Raccoon Files: NextGen 1

I think I have some old hummingbird nectar mix around here somewhere. It's sweet & granular like sugar. I need to get rid of it anyhow. I think I might add some of that to part of the cornmeal dough (for the raccoon kibble) to make a 'cookie' of sorts for them. That was a large bag of cornmeal, and I think there was probably 2-3lbs left when I found the bugs in it, so it should make a fair amount of kibble/cookies.

My Daddy always said, those bugs were just a little protein. ;-)

LOL, Susan,

Sounds like your Daddy was light years ahead of most of us. While I get squeamish at the idea of eating them, I have little doubt that I have eaten plenty of bugs (and bug parts) in my lifetime. I'm referring, of course, to the hidden bugs, the ones we don't see, whether in pantry staples of in the countless packaged, convenience products we buy, products for which the gov sets an allowable limit for bug parts - so you know they are probably in there. I'm cool with the bugs I don't know about.

In many parts of the world, Africa comes to mind, bugs, grubs and such, are a major source of dietary protein, even if the thought of eating such things causes most of us to loose our appetites. Posh restaurants in major cities sometimes offer creative 'bug' appetizer like fried tarantulas. Others host benefits where the elite pay outrageous prices to sample all manner of insect creations from famous chefs.

Per my research this particular bug is not only harmless but is actually introduced intentionally to one particular type of cheese to add to the flavor. Yum! Still, while my pragmatic scientific side understands all of this, the part that controls my stomach says, "Ick!" But I'm sure the raccoons, to whom grubs are just another tasty morsel, will be very happy to have that extra protein.

I'm pretty sure I won't be making that raccoon food today/tonight. The high here today was a whopping 86F. It's dusk now and still 79F (outside). Too hot in the house to even think about using the oven. I'm keeping the AC off to keep the power bill down.

Tomorrow's predicted high is 63F with a low of 42F. That looks like my best oven night, because temps go back up again after that. I'm not complaining though. As long as it stays nice and warm like this, I can keep my power bill very low by using neither heat nor AC. No complaints, just not a good time to bake raccoon kibble.

I was in the kitchen about 45min or so ago, around 5ish, when I looked up and saw a thick, fluffy, striped tail. It was still quite light out at that time but sundown was clearly approaching. Widget was in the kitchen with me. I quickly grabbed him and took him to the MBR. When I returned, I went to the patio door where I was planning to call out to the raccoon (using Deva's name, since that is what I always called when they were young). I figured just the sound of me opening the door would likely send the raccoon scurrying for the forest, but it was worth a try.

I arrived at the patio door to find the young raccoon standing right up against the door and looking up at me. She was on the small side, such that her tail seemed almost larger than the rest of her, clearly a youngster. She was also quite noticeably thin, fur caving in around her hip bones, but as Amanda pointed out previously, I guess it's possible this might be what a normal, wild raccoon looks like (w/o help from the buffet). I doubt it though. This time of year, going into winter, I think they should probably be at their peak weight. Even though it is fairly warm here most of the winter, there is still likely to be very little available food, since plants put on their seeds, berries, and fruit in summer and early fall and rest in winter.

This did not appear to be Rascal, the youngster who climbed the door last evening. My guess is this is the same one who came by around 4PM yesterday, the one Widget chased.

Smart little kids!

Hi Liz,

Yes, they are very smart, aren't they. Since they were so young when they were here in early summer, I'm rather surprised that they remembered this place and how to get here.

I figured one or both of those kits would likely be back again today, so last night I started thinking about what I might have around here to offer them (until I get their food made) w/o using anything which the cats or Widget or I might otherwise have eaten. It may sound like a tall order, but I did come up with a few things.

- 1/2 Little Debbie Choc Peanut Bar. I found this a basket on the baker's rack by the door. I used that basket to hold small items for the raccoons. I had a habit of forgetting those items were there, so I checked and found the open packet with the remains of a bar I had broken into small pieces for the kits way back in spring. I had left the other 1/2 for the next day and then forgotten it. It was stale, but I knew the raccoons would not mind that.

- Sunflower seeds. I still have about 3/4 bag of a thistle & sunflower seed (pieces) mix, which has much more sunflower seeds than thistle. Raccoons like sunflower seeds. The bag is several years old as it predates my 1st layoff, but the seeds were still fresh when I opened it last winter to feed the goldfinches that were here for a while. It has been in an air tight, plastic bin. I need to get rid of this bag of seed anyhow.

- Marshmallow fluff. One container originally purchased for the raccoons & left over from years ago. I opened it a couple of years ago (curious to see if I might be able to use it). I found that it is now not so much fluff as marshmallow syrup, but I kept it thinking the raccoons would not care. I always forget about it though.

- Hummingbird nectar mix. I found an unopened package of this in my garden supplies. Raccoons love this stuff, as I learned back when I was putting it out for the hummers. The raccoons used to tip the hummer feeder and drink the nectar like Koolaid.

Sure enough shortly before dark that same youngster showed up again. I gave her the remains of the Little Debbie along with a handful of the sunflower seeds (trying to keep it nutritious, dinner and a treat). She didn't show a lot of interest in the sunflower seeds but was delighted to receive the Little Debbie bar. I probably shouldn't have given her the desert 1st.

This one is very 'grabby'. As soon as I step out the door, she stands upright in front of me and grabs my legs, like in a giant bear hug, which would be adorable except that I worry that she may accidentally scratch me through the fabric. Every time I would move away from her grasp, she would step toward me and grab my legs again. Little rat. :-)

Her tendency to grab at things made getting the Little Debbie bar out of the package with her around a bit of a challenge, even though I was standing upright. She is tall enough now to extend up that high to grab at things. I did manage to get it unwrapped and hand it to her w/o incident though. It was more of the same when I came out with the bag of bird seed. She is like a cross between a 2yr old and an overanxious pet. She was reaching for the bag from the time I walked out for it and all the time I was leaning down trying to pour some of the contents into the container. She acts almost like a pet raccoon might. I can also pet her back - I stopped short of squeezing this one.

I also found a small free sample packet of rabbit food. Having no rabbits but knowing that raccoons will eat a wide range of things, I put a handful of those in the dish with the sunflower seeds just to see if she might eat them. About that time, Cocoa showed up and scared her away. I will try to get some of the raccoon kibble made tonight while it is cold out.

Just catching up, and holding my breath from one story to the next.

Sending big hugs Cheryl!!

Hi, Debbie,

I missed you and am so glad to know that your are back and are ok. :-)

This afternoon at 2:45PM (I actually looked at the clock), I was in the kitchen area working up a storm, cleaning, organizing, rearranging some things - a process I started out of the need to find room for my seeds starting efforts, vegetable seeds for the winter garden at the moment. I heard something at the back door. I thought it was my cat Cocoa. He had been in and out a little earlier, and I figured he was probably back wanting to be let in again.

The sounds at the back door grew more insistent, enough so that I decided to extricate myself from my work to go and check. As you may have figured by now, at the door I found one very determined young raccoon. She wasn't climbing the door, not yet at least. She was standing up high on her hind legs, her arms stretched toward the door knob. I'm not sure if she was looking for a doorbell or actually trying to turn the knob to come inside. She's a bit like that adorable but also sometimes frustrating neighborhood kid, the 5yr old from down the street that has too little adult supervision and is always showing up at your house no matter how busy you may be.

I grabbed the gallon sized bag of kibble I had made the night before and headed for the door. She was right smack up against the door, with her nose pressed up against the opening at the bottom as though trying to sniff me and/or what I had in my hands. When I opened the door, she again tried to rush inside, and not like the tiny, baby kits who stumble in haphazardly either. She tries to dart in. She actually wants to come inside, and she seems quite determined about it.

I only had the door open maybe 6-8in but more than enough for her to slip through. I quickly 'waved' the door back and forth, open, closed to deter her. She in turn alternated swiftly between trying to dive through the door and jumping back out of the way. After a few such tries, she gave up and stepped back, allowing me to step out onto the patio.

As soon as I stepped outside with the bag, she stood upright with her arms extended up and out, kind like 'hug a tree' (palates) but up in the air at the same time. She danced around forcing me to do the same as she alternated between trying to grab my legs and reaching for the bag. She is quite the handful that one.

I managed to get a large chunk for the raccoon kibble out of the bag and hand it to her. I goofed on the size thing, so it was about the size of 1/4 cookie, not really kibble sized but perfect for handing out like a treat. Bottom line, she loved it! Widget loves it, too, as I mentioned last night.

While the raccoon kibble was baking last night I came to the realization, aided 1st by the aroma, that it's really just cornbread - hard as a brick and sweetened with hummingbird nectar but cornbread just the same. Cornmeal, eggs, old hamburger grease. Yep, that's cornbread, although perhaps not the best recipe.

I attached a pic of the raccoon food made from the bug infested cornmeal. You can't even see the bugs in the finished product. In the pic it looks fluffy like cake, but actually despite having those air holes, it's hard like a rock or like dry pet food. The cornmeal included a leavening agent, thus the air holes. There are smaller pieces, but the largest chunks, the ones you see in the pic are about 1in sq. They are larger than I expected, because I didn't take the leavening into account - not that the raccoon seemed to mind. Oh, and the pink color is from the hummingbird nectar I used to sweeten it a bit, to better insure the 'kids' would like it - and it worked, too!

I only had the chance to give the raccoon 2 pieces before Cocoa showed up. As soon as she saw Cocoa about 1/2 way across the yard, she beat a hasty retreat. I left 3 more chunks for when she came back and then went inside to feed Cocoa. By the time I returned, the kibble was gone as was she.

Last night I said that they hadn't eaten the sunflower chips and thus must not be all that hungry. This morning in the light of day I could see that I was wrong. The sunflower seeds had been eaten. It was the rabbit food, pellets about the same color as the sunflower seed chips, that was still in the container and which had given me the wrong impression last night. I had originally put the handful of rabbit food in one corner of the dish. I had failed to consider that the pellets would end up scattered across the dish. So this means I have to retract my statement about them not being very hungry - she's coming out for food before 3PM for heck sake. It also means I can add some of those seed chips to my next batch of raccoon kibble, to add protein, fat, and more calories. They need it.

One final thing about the raccoon. As I've mentioned, she is amazingly tame around me. I had expected to sit out there with her a while (had Cocoa not intervened). While she was eating that 1st kibble chunk, I walked about 2 steps over to pick up garden buddy seat which I had previously turned upside down to keep it from collecting rain water. I brought it back to where she was, just walked right up to her while carrying this big, plastic thing, and even as I sat it down beside her, she never even batted an eye. She just reached for her next piece of kibble. :-)

Sounds like a cutie, but your neighborhood child analog sounds apt! Sounds like it's time for some training to take place - maybe the spray bottle needs to make an appearance? Glad she approved of your culinary efforts on her behalf! :-)

Hi, Liz,

I think you are right. I've already put that spray bottle on the shelf right beside the door, right where I can reach over and pick it up without even taking a step away from the door, so now I'm 'locked & loaded' as the saying goes. Thankfully, she didn't try to climb the door, but I was pretty surprised when she tried to dash inside again, after I closed the door on her the other night - or was that the other one. I'm starting to get them mixed up. I'm not even 100% sure there actually are 2 of them anymore, but time will tell.

While I was making the kibble for her last night, I was thinking, "What if she won't eat it?" Then I realized. She's a raccoon. It's corn. If she won't eat it, then she's clearly not hungry, so there never was a problem to begin with. Imaginary problem solved.

Looks tasty to me. did you try it? LOL

Well it looks great!

So glad it's a hit with the kid. Couldn't be any less appetizing than "hard tack" which was a staple in the civil war. Just flour and water, not much else. Court made some to bring on our first AT hike. It was a bust, but edible.

That is quite early for the kit to show up, but I've noticed that the possum I've been feeding has been coming earlier too - not quite just after dark, but not as late as I'm accustomed to seeing him/her.

Susan,

Yes, I did taste a nibble off the edge of one. It's not bad. I could eat it. It tastes like a hard, corn, cracker with subtle sweetness. Heck, I'm eating one now, just because you asked. This way I can give my best response. I think we could sell them at restaurants, parties and events. I would just need to roll them out thinner next time. Very tasty, and I like the pink color. I'm sitting here now eating my 4th cookie. I can't taste the bugs at all, although I'm tempted to wonder about the crunchy spots. I might have to tweak that recipe a bit to make crackers for me.

I should mention that I just took my Ambien a while ago and am now a little silly. I'm also having trouble typing and keeping the page in focus, so I had better get in bed.

Amanda,

The kit is coming out several hours before dark. In broad daylight. That is most uncommon this time of year. The nursing moms come out before dark in summer because they are starving and it doesn't get dark until 9:30 then, but with sundown coming around 5:30 now it's pretty unusual for the kit to be showing up so early - 2:45 yesterday. She is here well before dark every day lately, when she should be sleeping still. I've actually never seen one (that isn't nursing) out this early. I think she is waking up early because she is hungry.

About the 'hard tack', lol, well this is cornmeal rather than flour, so I'm thinking it may be a little tastier. This is embarrassing. Last night after I took an Ambien to get to sleep, I checked DG one last time and read Susan's (9kittymom) question about whether I had tasted the raccoon food I made. Ambien makes me a little, well, 'high' before it knocks me out, so being in that state, I decided to try it.

OMG. I ate a bunch of it! I don't know how much of that was the Ambien and how much was the fact that it was like a cracker, and I haven't had any bread or crackers or any snack foods around here in ages. It was crunchy & a slightly sweet (hummingbird nectar) & made a yummy snack. I'm laughing at myself as I type this. I started out just tasting the edge of one piece (last night) and then finished that one and then ate just one more and then just one more - kind of like Lay's potato chips, not the taste, the concept. Even as I was munching away like a half-staved (I'm really not) person from a deserted island, I kept reminding myself, "there are bugs in this stuff". But in that Ambien induced state, I didn't care. They were tasty, and as Susan pointed out 'just a little extra protein'. ROTFLMHO!

Just FYI, I'm only taking the Ambien for a few nights. My sleep cycle has gotten out of sync since that night I stayed up worrying about the car. I've been unable to break the cycle of being awake all night and sleeping 1/2 the day. I have much work to do, and must get back on 'day shift'. I'm taking the Ambien to force me to sleep at night, so I can get up earlier and get back on the right cycle. I need to take it earlier though. I was still awake after 1AM last night. It doesn't knock me out immediately. Oh, and contrary to some of the scare stories about Ambien, I was not 'sleep eating' when I ate the 'raccoon kibble'. I was still awake and knew exactly what I was doing.

With respect to my sleep cycle, I've also decided to stop skipping doses of my progesterone. I had been taking only 1 dose a day instead of the 2 prescribed. I was doing this to stretch what I have on hand, but decreasing my progesterone is probably part of the reason I'm up all night and sleeping 1/2 the day. That's what I was doing before I got on HRT, so clearly I can't keep doing that.

Getting back to the topic of me eating the 'raccoon kibble' (*Totally red faced with embarrassment!) Actually, after eating a handful or so of the kibble I made for the raccoons, I decided to make some for me, except that I'm going to call mine crackers. Just think that sounds better than kibble. I do have another, small bag of cornmeal that was in an air-tight container and thus not bug infested. I'll probably use that for my crackers. I also will probably omit the hamburger grease and the hummingbird nectar and make them much thinner. Hoping the recipe still tastes as good w/o the bugs, grease, and nectar. Trying to think of other ways to flavor it.

Before I continue, I want to let everyone know that I did receive some funds for food. I haven't gone out to get the food yet, but I will be getting some staples and a few luxuries such as potatoes, apples, and collards if available at a good price - and maybe a chicken (frier) to bake for Thanksgiving. Have I mentioned that I have much, much thanks to give! I'm gong to sit down with my wish list and the sales list (online) to plan my purchases very carefully before I go to the store. I thought I should add this so you don't get too worried about me after telling you about the 'cornbread kibble' eating incident. :-)

I was in the kitchen getting ready to start cooking when I looked up and saw my little raccoon friend at the patio door. This time she wasn't climbing the door or otherwise misbehaving, not yet anyhow. I grabbed my gallon-sized, plastic bag of raccoon kibble and headed for the door.

You would think I would learn, but no. When I opened the door, the raccoon started heading in. I have a spray bottle full of vinegar water right by the door, but rather than use that, I did a very foolish thing. I stuck the bag of food in front of her to use it to block her path and 'push' her backward and out of the doorway - much as I had done many times before with a box or other object. Boy was that a dumb move. I stuck a bag of food in the face of a hungry, wild animal. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I think that may be the definition of the word.

Instantly, the raccoon grabbed the bag. I mean she had a death grip on that bag and wasn't about to let go - but neither was I. From that moment, IT WAS ON! No way was I going to relinquish that bag of food w/o one he__ of a fight. By now we were out on the patio, both of us holding onto the bag. I tugged on the bag, but she tugged back. She really wanted that bag - but so did I. Her tug was much, much stronger than I had anticipated, but I wasn't giving in.

I lifted up on the bag, trying to rip it from her grasp, but she just stretched her body up into the air, still holding on. I knew that cheap, store brand, plastic bag, the storage variety not the thicker freezer type and one which I had been washing and reusing for a couple years now, would surely break any moment spilling its precious contents all over the patio, but still I was not about to give up, not until the last piece of kibble fell. I'm that obstinate!

I lifted my arm higher still and watched in total amazement as the raccoon's back feet cleared the ground entirely and she went airborne, dangling from the plastic bag like some kind of monkey charm on a bracelet. Now I was holding a bag, holding the top strip of a cheap, plastic, storage bag with an entire raccoon dangling from it. It was like one of those commercials for how much this thing could lift. Where, oh, where are the video cameras when you need them? Not that I had time to take pictures. Far from it. I was in the middle of a 'death match' over that bag, and it was far from over.

Then in a flash and before I could even think to act, she swung her nimble, athletic hind legs up into the air grabbing on to the bottom of the bag with them. This was nothing for her, just like climbing trees. Now she was wrapped in a semi-circle of sorts around the bottom of the gallon sized plastic bag. Now she had a grip on the bag with ALL 4 FEET.

I must admit that at this point I truly figured this battle was already over, and I was going to loose. I was also all but certain the food was going to end up all over the patio floor. I mean, seriously, how much more could a cheap, plastic bag be expected to take? I was only surprised it hadn't happened already. My worst fear was that her next move might be to reach up higher on the bag, possibly catching my hand and scratching it by accident in the process - but I STILL wasn't willing to quit! No, freaking WAY!

Even though I was afraid I might get scratched by accident in this battle over the bag, I raged on even knowing I was likely to loose anyhow. I started jerking the bag up and down in the air as hard and fast as I could manage with a raccoon attached to it. The movement was much like that of dribbling a basket ball, except that their was no ball, and I was holding on to the bag rather than actually bouncing it. But the sudden, forceful pounding movement was very much the same.

Against a million to one odds, the raccoon dropped to the patio floor, landing on her feet, of course, and leaving a totally astonished me standing there holding the bag of food, which but for a couple of holes was still very much intact. It took me a minute or two to totally grasp the fact that I was actually the victor in this crazy battle - and not even one piece of kibble had fallen. Did I tell you I have a guardian angel? I beat a hungry raccoon in a fight over food! I don't know if I'm one gutsy broad or simply crazy - but I WON!

I gave her a handful of the food - probably shouldn't have - and then came back inside where I put the remainder of the food in a new bag - but not before taking a few pictures of the old one. I'll post those later if any good. Now back to the kitchen to cook.

Oh my! What an adventure! LOL! Once again, your word pictures are mezmerizing! Thanks for the entertainment!

roflol, you take the cake, or kibble as it were.

Thanks, Liz,

It was touch & go there for a few minutes. Glad you enjoyed the story.

Susan,

You know what they say, "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade." So I figure, if life gives you pantry bugs, make raccoon kibble - and sample a handful or two. :-)

I still say your daddy was ahead of his time. There are major activist groups out there who would like to get us all trained to eat insects as a major protein source, but I don't really see that happening here at least not unless cows, chickens, and pigs go extinct.

Seriously, I haven't had any inclination to 'enjoy' any more of those bug 'crackers', not since I'm awake now and not under the influence of sleeping pills. I definitely will not be eating any more of them now anyhow, not since the raccoon ripped holes in the bag possibly contaminating them.(Oh, I'll have to post the bag pic(s) later. I'm late getting to bed again.)

I did learn something from the experience though. For the 30min to an hour before Ambien knocks me out, it makes me kind of 'loopy', a lot like someone who has had a few drinks. Like alcohol, it very clearly diminishes my inhibitions. Apparently, the part of the brain that monitors behavior and keeps you under control must go to sleep 1st when taking these meds. I'm guessing this has something to do with why some people do strange things on these meds - and apparently don't even realize it.

In addition to eating a handful of those cornbread 'crackers' last night, I remember typing a post or two. At least, I think I typed something. It was weird, because the words kept getting all blurry, and I had to work really hard to bring them back into focus. When I did get them into focus again, it was like they were in 3D, sort of like those 3D pictures that were so popular back in the 90's, the ones that were imbedded in what looked like scribble, but if you stared at the scribble a while an image would 'pop out' at you.

What I learned is this. When taking sleeping meds, go directly to bed like it says on the label. While waiting to fall asleep, do not chat with your friends online and make sure to keep any and all food out of the sleeping area. This apparently includes even pet treats. ;-)

Liz,

I don't think I ever responded to your post a while back about how your DH heard sounds and thought there was a raccoon in the house - apparently having been so influenced by the raccoons stories you've been sharing with him. I did get a kick out of that. I started typing a response at the time, but I don't think I ever actually finished/posted it. That is a bad habit I've developed lately. I sure hope he won't be similarly influenced by the story of my tussle with the raccoon over the bag of food.

I have been smiling so broadly reading these last several posts I can barely see the screen. I think also, having started a "Night Owl" thread here on DG that the longer and later that we I interact with these screens the more damage we do to our sleep cycles. Of course I WANT to make a post after midnight, but if i wake for some reason and turn on one of the screens it almost certainly screws up my circadian rhythm. I'll be awake till dawn and then I will feel sleepy, falling asleep and then waking up as you do with most of the morning gone.

Thanks for the entertainment. Bless you for playing tug o war.with a raccoon. Oh! Before I forget, while I was preparing the evening plate possum(s) I thought of you and dug in a drawer where I keep the duck and soy and other sauces that come with take out. I remembered you telling about how the kits/Heidi and the gang enjoyed eating TH containers of jelly. Found one, I remembered they were there, opened one and out it in the plate which looked like a Cobb salad. An I thought if you again as my possums are eating Cobb salad and you are eating animal crackers with bugs in them.

God help us. :D

Any who. The possum came very early tonight. I could hear something g rustling in my flower beds when I stepped out to deliver the plate. Next thing I looked out ... it wasn't even 8 yet, and the plate was stripped of everything resembling meat. Well almost. When the Oscar fish was sick I went looking for something enticing to eat at the pet store. Someone talked me into frozen beef hearts. :/

Buying meat just about kills me, and despite what the sales person said the thing DID fall apart and make a big mess, and the Oscar didn't eat any of it at all.

Well I remembered those in the freezer too. I couldn't get them to pop out of their plastic casing so I cut them off the strip and peeled back the foil and put them on the plate. They were left along with the parsnips, Apple, and baby Portobello mushrooms (I am so sorry!!! Cobb salad!!!).

It is also eating fish food, the giant Oscar pellets, some really gorgeous large freeze dried krill, whatever is on hand. You know how that is. Oops. The grape jelly was still there too. So much for the experiment. But I'm guessing that my possum(s) have never had beef hearts or smuckers grape jelly.

Will keep you posted.
xo



This message was edited Nov 23, 2013 11:20 PM

Hi, Amanda,

Well it certainly does sound like you made a nice meal for your opossum. Did she eat the lettuce? Many animals seem to turn their noses up at lettuce. I've never seen the raccoon show interest in salad fare. I do know that opossums like bugs, so she might actually have preferred by bug infested crackers. Just to clarify though. I'm not eating the buggy crackers on an ongoing basis. That was just a kooky thing I did while under the influence of Ambien. Every since I awoke that next morning, I've not been the least temped to eat anymore.

Sorry she wouldn't eat the jelly. Raccoons love sweets as evidenced by the ones in my yard constantly drinking the hummer nectar as though it were Koolaid, but that may not be true of opossums. I've had some opossums out back here and there but haven't studied them nearly so well as the raccoons. From what I do remember of the opossums around here, these seem to prefer a more wholesome diet, choosing pet kibble, BOSS, and scrambled eggs over cookies and marshmallows when given the chance. There was one opossum here that just loved eggs. One night she kept sneaking past the raccoons with all of their goodies to steal leftover egg foo yung patties. There were other foods around that night, but she kept returning for another egg foo yung and another and...

On the other hand, I've never seen a raccoon who wouldn't take a jelly packet and lick it clean. Same with fast food syrup packets, and those single serve packets of caramel dip for apples.They will also drink 'nectar' or Koolaid, esp if you make them 1.5-2x strength. A DGer who isn't here anymore once sent me a med size box full of those jelly packets she had been collecting. She sent them for the raccoons. I gave out a few every night or so, and the raccoons loved them. Ate every drop.

Oh, about the sleeping issues, I don't know about yours, but mine are nothing but menopause, plain and simple. It's a very common perimenopause and menopause symptom. Inability to get to sleep and/or stay asleep at night. I never had any trouble sleeping for even 1 night in my entire life until I ran smack up against perimenopause. Then suddenly after a lifetime of going right to sleep w/ease, suddenly I could not sleep at night. Suddenly I would be up all night long until around 6AM. I read all of the stuff on how to sleep (never a problem before). I tried it all. Nothing worked. Even on days when I didn't touch the computer all day long or night, I still couldn't sleep.

Then I got on progesterone and went back to sleeping like a baby and waking up early in the morning well rested and eager to go. My problem now is that I had been cutting my dose from 2x day to 1x a day for a while. So naturally now I have a return of the symptoms which lead me to take hormones to begin with. For the past few days, since I realized this, I've been taking my HRT as prescribed. That should get me back to sleeping at night like it did before very soon.

Oh, tonight I'm up worrying again. I have to do some of that or I wouldn't be normal.

Hiya kid.

I'm up late because the dog was restless. Little old lady. Combed some hair (we have some malingering fleas), offered her some water, took her out(brrrr!), came back in and offered her some kibble. Since her erratic gut syndrome I will often bring her a fistful of kibble so she can eat in bed (gasp!). Since she's snooty and won't eat the "good for her" kibble in daylight hours, it's fun to watch her gobble it up when I know her poor belly is empty.

So.

While up I took a look out back.

Jelly packet moved but not eaten. You know, possums and raccoons have very different shaped mouths and jaws. I wonder if possums can even waggle their tongues enough to clean a plastic jelly container, what with that long pointy schnoz and all. Something to think on.

A chunk of butternut squash is gone. So are the beef hearts. All that's left are the slivers of parsnips that came from the iguana' s dinner and one of the baby Portobellos. I'm pretty sure I put more than one out. I figured that resembled something it might be familiar with in the wild.

I do remember feeding eggs when we had the baby in rehab a couple of years ago. And live bugs. And apples. Yes there were chopped apples on tonight's plate, all gone. At 8 pm when we saw TH plate cleared of much of the contents, we put another bowl with cat food out thinking in this cold and with such a long night ahead it would be back for more. And it was. I think there is more than one of them. Also thinking it could be holed up in my yard somewhere because my goodness a raid before 8pm makes us the first stop I would think.

Well I will go back to sleep if I can. I'd been reading with great interest some information about your experiences with HRT and such on the other thread as I am coming into it myself. Had not thought of that as a cause for reduced sleep but there are a hundred things that could keep me awake on any given night. Worry is one of them. Familiar with that beast too. But I've always been a Night owl, come from a long line of them, perhaps some learned behavior, something hereditary, who knows.

Cold here, I'm thinking I'd be more comfy huddled next to Snoopy with all my parts under the covers. So I'm going back there. Hope you do too, soon.

xo

It's pretty warm here still. We were supposed to get down to 40F tonight, but it's almost 4AM and still in the 50s, so I don't think it is going to make it - and I'm glad. It is still 70F in the house, even w/the heat off. I'm wearing a T-shirt and sitting on top of the covers right now - and by covers I mean a very thin & flimsy old 'summer' quilt w/almost no padding. Very comfortable so far, but it is supposed to get down to 32F tomorrow night. Then it will be cold in here.

What kind of fish is Oscar? I feel like I have asked this before, and for some reason Beta comes to mind, but he sounds like a much larger fish.

Is Snoopy feeling any better yet?

Those are all very cute. :-)

Oh, I do wish I were overthinking. I received news of a new problem, definitely not a small one either. It was one that needed some serious thinking. I had to do some brain-storming. And a little worrying was not out of order given the magnitude of the problem. I'm feeling somewhat better now and am going to go to sleep now.

Good morning.

Oscar was not an imaginative name for a type of fish called an Oscar. In the chichlid family, south America, yes, large. Court brought home from work last year, long story but basically a rescue. I tried for a year to keep him but in the end, he died. He had not been cared for properly and it hurt me very deeply to lose him. He was almost a foot long. Spent a lot of time and money ... I was invested. His pellets the size of small pearl stud earrings. These dried krill the size of a nickel, maybe a quarter curled like a shrimp. There is a can of smaller krill, says river krill.

Good news is now it won't go to waste as i would never in my right mind have another Oscar fish. :/

Amanda,

It is always very satisfying to find a use for something (food) you thought you might have to toss and especially satisfying to know that you also provided a nice meal (or two) for a hungry creature.

As I mentioned a few posts back, I'm not really sure anymore if there were actually two raccoon coming to my door. More and more I'm starting to think there may have only been the one all along, so I'm going to assume that is the case and start calling her Rascal.

I haven't seen Rascal since the night of the food battle. Not sure why. I don't think it had anything to do with that battle over the bag. She seemed fine eating around me afterward. Raccoons argue with each other over food all the time.

That same night after she finished eating the 1st handful of raccoon kibble (stuff I made), she came back up to the patio door (I was inside again by that time) and stood there calmly and in a well behaved manner. It was, in part, her good behavior at the door which prompted me to go out and give her another handful. Of course, once I opened the door she tried to rush in as usual, but that time I had my spray bottle ready and gave her a spritz on the forehead followed by a 2nd spritz when the 1st one failed to get the desired results. She finished all of the kibble before she left. I didn't mention any of this earlier as I figured it would be quite anti-climatic coming after the bag incident.

The following afternoon I was outside working on my patio garden until just before sundown. If she showed up at the forest edge while I was outside, you would think my presence would not have deterred her, but it's not impossible, as I have found that raccoons (and probably all wild animals) are suspicious of any sort of change in the environment or anything which is different from that to which they have become accustomed. It's also possible that, having gotten a good stomach full the night before, she didn't come as early that next day. It's possible I just haven't been in the kitchen at whatever time she has been dropping by these past few nights. For whatever reason, I've not seen her the past few days/nights.

Oh, and in case I didn't mention this before, my guard cat Ms Kitty has been sitting out there on the patio in the late afternoons in a most obvious effort to keep the raccoon(s) away. The young raccoons are actually afraid of the cats and will leave their food and run for the forest upon seeing either cat, so this may also play a part in the raccoon's recent disappearance.

Hmmm. Belly full is what kept the possum away last night infill the wee hours. We couldn't believe how much s/he ate the day before. Haha.

Glad you have Rascal to play with now and again. You must have missed seeing them.

Not keen on the drop in temperature here, but I guess it's here to stay. I'd better get used to it. Ack.

Here it doesn't get cold and stay that way. We usually have a cold night or two after which it warms again. Then after a few days or a week, maybe we will have another cold night, then warm again. I really like our winter weather, because it almost never stays cold more than a night or two at a time and even then days are usually warm enough. (Today, for instance will be in the 50s, and I think yesterday was near 70.)

Some people here hate how our winter weather goes up and down that way, but I just love it, because any time it is cold I always know it will be warm again soon. The people who hate it usually complain that all of the sudden temp changes will make them sick (cold, flu), but it really doesn't.

But as I've often lamented, we pay our dues in summer when there is no break from the endless, sweltering heat & humidity.

found this on Pinterest - my new time suck - don't know the back story. just thought of you. :)

OMG, Amanda!

That is positively adorable - even though I'm fairly certain it must be a PhotoShop composition. It's cute as a button, regardless. Thanks for sharing.

BTW, how are your tests going (exams and the physical test)? Wishing you the best of luck with them! I'm pulling for you.

Good morning . .. all those things are very taxing! Should be finished by the end of the week - will update . . . mandatory field test/training day is on Saturday. Ack.

BUT! Look at one of the many SUPER COOL jobs I will qualify for...