Heidi Chronicles: Question to All Readers

You're right, that's amazing! It speaks to the strength of Heidi's connection/relationship to Cheryl...

I agree, I just hope and pray the instinct of survival kicked in....and that the kids survived raised by a "aunt" or such.

Her legacy will live on with all of us for many many years....and that was just second hand through the joy that Cheryl shared with us.
I know those memories are much more with her.

Debbie

Liz,

The one positive thing I hold onto regarding Heidi's death is that she died while still at her 'peak', still able to do the things that were important to her, still the Queen of her domain, and still able to bare young. Ruth once predicted that if Heidi lived long enough she would eventually loose her leadership position to a younger, stronger raccoon. She would eventually become unable to bare kits, and it's clear even from my own observations that the group has great respect for kit-bearing females (only). A female who was not baring young would be pushed out, treated much like the males, and thus not allowed to share group resources (like food). Ruth said she would eventually be treated much like Fraidy was treated. Her words rang true. Nature can by necessity be quite cruel. The group's primary concern is raising kits not caring for the old and frail.

It broke my heart to even imagine such a thing, the once strong and proud Heidi relegated to the position of a Fraidy, hanging out on the periphery in hopes of gleaning a few left over bites of food to stay alive. The thought that her days might end that way was almost more than I could bare. Although I miss her terribly, I am at least glad to know that she did not suffer this dreadful fate but went while still 'on top of her game' and leader of her domain. Another thing and something I don't mention often is how much Heidi enjoyed being a mom and raising kits. You may be thinking, "how could I know that?" but it was always clear both in her actions and her body language. She never looked more joyful than in summer when leading a new group of little ones to the buffet, protecting them, introducing them to their new world, and experience everything anew through their tiny eyes. I'm also glad she didn't have to endure years of childlessness and a sense of futility (given that raising the next generation was her only true purpose in life - my apologies if that sets the women's movement back a few decades, but for raccoons this is how it is).

So, yes, as hard as it is to be without her, I do agree that it was better she go now than live through years of being old, arthritic, pain-racked, kit-less, and unwanted by her group.

I think of distemper as like an extremely deadly form of the flu. Victims of the 1918 Spanish flu presented with a worrisome cough in the morning and were dead before sundown. It was that fast. If Heidi had distemper, I like to think it was like this for her.

I knew something was very wrong with her that last day. I tried and tried to find a rational explanation that night that didn't mean something awful, but I could not. I didn't want to believe it, but I knew what I was seeing was a bad, bad sign. Once I started thinking about it, I realized there had been evidence she was sick at least a few days before that night. I actually mentioned in my posts the strange anomaly which at the time I didn't realize foretold doom. For a few days there she had been coming for dinner, leaving after eating only a small amount, and then coming back a bit later to eat again.

She would arrive hungry. I would give her the quantity of food she normally ate when nursing and leave her eating as she would have any other night. A few minutes later when I happened by to check on her, to see if she needed more, I would find quite surprisingly that she was gone, leaving behind some 3/4 o 1/2 of her food to be devoured by others. Scratching my head, I rationalized her behavior saying maybe the other raccoon had pulled a Steal and in observation of group rules Heidi had given up part of her food to the other, hungry, nursing female. It didn't really sound right that she would give up her food after eating so little, not while needing the nourishment to nurse her 3 kits, but it was the best explanation I could come up with at the time.

A little while later when the others were nearly through eating or sometimes gone already, Heidi would show up again looking for food. At the time I was feeding Heidi the best food to help her through nursing, sometimes even giving her some of Widget's high-quality and pricey food - while the others received the usual, inexpensive cat food. It was thus not only confusing but also a bit frustrating to have her give her food to one of the others and now have to give her more, but, of course, I could never be upset with Heidi. Still wondering why she would leave and return this way, I would scoop out a little more of Widget's food for her. Even with this 2nd round of food, she would eat maybe 1/2 and leave the rest. This went on about 3 days before that final, fateful night.

I didn't realize it at the time, of course, but in hindsight it appears she was struggling to make herself force down enough food to sustain her. She knew she needed to eat to keep the milk flowing for her little ones. What I was seeing (and failing to recognize) was like a very sick person unable to eat more than a few bites even though she knew she needed it to keep up her strength. She was probably going off to the edge of the forest or perhaps some lone corner of the yard until the sickness eased a bit and then returning to try to eat some more. I'm at least glad I was there keeping check so I could supply more food as needed. (This wasn't always the case, as I often put the food out and left w/o returning. Some unknown force caused me to check back with her those nights...

Hi Sheri,

That is very touching. I guess I tend to be a bit pragmatic and perhaps jaded, thinking she came because she knew she needed to eat to feed her kits and maintain her strength. You may be right though, given how little she actually ate, she could probably have found that much closer to home. Either way, I'm glad she came and glad I was able to be there to provide food, care, and a little comfort in those final days.

Debbie,

What a lovely sentiment.

**********OT Public Service Announcement - Because I Don't Want You to Get Sick******

BumbleBee has announced a recall on canned tuna, specific cans only. If you have any cans of BumbleBee tuna on hand, albacore or regular, it's very important that you check the list of effected codes to determine if it is safe to use. You can find the codes on the FoxNews site and on the BumbleBee site, plus I'm sure it is available elsewhere on the net, too. Google it. If you need it and have trouble finding it, PLMK, and I'll be happy to get it for you - even though I'm being lazy right now.

Please don't eat tuna from effected cans or give it to pets. There was a problem with the cans such that some of the lids did not seal properly, leaving the tuna at risk of spoiling and/or harboring dangerous pathogens. Per the news, no one has gotten sick yet from this. It's a voluntary recall at this time. Just wanted to be sure everyone got the word.

I have some tuna on hand myself, and I specifically purchased Bumble Bee after reading that it's the only tuna still packaged in the US. So much for that. I haven't had time yet to check my codes.

Edited to stop being lazy and add the link, since I need to find it anyhow. This is the FDA link to recall info, including can codes: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm342592.htm

This message was edited Mar 8, 2013 4:03 AM

With so much going on tonight, I almost forgot to tell you that tonight, after 'running' to the patio door every few minutes to check and double check, I finally got a glimpse of the mystery guest. Sadly, it was Puddle the opossum. He/she was looking quite adorable, but, of course, I was hoping to see a raccoon. There is still room for hope that there may be more than one such mystery guest though. I'll continue putting out food and keeping a lookout to see who drops by to eat it. Bummer.

Maybe this is a sign your life is fated to take a new direction - the "Possum Lady"!

If puddle is a female (males are quite obviously male) She has babies in her pouch that she has been nursing for a month or longer..

I have no problem with the Adventures of Puddles and her little "droplets" in the pouch.
They can be so loving and entertaining. I believe a few here on DG have shared their possum pets with us.

AND nature...is enjoyable regardless of the breed of animal we are watching.

Debbie

Agreed☺

Wow! I LOVE the way you Folks thing! ;-)

"The Backyard Adventures of Whoever Shows Up Today" it is!

Ha ha - thanks for the chuckle just now. Reading and thinking about the potential new thread - "adventures of Puddle and the droplets" might be the much needed silliness we all need.

Thanks also for the warning on tuna. Will take a look at the pantry.

Have a good evening! I'm sure Cheryl you must be enjoying the same glorious weather that we are here in central NC.

xox
A.

Or....Who's browsing the buffet today? The Bird Feeder Browsers?

It's a Jungle out there....who is in Cheryl's back yard today?


OH the possibilities are so exciting!!!

Debbie

I really do love how you guys have the kinds of 'can do', problem solving attitudes that so quickly turn a potential problem (no raccoon) into no problem at all! Honestly, I thought [Ms] Puddle was quite adorable. I don't know if she (and let's face it, they are all most likely females) would be that comfortable with me going outside with her, but she was amazingly undeterred when I turned on the patio light and looked out at her. In fact, she even walked a good 3ft towards me (going from roughly 5ft away to 2 or less, while the light was on and I was there looking through the glass door), following the plastic container of food as it moved away from her (only raccoons seem smart enough to put one foot in the corner of the dish to anchor it and avoid the chase). We'll have to see if she is willing to actually come to the dish to eat with me outside.

Sheri, if she has babies, will she eventually bring them to the buffet to eat (outside the pouch, that is)? Even with me around? I would LOVE a chance to observe opossums, especially a bunch of baby opossums. When they are tiny babies, they may actually be even cuter than raccoon kits. Just not sure if she will be willing to come around me and bring her little ones, especially w/o the raccoons around to show that I can be trusted. Hope she maybe remembers me from years back - although, honestly, I'm not sure if this is The Puddles or a look-a-like. After so many years around the raccoons, I've acquired the ability to recognize them, at least the ones I get to know well, but I have no such ability with respect to opossums - yet.

Forgot to mention. Have to get to working early this AM, but will be back later, possibly in the PM. Have a great day, Everyone!

Cheryl, after they come out of her pouch...they will be with her on her back or tail for some time traveling. She won't leave them alone to go eat for
some time, so you should get some visuals of the "droplets" for a bit of time. AND no doubt she knows of your buffet skills from the Racoons...so
is not afraid of you.

Doesn't sound like she is afraid of you (freeze in place and gaping open mouth is the fear response). Possums aACTUally are quite docile. A slow soft voiced gradual intro period should work well.

And their eyesight is horrific....might not even see you til very close.

Back for a few minutes while taking a quick and much needed break from some high stress work. Whew!

Debbie & Sheri: Thanks for the info.

Sheri: Oh, I've seen the fear response. LOL. Years ago when I was living in my Mom's house (alone) while attending college I managed to trap one in a corner of a small utility room quite by accident. It made a sound, a sort of growl that had me envisioning a much larger and more fearsome creature, and then gave me that open-mouthed hiss when I turned on the light and found myself only a few feet away from the frightened creature. It was the middle of the night, and I was stuck out there in the middle of nowhere, miles from civilization and alone for the 1st time in my life. I don't know who was more terrified, me or the opossum - or the cat I was there to 'save'. I have since learned that opossums are all bluff and will go limp and play dead if pressed farther. My only other experience with them was what I got that one year when Snowball and Puddle came to the buffet along with the raccoons. Both were comfortable coming very close to me back then. Snowball even came right up to my feet to sniff around for food a time or two. I kind of miss that.

Debbie: I would love to see and observe the droplets. I'm excited at the possibility. I didn't know about the sight deficit. Glad you told me about that. I could be wrong, of course, but I think she saw me. She walked right up to the door and appeared to be looking right at me, then went back to eating. The inside lights were on at the time, and I was standing right up against the door. I'll need to get out there one night very soon to see if she will come to eat with me around. I'll locate the dish well away from me the first night, and then work my way closer each night if that works.

Possum fun facts about them.

http://opossum.craton.net/faqs.htm

Hi Amanda,

You are very welcome for the tuna warning. The thought of poorly sealed cans is frightening - and potentially deadly. I wanted to be sure everyone got the message.

Sounds like your weather is very nice right now. Here it quite literally rained non-stop for the entire month of February and continued into the start of March. Drizzle mostly, but some downpours, as well. The past few days, since about Thursday, have been nice, in the low 30s by night but 60-70 by day and sunny. Looks like today is clouding up again. I've not been enjoying all this rain lately, but I'm trying not to complain too very much. We probably need the water to make up for the drought last summer.

Glad to hear that you are enjoying nice weather!

While we are on the subject of weather...I've been wanting to tell you guys something I learned recently. Yes, it's a bit OT, but I'll try to be brief - for me. First a quick review to setup the idea. For some time now I've been stressing that our weather here in Charleston differs from that pretty much anywhere else in SC (except Beaufort and Hilton Head, pretty much the extreme coast of SC from Charleston down to the border of GA, barrier islands included). It's not only significantly warmer here, so much so that our weather seems out of kilter for our latitude, but we also appear to enjoy some sort of protection from severe storms (except for hurricanes, that is). Per the Sunset Zone map, a much more elaborate and accurate Zone map than the one most often used, our weather here in Charleston is roughly equivalent to that of the upper or northern 1/2 of Florida - not that of SC or even our neighbor GA. As to storm protection, so many times I've watched as severe storms made their way east across the southern states of LA, Mississippi, AL, and GA only to make a sharp turn and head north or mysteriously disappear before reaching us. It is almost as though there were some kind of Star Wars type force field protecting us - from the west, that is.

For some time I've wondered why this is. At one point I thought it might be our proximity to the ocean, but the ocean doesn't seem to offer much protection to other parts of the Atlantic coast, especially farther north. Recently, I was watching a program about major ocean currents. I knew the Gulf Stream hugged our coast line, but the program helped to better explain its effects. In addition, the Great Ocean Conveyor comes up the coast here. Both the Gulf Stream and the conveyor move heat from further south up along the Atlantic coast in our area. I'll skip the details, but as a result of that program it occurred to me that the Gulf Stream (and possibly the conveyor) may well be the answer I've been looking for. The Gulf Stream hugs the coast of FL and SC and functions to distribute heat from FL up here. I think that may well be the reason our temps here on the extreme coast is so close to that of northern FL. In addition, I think the Gulf Stream may our Force Field for storms approaching to the west of us. I'm thinking maybe the pressure gradient just off our coast acts as a barrier of sorts causing storms approaching on our western side to turn or break up before reaching us. It's just a theory, of course, and I'm not a weather professional, so I could be totally off base here.

Thanks, Debbie!

I'm going to come back to the Opossum facts on my next break. Back to work now.

Yay! Now, of course, I don't know much about opossum behavior, but I'm guessing any creature that size that has survived since T-Rex roamed the earth (or thereabouts) must have the ability to learn and do so fairly quickly. That being true, I think I just might be establishing an initial connection of sorts with Puddle.

Last night I only put out a large handful of cat food, less than usual. It was just before dark, I went out there to let the dog/cats out/in - it's becoming a zoo in here, btw. It had been a long, stressful day and I needed a little down time. Feeling lazy, I put a big handful of kibble in the dish, got all of my brood back inside, grabbed a Dt Coke, and went to catch up on the day's news. I new there was little chance I would be able to catch whoever came to eat, since it would probably happen in the next hour or so, while I was resting and/or handling other things. To be completely honest, it was nice out, and I lamented the fact that I was in no mood to sit outside to await my visitor.

Sure enough, I came back a few hours later to find the kibble gone - and the dish turned upside down as if in editorial. Normally, that would have been the end of it for that day/night, except...I fell asleep early and slept like a rock, until this morning when I awoke to the realization that I had 20-some minutes to get the recycling out to the curb for pickup. I grabbed a light coat, more to conceal my pj's than for actual warmth and proceeded to set up bins and pour largish bags of aluminum cans into them. Try as I might, I could only do so much to keep down the noise of garage doors and rattling cans.

After 3 trips out to curbside, hauling cans, paperboard, and the like, I was on my way out for the last run when a familiar figure came waddling towards me on the driveway. Puddle? OMG, it was Puddle in my front yard, crossing my path. When I 1st saw her she was coming from the area around the mail box and heading diagonally across the driveway towards the side of the house, apparently headed for the backyard and/or the forest beyond. She showed no particular fear of me, making no attempt to hide or take an alternate path to avoid me. There wasn't another sign of human life anywhere up and down the street in any direction, so she could easily have taken any number of other routes to the forest avoiding all human contact, yet here she was wadding across my driveway where the lights were on, and she was more easily seen, not to mention she HAD to have heard all the commotion I made out there on my 3 prior trips out to the curb, juggling, and 'pouring' cans. Again, no one else on the street anywhere in any direction, and all houses/yards dark and quiet, except for mine where the outside lights were were on, and I was outside making noise - and yet that's where she chose to 'scuddle' across the drive on her way 'home' to the forest. Really?

Just to be sure you have the picture, my driveway is only 2 car lengths long, and I was just short of 1/2 way along the driveway on my way out to the curb when Puddle emerged from the mailbox (surrounded by shrub roses, clematis, and other flowers) and made her way across the drive in front of me. She didn't turn and head elsewhere upon seeing me, but then again she almost certainly had to know I was out there already whether from smell or noise or both. Also, just the width of my house farther down the street from where she stood (at the mailbox) is the much more secluded place where animals normally cross the street and make their way between mine and my neighbors houses. Deer, cats, raccoons, and opossums all normally use that spot to travel from the street to the forest, where 2 dense, parallel hedges 5ft tall, beginning at the sidewalk, form a 'fence' of sorts along the property line between the two houses, mine and the neighbors, and provide the perfect natural cover for wildlife to pass through there on the way from street to forest. Yet, again, she chose to cross there on the driveway with the light on and me out there. Hmm.

At the time, I just figured she was for whatever reason just coincidentally making her way across the street on her way home perhaps from foraging about the neighborhood, this despite the fact that in the 12yrs now that I've lived here I've really never seen any sign of opossums or raccoons out there on the street not even any sign of their activity out there, since nothing ever messes with the trash, recycling, and such out at the street, and even though I'm often in and out all times of the night walking Widget and such, I've never seen a single opossum or raccoon in the street - except for those that were sneaking around to my front yard in search of food back when I was feeding the cats out there, that is. Plus, I didn't actually see Puddle come from across the street. I saw her emerge from the area around my mailbox.

In retrospect, I wonder if she had actually been hanging out in the forest behind my house and made her way out to my front yard when she heard/smelled me milling around out there. Having received only a small qty of food the night before, she was likely hungry, especially if she is carrying 'droplets' as you guys propose and followed me out there in hopes of finding food. I think she was probably hiding in the dense rose bushes surrounding the mailbox just before I saw her there. Is it possible she might actually realize that I'm the one who puts out the food and has for years now and that I might give her something if I saw her there? I don't know opossums well enough to know this, but I do know she didn't need to be seen. She could easily have made her way across the street (if that's where she was coming from) in the darkness and traveled in the hedges to the forest, but she didn't.

At any rate, upon seeing her cross my path, I spoke to her in a soft, calming voice, just hoping to help her get used to me - not realizing she may already have done so. She had already passed me by the time I spoke and was making her way towards the corner of the house. She paused momentarily before proceeding on, although it's hard to say if it may have been due to that 'freeze' response for which they are known. Interestingly, a line of roses and azaleas runs along the foundation of the house on that side. I would think a wild animal would travel between the shrubs and the house for cover, especially knowing a human was nearby, but she headed along in the area 'outside' the shrubs on her way to the backyard and/or forest beyond.

I finished out at the curb quickly and rushed back inside. Having seen Puddle, I now hoped to give her something to eat before she disappeared into the forest. I grabbed the cat food bag and headed out onto the patio hoping I wasn't too late and that my activity out there would not cause her to run away to the forest all the faster. As I put food in the dish, I spoke her name softly. Kitty saw me out there and came back inside with me. I fed Kitty and petted her a few minutes. On my way back through the kitchen I looked out onto the patio, just in case - and there was Puddle happily gobbling up the food I had just put out.

Hmm. Is Puddle maybe living or hanging out in the forest edge behind my house these days? Did she actually follow me out to the street this morning? Did she show herself intentionally, hoping to get fed? Was all of this my idea - or hers? Am I in control here or the opossum? Or are they that smart?

Apparently "they" are smart enough!

I would say yes, they are that smart....and yes, she has you trained very easily...and early! LOL

ROTF, stillwood & Debbie,

It did occur to me that my thesis, 1st Paragraph, 2nd Sentence, above post might be more accurately stated as "...I think Puddle just might be establishing an initial connection of sorts with me", and everything else in my post changed in like manner.

I concur with still & Deb. They can easily learn to respond to their name or certain sounds. BTW you mentioned her stopping momentarily as you were softly talking to her. Possum people commonly describe "possum coma's".. IE: possum walks a few stepa or feet and then stops as if momentarily 'napping' after a few seconds they return to their travel mode. I have wondered if this serves the purpose in the wild to function as a stealth cricket catcher, etc. Their ear position is a 'tell' of thier comfort or fear state. When they really love you they will rub their faces back and forth over your shoe leaving love slobber and wet laces, but you know you are loved. During This 'love slobber head rubbing action they clearly apear to be in an extatic state of bliss!




This message was edited Mar 12, 2013 11:08 AM typos

This message was edited Mar 12, 2013 11:11 AM

This message was edited Mar 12, 2013 11:17 AM

PS...Possums LOVE grapes & banannas!!

The possum coma is also known as "playing dead" as they are known to do....unless they are in the road. Sigh.

I have a friend that badgers me about stopping for hit possums to check their pouch for babies...I haven't been brave enough yet.

The difference is that a 'dead' possum would not be sitting up as if frozen in action for only a few moments. Playing dead is their fear response and they lay down, curl up and truly appear dead. Rehabbers have even tried light corneal touch with no reaction from a very alive possum who is playing dead.

Sorry to say this, but my Dad once beat a 'dead' opossum over the head with a crowbar, just to be sure it was really, really dead. Then he scooped it up with a shovel, dropped it into a metal garbage can, and put the lid securely in place before returning to bed. The next morning he went outside to find the lid off and the 'dead' opossum gone. They are clearly some incredibly tough critters. I was a small kid at the time. I remember that he just could not believe the opossum could continue to play dead even when being whacked with the crow bar. He clearly didn't understand that the 'playing dead' thing is nervous system response not like a person just trying to lie still and appear dead or asleep.

I apologize for that 'ugly' story, but remember the opossum 'won' that round.

Possum babies make a unique sound to call their mother when in distress. It is sort of a combination of a sneaze and a squeak. It can be mimmickd by placing your tongue on the roof of your mouth as if to pronounce the letter sound of a 'T'. However do not engage your voice at all, but rather "sneeze" this sound out. Some humans demure methout of sneezing sounds like this. Not me though I think I's explode if ever trying to stiffle a huge sound into such a tiny , benign sound.

One excellent use for this 'call' is when there is a momma possum at side of road with open pouch that clearly indicateS recent nursing activity by swollen and elongated teats. By making this 'call' and walking around the grassy area near the mom or side of road (if mom is in the road) You may get some excited and frantic little sneezle-squeaks back in responce. Babies stay with mom for a # of months both inside the pouch and then riding on her back, holding on with little fists in a death grip of mom's hair. These babies are only viable if somehow they have maintained body heat. They can regulate their own body heat after about 6"-7" long, which also is about 5 months and back packing travelers. They stay in the pouch intill about 4-5".

I will try to locate and convert some of my possum rehabbing pictures to digital to share with you. There are also many pictures of "Bobi the bobtail possum" who lived with me a little over 3 yeaRS after her littermates cannnibalized her tail which rendered her nonreleasable.

It was an unbeleavably wonderful experience for the 3+ yrs that Bobi lived with me. She lived about 3 1/2 years.

Sheri

This message was edited Mar 14, 2013 2:06 PM

My two cents, for what it's worth:

possums also LOVE apples. And insects - living or not - mealworms, whatev.

We do rehab also. Learned also that they *MUST* have water to defecate in. Of course my green iguana likes to poop in the tub in a nice hot bath. The water helps to stimulate the process.

Last spring a possum was in the yard in broad daylight. More likely that my stupid landlord and her handyman frightened him/her from his/her hiding place. As I watched him/her waddle to the back of the yard likely to make its way up or down the powerline easement/fenceline that divides our city block, I ran into the house for an apple (trained much as Cheryl may be) and walked pretty much right up to it and dropped/rolled 2 halves right into its line of retreat. S/he said (I could hear it telepathically), "oh hey, look. an apple." The possum sat there in broad daylight and ate the thing. I came in and out with some other tidbits to make sure being out in the daylight would be worth the while.

We had one on our platform feeder a week or two ago. Did the same thing - went out while it was sitting there to put something there for him. It crawled up into the mulberry tree to the next crotch up - about 10'. It came down eventually to eat and then lumbered off.

Love love love 'em. I'm a sucker.

Here's Pete from last spring. Lady who does "pest" re.moval brought him to me as a baby. Took him far away to the headwaters of the Haw River to release him. The lady who gave him to me asked "why so far." Well, to avoid cars and cats, of course.

Night all... :)

we... Amanda.....such a sweet face. I sure miss those little faces & hands are so precious too. Just a wee furball of preciousness.

Amanda,

That is an adorable opossum face. I told you as much in the post I wrote over the weekend but failed to actually 'Send'. I do that sometimes.

I can't get over how different raccoons and opossums look in various parts of the country. I read somewhere that there are some 5 or 6 different varieties (kind of like breeds of dog) of raccoons across the country. I'm thinking there must also be different 'breeds' of opossum, because yours doesn't look anything at all like ours. Yours looks much cuter. It reminds me of a panda. Ours are much paler in color, shades of light to med gray with 'dirty' white faces - not actual dirt, just that the shade of off white is dirty looking (not bright white like yours). I would like to effect a trade, please.

As for that 'water' tip, I actually prefer that my dinner guests do their potty work elsewhere before they arrive. Not to worry though, because around here we are never w/o water, not even in a drought. We are very near the ocean and are on the banks of a large river whose tributaries wrap around us pretty much on all sides. In addition, our community has some 10 or so large, drainage ponds, one of which is directly across the street from me (where deer and other wildlife go at night to drink). Also, the land here is wetlands. The area behind my house is both forest and swamp, such that it's too boggy to even walk around back there w/o sinking to mid thigh. There is also a pond of sorts back there. Between ocean, river, ponds, wetlands, and swamp there is always water around here.

Sheri,

Thanks for the tip. I bought a 'ton' of very ripe bananas on markdown Friday - 15lbs actually. I've been eating them like crazy, since (1) my Dr called to say my potassium is low and to eat bananas and (2) they won't last long. I sliced a quart-sized container full for the freezer. When I get a late night sweet tooth, I like to grab a handful of frozen banana slices for a healthy, guilt-free, and filling treat. The texture is similar to that of a fudgesicle. I will try to remember to give her some banana tonight. Actually, I think she has been eating the many banana peels I've been tossing into the open compost pile out back the past several days.

Snowball was really fond of scrambled eggs. She bypassed everything else at the buffet years ago to grab some left over chicken egg foo young patties. She also went for the scrambled eggs on another occasion.

A couple nights ago I gave her some homemade chicken & dumplings, mostly dumplings, the fluffy, biscuit type (but made from scratch). She gobbled them all up (5 large ones) plus her cat food. That same night I opened the patio door a few inches and spoke to her gently. I was hoping to go out there with her depending on her comfort level, but she waddled away. Clearly I have much work to do yet.

I got preoccupied with something else and forgot to put out feed for a couple nights. Then last night just shortly after dark I went to the patio door to check for Kitty who was still outside. I turned the patio light on, opened the door wide, and called her a few times. I left the light on for the next 20min or so while I was working in the kitchen. On my way out of the kitchen I stopped by the patio door one last time. The patio light was still on. Again I opened the door and called out to Kitty. This time Kitty came inside.

I was just about to turn off the patio light and walk away when my brain made out a vague but definite pattern in the semi-darkness just beyond the patio - a long white face. It was Puddle sitting there calmly watching me. I wish I could draw you a picture. She wasn't far off in the distance, just sitting there on the grass just off the patio, sitting their watching almost as though she had heard me calling someone earlier and now was waiting. The patio is a rectangle attached to the house on one long side. The patio door is located about one foot from one end of that long side. The patio light was still on and had been on for some 20min by that time.

Puddle was sitting just across the patio from the door, across the short side (maybe 10 to 12ft). She could have chosen to sit at the far end of the patio, the end away from the door and the light. That would have been the obvious place to sit had she wanted to hide as it's not only dark down there and farther from the door but also there are large potted plants on that end of the patio to provide cover. Down there I would never have seen her, especially considering that area of the patio is hidden from view unless I step out of the door and onto the patio. But she had chosen to sit directly across [the short side of the] patio from the door where she was in the light and visible from the open door where I stood.

It's almost as though she is playing that baby game of Pea-Pie with me, the one where you disappear and reappear. Sometimes she shows herself, sometimes she hides. In particular, it seems like she shows herself when she is hungry and hoping to get food. I found that very heartening, because it seems to indicate that she knows I give her the food, and while she isn't completely comfortable around me yet, she does appear to have the idea that I may be friendly and may be feeding her intentionally - otherwise it would make no sense to show herself as she has clearly done at least 2 times now.

Some years back one of the opossums used to sit on the back fence at night waiting for me to put food out for the raccoons. Puddle could easily do the same. From the back fence she would be much safer (from people, dogs, etc) and yet would be able to see/hear/smell when I put out the food. She could have sat on a low branch in any of a number of trees in the backyard (or forest edge) to watch the house, but she had chosen to sit at the edge of the patio and in front of the patio door. She had chosen to sit within the bounds of the patio light rather than the darkness beyond its reach. She had actually made herself more visible even than my cat, the latter of whom was hiding in the darkness on the far end of the patio. I can only conclude that she wanted to be seen and that she had some idea that being seen might be the key to getting the food (as the raccoons before her had known).

Oh, almost forgot to mention that upon seeing Puddle sitting there I hurried back inside to fetch her some kibble. She did waddle towards the cover and darkness at the other end of the patio as I walked out there with the food, but even that seemed a positive thing in view of the fact that she could have headed away from me and towards the forest. Away and towards the safety of home (the forest) would seem the likely route for a wild animal. Anyhow, I spoke her name softly a time or two as I put the food out there on the patio. Then I turned the patio light off and went back inside to feed Kitty.