nasty argument. Better to go ahead and eat it herself to keep the piece, a decision reserved for only the most desired treats.
Hi Amanda,
I enjoyed reading your post and learning more about you. I hadn't noticed the 'Esq' appended to your name until I read your post. So many people have misc characters added to their names, often the computer to differentiate duplicate names in the system, that I guess I just don't even look at that part of the screen name anymore. Sounds like you had a fabulous and enjoyable career.
I had to chuckle at your comment about my posts being too long and too many all times of the night. ROTF. Yes, I know. What can I say? I'm long winded by nature (making online blogging perfect for me), for a while there I was really on a roll with the raccoons. I used to sit out back with the raccoons, observing them while they ate. I find them so fascinating, and I have always been extremely interested in animal behavior especially in noting how closely much of it relates to our own behavior.
In the 1st thread, realizing my propensity for long posts, I took time to edit my posts carefully rewording them and ruthlessly chopping out extraneous info to be more concise. Unfortunately, I found that was taking way too much time. So much was happening with the raccoons in those days. There was so much to write and so little time for the editing that eventually I stopped doing it altogether. As much as I hated the subsequent, long, run-on posts, it was necessary if I was to get it all down on 'paper', and still get other things done. I've been having difficulty sleeping at night for years now, hence the reason for the all night posts.
I was actually serious, BION, about getting a pic of Heidi on the daily paper, although I ended up forgetting the paper. The latter would be the hardest part, that and making sure the date shows out there in the semi-darkness. If I lay the paper out, front page up, and put her kibble on it, I feel sure Heidi will gladly oblige by stepping up to and even on the paper to eat. I may need Debbie's help though in lightening it enough to make the date visible.
As to the problem you described with the rats. Been there, done that. For some 5yrs or so I enjoyed feeding the birds. I had planted flowers, vines, shrubs, flowering trees, etc in my backyard cottage garden, The addition of birds and a gently, gurgling water feature made it a wonderfully relaxing place and heavenly place - until the rats came. Like you, by the time I notice the problem the population was enormous.
At 1st I ignored the rats. I didn't like the idea of having them around, esp when I saw one actually sitting up on the bird feeder in the middle of the day eating, but as I am adverse to killing anything, I looked the other way. That is, until one day I saw a NatGeo program on rats, a program which explained their exponential growth rate and how 2 rats can become 5k in just one year. Shortly after that the A/C died in my car. I took it to the dealer and was aghast to learn that they found a rat's nest under the hood. Argh!
The rat had chewed up the entire wire harness for the controls between the computer and the hardware, leaving me with no A/C, no wipers, probably other things that went unnoticed, and a car that was sputtering and shaking and running like crap (due to mixed up signals in that wiring harness). They had to redo the entire wiring harness and replace the car's main computer all at a cost of close $600 or so only because I opted for non-factory parts and my mechanic took pity on me. Sorry to say that after that I immediately took care of evicting the entire rat population, having been warned that the same or worse would likely happen to my house in time otherwise.
Much to my chagrin, I no longer feed the birds, not wanting a replay of the rat incident. I've learned that this is much more common than you might think. Many people here at DG recount similar problems car and all before finally giving up on bird feeding. My dealership mechanic said they get cars with similar and worse rat damage all the time, often vary expensive cars coming from the resort islands around Charleston.
My backyard is optimum for wildlife. The plethora of flowers, shrubs, & small trees condensed in such a relatively small space provides them with ample cover; the birdbaths provide water; and there is even a great deal of natural food including grapes, blackberries, apples, crabapples, figs, blueberries, rose hips, and so on. The 6ft privacy fence, lined on the sides with clematis, jasmine, and climbing, rambling roses makes it very difficult for neighbors to see in. I'm sure all of this helps the raccoons feel more comfortable here; however, they are all careful to scurry for the safety of the forest any time they hear even a peep out of the neighbors.
While I do at times jokingly anthropomorphize the raccoons for effect, I do also believe rather strongly that animals are much more like us than most people are willing to believe, and my years of observing the raccoons has only added to that belief. I think it is rather arrogant as us as a species to merely assume because we cannot communicate with them that animals do not have feelings and that all their actions, however similar to our own, are nonetheless guided only by instinct and brain chemicals. I've seen ample evidence to the contrary - and I do plan to commit this all to writing someday, in a more concise form, of course.
Well, now I've gone on too long yet again. Oops.
Liz,
Isn't it wonderful to be recognized that way by your feline friend? It's a sort of silent communication between you, a validation of your friendship.
When he was still very young and quite terrified of cars, I noticed that Cocoa, the formerly feral kitten I rescued, was able to distinguish my car from all the others coming down the street, although I had no idea how he did so. Whereas he ran for cover when any other car came by, he would sit in the street and even lye in the driveway when I came driving up.
As to how your feline friend manages this, I've come to realize that the extent of animal's senses is largely beyond our comprehension, since our own are often so negligible in comparison. I had that 'AHA' moment one day when watching a very good NatGeo program on dogs. I had long known that a dog's sense of smell is much greater than our own, but until that moment I never realized the extent to which I failed to comprehend just how much more acute a dog's olfactory sense is and what that really means. (A cat's sense of smell, while not considered as great as a dogs is still far beyond our own.) The program got this message across to me finally by showing a visible sort of odor cloud trailing all around the yard or park and a dog walking along 'reading' that cloud as clearly as we read the morning newspaper or our email.
Although I'm not ruling out other cues, I don't find it at all difficult to imagine that the cat can recognize your scent from a distance of 20ft. Predators in particular have a very keen sense of smell for sniffing out prey and often posses keen visual abilities as well. Many animals are known to be capable of detecting the scent of prey and potential mates for a mile or more. Animals not only identify us by our scent, they can even discern a great deal of information about us from that scent, things like relative age, gender, health, disease, even our rank w/in the 'tribe'.
Their sense of smell and its implications lie largely beyond our comprehension because we by comparison are pretty much anosmic. We are like a person legally blind from birth trying to understand what others see and the amount of information therein. At a certain age when my own vision started to weaken, I actually still believed I was seeing everything. It wasn't until I got glasses that I suddenly realized that, "Wow, do I ever need to shave my legs!" Lol. Before that I had just concluded that I didn't need to shave as often because [I thought] my leg hair had stopped growing so fast now that I was older. (Wrong!) That's how we tend to be with respect to smell. We know that animals smell more, we just don't begin to understand how MUCH more there actually is to smell out there - because we are blind to it.
Your feline friend knows much more about you than you probably realize just as Heidi does me, and she probably knows you are coming from much farther away than 20ft. (Isn't that wonderful?)
As to my 'ability' (LOL) to spew out endless tomes of verbage, even as a young child in grade school I found it amusing that while others winced at the word/page requirement for writing assignments, I had no such concerns. I always knew I could easily write as many words as the teacher wanted - and then some. I only had a problem when the word count for an assignment was expressed as a limit. Then I had to chop and whittle to squeeze my thoughts into the specified range.
Naturally, this 'ability' does have its down sides. ;-)
Aha - Cheryl - good thing I read quickly and absorb everything. :D
Love the image of Heidi with her chalice of sugar water. :)
Creeped out at the thought of the rats invading my car, but there is also a rather large underground stream paved over with those giant concrete tunnels right next door . . . so they have a waterway/superhighway to come and go from. I do think they travel thru the foundation of this house which is in need of . . . .something, but we are renting the house. MAYBE that's why the electric doesn't work in the front room. Ha ha- no no no - anyway.
I have one or two adult rats who have evaded the hawks and Ortho guy. I now feed ONLY from one feeder with a high infallible baffle. I watch the critter go up and down the iron shepherd's crook under the baffle and go back down, disappointed. Even the ground feeding birds know where it is - if they want it badly enough they will go - there are 2 round hanging feeders that do not spill food. I'm satisfied with it. I also provide water - there's something very gratifying knowing that my heated birdbath (a cake pan on the ground with a flat heating element for a 5 gallon fishbowl) is the only drink in town on a frozen morning in January.
Thanks for the update - I looked at your "wants" lists and don't seem to have much to share, but I imagine your garden is thick and lush and a haven for wildlife, obviously. I don't care what the neighbors think of me, particularly when I go out and start calling to my crow rescue released in the yard who comes to feed everyday. "HEY BIRD!!!" Ha ha - he follows me around the block with the dog, also when I go around the block to feed a neighbor's goat in the evening
(?!)(have I mentioned this one yet?!) and across the street to a friend's house. He comes when I call - and sometimes brings his friends. They are also very very intelligent creatures and we have found great enjoyment there.
I'll start saving jelly and syrup containers. Just have to get them in the wind before the weather heats up much more. ;)
peace and joy,
A.
Hi Amanda,
I can see the confusion. I never actually said the garden was (currently) lush and beautiful. After my accident and subsequent knee surgeries, I found it very difficult to get much of anything done in the garden. I had planted it at a time when I was able to do all that maintenance. I tried hiring people but quickly found that whereas most people can mow and edge, it almost impossible to find someone who can differentiate between weeds and coveted plants. My current guy, and he's a doll otherwise, cut my pricey, tall, weeping fairy rose 'tree' to the ground, apparently thinking he was pruning it hard like a regular rose. He also ripped my favorite clematis out of the ground thinking it a weed. On the other hand, he has been heaping much care on a stand of weed grass which he clearly believes to be an ornamental - I need to disabuse him of this notion but just haven't gotten around to it yet.
Bottom line, the garden which at one time was unbelievably lush and idyllic, ended up growing into a veritable jungle over the last few years. This past 'winter' I had my yard guy cut the whole thing down to the ground except for trees and a handful of shrubs. My hope is to work with him to cull out some things, identify favorites, and move things around in pursuit of a simpler design and one which he will be able to (mostly) maintain. As I've neither time nor ability to do much gardening right now, I don't participate in the plant exchange. If I have 'wants' listed they are remnants of a time when I misconstrued the want list as a personal list of things to buy. Very nice of you to check though.
I'm glad you haven't had such bad luck with the rats. Hope your luck continues to hold out. In addition to taking steps to eliminate the rat population, I now have 2 semi-feral, outdoor cats who love to hunt. (The cats showed up here. I had them spayed/neutered and feed them. I didn't seek them out or bring them here.) Last year they slaughtered dozens of moles from the lawn along with a few rats, a few birds, and even a squirrel, all of which they left at my front door. I'm not thrilled about them eating the occasional bird, but on the up side I no longer worry about my car as I'm sure any rat foolish enough to cross the driveway and try to set up housekeeping under the hood of the car would quickly find itself dead at my front door. Oh, forgot to mention the other problem I encountered with the birds/rats - Mr Copperhead. Yikes. Turns out rats and birds also attract snakes.
I do miss the birds though. I like to think of myself as taking an indefinite break from feeding birds, not quitting altogether. Of course, as long as the cats are here patrolling the place, I figure it's best to avoid putting out any bird feeders. I don't want to lure the birds into such a dangerous situation, although some still come here for the fruits, berries, worms, etc.
I realize that birds in general and crows in particular are quite intelligent. Crows rate high on the list of top 10 animals based on IQ. I've never seen any crows in my yard though. I did see large birds of prey, an eagle included, soaring overhead, clearly looking for a chance to grab a songbird. I also frequently hear an owl in the forest behind me. When I was feeding the birds, visitors included the usual songbirds plus a bluebird family, a male and female indigo bunting, and a summer tanager. For several years a large, red belied woodpecker was eating BOSS from my feeder. Oh, and for a while a great blue heron could be seen late each evening perched on a dead tree in the forest edge where he appeared to be watching for something in my backyard. Probably the most exotic visitor at my feeders was the peacock (and later his girlfriend). For years they were frequent escapees from a local formal garden. A few years ago the male died. There have been no peacock sitings since.
I would love a bird that would come when called and eat from my hand. I did have a titmouse for a while that would land on my head when I was out gardening. Called him Mr T - but that's a whole story unto itself. Your set up there sounds very nice. Goats, birds, raccoons, you name it. I love pretty much all animal life. Took me a while to warm up to Snowball and the other opossums that show up sometimes, but I finally got on board.
Oh, and, I'm not worried about what the neighbors think. I'm pretty sure they all know by now that I'm nuts. I am who I am, and I hide it from no one - except maybe the HOA. I live in city limits where I am governed by city & HOA rules. (City rules preclude more than 2 pets per house and specify that only cats & dogs are allowed. I currently have 3 of my allotted 2 pets, not including raccoons.) Since you mentioned a goat, I'm guessing you live a bit farther outside of the city. I sometimes long to move back to a more rural setting myself but figure I'm better off here for now.
By choosing a spot adjacent to the forest and having a tall back fence, I've managed to make a little bit of country here in the city and keep it hidden from those who would not approve - and by 'not approve' I mean drag out the rule book, levy fines, and require me to cease & desist. I can't begin to tell you how many local agencies would totally freak if they knew about Heidi, especially back when I used to sit out back with 20 or more raccoons. At a minimum, I'm thinking city, HOA, health dept, animal control, & DNR would all show up here, and the raccoons would probably get the worst of it. That's why I like that the fence and plants obscure the neighbors' view of what goes on here. Shhh. Mums the word.
Cheryl, Have you figured how Heidi et all are getting to your yard diner?? Can't wait to hear about this years babies. I so enjoyed your recent longer than of late entries. And I for 1 enjoy anything you write about. Bet you could make the phonebook exciting to read!! LOL
Sheri
Oh, wow, Sheri,
Thank you SO MUCH!!! What a wonderful and much appreciated compliment!
(I often think I run on way too long, so that is very nice to hear.)
As to how the raccoons are getting into the yard, no, I've been so busy with other things that I've not bothered with that. Other than checking that one corner to see if the gardener left that limb coming over from the neighbor's section of forest, the only way I really would be able to know for sure how they get over the fence would be to sit out there and wait for them.
One evening I happened to walk past the patio door at dusk and notice that Heidi was already out there sitting at the door waiting. It was at that 1/2 way point outside, that point where it is neither light nor dark but 1/2 way between the two. (I went ahead and fed her that day. The other two were not with her at that time.) Anyhow, if she is coming that early, I might see if I can find the time this week to sit out there for a little while at dusk to see if I can catch her arrival and see how she manages the fence.
I don't believe it is time yet for the kits to arrive at the buffet. As you may recall, the kits are born 'blind' (eyes shut like kittens), and it usually takes about 2 months for them to reach the age where Heidi is comfortable bringing them out with her. I'm still not even sure if she has given birth yet. She still looks a bit heavy. She isn't a beach ball as she was when carrying the 5 kits some years back, but she could be carrying 2 right now, maybe even 3. Either way, I think it's still too early to expect the kits, and that's why I haven't been too concerned yet about how they will get over the fence.
hi there. :)
keyboard is shot (coffee) and using "on-screen keyboard."
HA!
more later; keep us posted.
xox
A.
Hi A,
Serious bummer about the coffee/keyboard thing. Been there, too, except for me it was a can of Coke. It was my 2nd day home from major surgery. Apparently I was high on pain killers, although I didn't think so at the time. The good news is keyboards are pretty cheap these days - unless it's a Mac or laptop or both. If you 'killed' a laptop keyboard, you can probably still substitute a fairly cheap external keyboard. Good luck. Hope you are able to get it fixed/replaced quickly as I'm sure that is frustrating.
Ha ha ha - here I am with my new cheapie USB keyboard. Finally got tired enough of it.
The beauty of it though as I've said before is that I felt no anxiety or rush at all to correct the problem. See how far I've fallen?! :D
Hope all's well there with you and the crowd, Cheryl - are you getting this rain too?
A.
Hi A,
Yes, to the rain. Just started this AM. Dark and gloomy day. But, of course, we need the rain, too, just as much as the sunshine. That horrible drought we had some years back when the ground was pure dust and even large trees were showing signs of stress, that for me drove home the importance of days like this.
Glad to hear that you got that USB keyboard. Simple and inexpensive fix for an otherwise pricey problem (for laptops) which would otherwise require sending the laptop to the shop for a while. As for being able to do w/o the computer for a while w/o freaking out, for that you should commend yourself. Most of us (this writer included) have become far too dependent on our gadgetry for our own good. When the power goes out in a storm, I'm more concerned about losing my internet connection than about either the lights or the storm.
Things are going well. Heidi and the other 2 raccoons are still doing well, both still coming here daily. No sign of kits yet. Heidi shows up well before dark these days. Yesterday when I saw her at the door (in daylight), I went out and gave her some food, just the one 'dish', as she was alone. I was in the kitchen afterward cleaning up. When I went back by the patio door some 30min or so later, Heidi was sitting their at the door - again - just like she always does when looking for food, except that I had already fed her.
"Well, ok", I said, figuring if she was still hungry, I would give her some more. This 2nd time, when I got outside, her yearling daughter was out there with her. My guess is that the daughter showed up after I left the 1st time, and as I had only left dinner for 1, Heidi shared her food with the daughter. It surprised me though that, being hungry still, Heidi had returned to the door to see if she could flag me down for more food. That was something new, a behavior she had never before exhibited. In the past, she would always eat what I gave her and then leave. She had never come back to the door to request a refill. This new behavior would seem to imply a little more of a 'relationship' of sorts, as though on some level she understands that I'm actually giving her the food - as apposed to just tossing leftovers out the back door which she then eats.
When I went out the 2nd time, I gave them each a small pile of kibble. They ate that and left.
Heidi has become very comfortable around me lately. It's hard to explain and quantify this. It's just that she comes right up to my bent knee to eat even as I'm crouching to pour food from the small bag, and when doing so she looks very content, never fearful. I walk out onto the patio each night talking to them, calling their names, and feeding, all in a manner that to any onlooker would appear as though I were feeding pets. Otherwise, things are fairly static.
I wonder if her increased appetite is due to her nursing the kits, that will sure burn off weight and need more calories.
Glad she is so comfortable around you, and I am amazed none of the other crew have showed up. Miss hearing of Fraidy and the others.
Does your white possum ever return?
Debbie
Hi Debbie,
She isn't really eating more or a lot. It only seemed that way because (1) her yearling daughter showed up after I gave her the food and (2) she let the daughter eat with her. Since the daughter ate 1/2 of the food, Heidi was still hungry and needed more. I'm still not sure what the deal is with the kits, whether she has had them already or not. I need to look back and see when she had them in previous years.
My guess is that Heidi is probably only letting her 2 female kits from last year hang around in her turf this year. In recent years, due to all of the bad things going on with the economy, I've been cutting down on the food I make available to them. It's just a necessary evil. No one knows where the economy is going from here. Most of the experts are less than optimistic. Thus it seems only prudent that I should save every dime possible - for any bad times that might be ahead. Each adult raccoon needs about 2cups of food daily. I can afford to feed 1 or 2 but not 20+. I miss Fraidy, Dennis, Bast, and the others, too, but I just can't afford to feed them all (plus their babies) right now.
In the past I've seen that Heidi determines how many others she will allow to stay based on the availability of food. I think that is why she is only allowing her 2 yearlings to stay this year. Even though we all miss some of our old favorites, it's for the best.
The opossums, Snowball and Puddle, showed up a good bit the past 2 winters to eat anything the raccoons left behind. They pretty much keep their distance in summer. My guess is they know the raccoons don't like outsiders around when the babies are young. So the opossums stay away all summer and then come back in winter. In winter the raccoons only eat a tiny bit, so there is more likely to be food left for the opossums then.
Maybe when the kits arrive there will be more to tell. After all, that's how we got Fraidy and the others to begin with.