Raccoon Files: NextGen 1

ps the pay rate is not so cool, but it's never been about the money.

Hmm, Amanda,

I must be honest with you, that would not be my dream job; however, you seem to be quite genuinely jazzed by the idea of it, and that is really all that matters. I am basing my comment on the job description not the wage. I just wouldn't be well suited to driving dump trucks and so forth, but perhaps you would not enjoy sitting at a desk all day pulling your hair out over some engineering problem. I do like how it sounds like it would provide you a great deal of open air, sunshine, and, best of all, freedom, the freedom of not being tied to a desk and a computer and such. I do sense that you are truly excited by the idea of a job similar to that one, and for that I say, "YOU GO, GIRL!"

Money is not unimportant, as my own situation demonstrates so well; however, it is difficult to put a price on the value of a job you truly enjoy, for as the saying goes, "Find a job you truly love, and you will never work a day in your life" or something like that. It's a concept which is becoming more and more important to me the longer I live, so I solute your decision to pursue what you truly want to do.

Ah, well.

As a trial lawyer strapped to my desk I used to say, "I'd rather be digging ditches." Or (in relation to Jeanette's comments on the "rants" thread) - "I'd be making more money working at McDonalds." (a commentary on the salary divided by the actual number of work hours).

We were always doing chores outdoors keeping up with the 13 acre parcel mom bought just to make beauteous improvements. There was a large pond, we put a camper there for when we'd visit, a shed with our tools/lawnmower/tractor, etc. Suppose it's where I honed my tomboy personna, but I was already on my way as a child with 4 older brothers.

Anywho - as I get older I'm not certain how much this body will stand. I have had jobs between my old trial lawyer self and now where I learned to operate large equipment (native wetland plant nursery - John Deere super large tractor with bucket scoop). One of my odd jobs in Boston a bunch of years ago as an "extra" for IATSE (international association of theater and stage employees) had me climbing steel towers to check lighting at stadium/arena venues (and operating a cherry picker, and a fork lift). It's the counting birds that sounds like fun. Like counting or observing opossums, or racoons, or the large green iguana that is stomping down the hallway towards me to say "what's for breakfast?"

Hafta run. I believe that the Firefighter II certification will be another desirable qualification for the type of job I expect to have when I finish - likely manager for a land trust, range management, prairie restoration, possibly even back to litigation, who knows... I hope to have many options. :)

A.

Amanda,

I say it again, "You go, Girl!" As long as it makes you happy, that is all that counts.

I did some similar sounding activities on jobs I had early on, before I became an engineer. As a govt elex tech I had to climb 50ft up the outside of a building on one of those ladders that consists of just a series of metal bars attached to the building, the kind where your weight is hanging off the vertical ladder not over it as with most ladders (which lean on an angle). I had to climb that ladder while carrying a 40lb bag of tools in one hand - and I'm terrified of heights. I also drove and went up in several different types of lifts, those things with the telescoping 'arm' that extends high up in the air to hold people in a 'bucket'. The controls were IN the bucket, so you could command it to send yourself up into the air. Once up there 50ft or so, you could make it go sideways. That long, telescoping arm, when fully extended, would zoom sideways in an arc really fast, so fast that it would bounce a few times when it stopped. It was like an amusement park ride. OMG, that thing freaked me out.

At that time, my job was to troubleshoot complex, elex equipment on a naval base, including sometimes equipment on ships & subs. I had to climb from a tiny motor boat (in choppy water, no less) onto one of those straight ladders (described earlier) on the side of a large naval ship, had to hang off that ladder while climbing up the side of that ship (while carrying that 40lb bag of tools) and try to do all of this w/o falling into the Atlantic. The ship was literally out in the ocean far enough that we could not see the shore in any direction. I had to climb back down that ladder, too, and jump from the bottom of the ladder into the small motor boat, again w/o falling into the ocean. It was very choppy that day, such that both boats were moving up and down quite a bit making it especially difficult to move between them - and I can't swim either!

Oh, and I also had to leap from a peer onto a vessel which was about a yard away - again w/the 40# of tools and w/o falling into the ocean, since, as I was told, if I did fall into the water, I would most likely surface either under the peer or under the navy vessel. I also had to climb up the ships mast. I did a lot of cursing under my breath in those days.

Also, my group needed a forklift driver, so I volunteered to go for training and take the test required to get a forklift license. I didn't move pallets around like most people probably think of when you mention a forklift. This was a very large forklift on a navy base, where they were building and repairing ships. I had to pick up these large, metal tool cabinets that were like 6ft or more long and high and which were loaded with a thousand lbs or more of heavy, metal parts in drawers which could and would swing open if I wasn't very careful. I had to lift those heavy cabinets up from the 1st floor where I was and put them through a door (tight fit) on the 2nd floor (some distance over my head) and do that w/o letting the cabinet drawers swing open (as that would unbalance the load and cause really bad things to happen), w/o letting them become unbalanced and fall, and most of all w/o injuring any of the people in the area - and I can barely park my Honda!

I worked on some really scary equipment like a machine that filled a very large room and which used a high power lazer to cut through several inches of steel. At times I had to open the long tube through which the light beam traveled. That was very dangerous because you could not see the beam of light at that point but it was still more than adequate to slice you in half - so you had to be really, really careful. I also worked on x-ray equipment, the kind strong enough to 'see' through several inches of metal. That was freaky, too. The manual said if you screwed up, the dose was immediately lethal - not the kind where you get cancer in 20yrs.

That's just a sampling. I didn't enjoy any of those things though. I enjoyed the challenge of troubleshooting circuitry, but I did not enjoy climbing up the sides of buildings like spiderman or swinging through the air on that lift or climbing tall ships in the ocean. I'm not a tomboy at all. I'm really fairly froufrou. You and I are clearly quite different in this respect. I would definitely not want to fight fires either. I would prefer to stay as far from them as possible.

Anyhow, I'm glad you are excited about the types of jobs that will be available to you upon graduation. I can see some excellent options when you mention the combination of legal and your new skills. Most of all I'm happy for you, because loving your job really means a lot.

Just to put my work experience into perspective - and, again, all of this is stuff I did before I got my engineering degree - I went from one end of the spectrum to the other. I did that one elex tech job where I had to climb and drive heavy equipment and carry tools and so forth. I also worked as a cocktail waitress for about 3yrs. I had to wear this Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader looking outfit complete with the little white, felt cowboy hat & white cowboy boots. (I have a several pictures from those days, pictures taken by customers with those old Polaroid cameras, but no way am I posting that.lol)

The bar had a seamstress measure us and tailor the suit to 'fit' us exactly. The skirt ended exactly at the bottom of my ____, well, you know, and then had about 4in of white fringe hanging off of it. You definitely could not lean over in that outfit to put drinks on a table. You had to bend from the knees to keep your butt covered. I racked up some serious money on that job though, but it was very hard work.

Hours of walking on those hard floors was rough. Remembering a long list of drinks and where to take them all was rough, too. The bar was licensed (fire marshal) to hold some 500 people, but we frequently had over 1000 people in there, people packed so tightly that I couldn't even see over their heads and shoulders even to see where I was going. Yep, I've had a varied career for sure. I only took that job because I was going to college at the time and it was a way to make quite a bit per hour w/o any special skills.

HA! I laughed out loud at your job descriptions up there. Thanks so much for sharing. :)

I am finished for the semester, all the tests and training for wildland firefighting certification are finished. I got an "A" in the coursework and now in the homestretch to finish the paperwork portion of the degree.

We are still feeding the opossum at night - saw one down on the roadway within a mile of here, and I felt very bad. I wonder since opossum are nomadic whether I put them at risk when they come back here night after night to feed.

Any signs of Desi or the kits on your end lately?

Hi Amanda,

That is wonderful news that things are going so well for you in your coursework, not that I ever doubted it. As for my prior jobs, I just wanted to show my diversity of skills. (ROTF) After all, not everyone can hang off a ship's ladder over the Atlantic, cursing under their breath while trying to climb on board, and then suit up like Annie Oakly (minus some fabric) to manage an alcohol delivery system and crowd control. ;-)

When feeding the raccoons, I've always taken the opposite view. I figure they almost certainly reside somewhere in the acres upon acres of forest behind my house, and feeding them here keeps them from possibly crossing the highway in search of food elsewhere - and I see dead raccoons and opossums out there on that highway often. The speed limit on that part of the highway is 35mph, and if people were actually doing the speed limit, they probably wouldn't hit so many critters. In reality, vehicles on that highway are coming from a stretch of road where they have been traveling at 65+ for miles and miles before they reach city limits and the 35mph sigh. Sadly, the blow right past both signs still hauling butt. When I drive the speed limit on the highway out there, people get furious as though I'm the problem. Argh!

As always, I digress. My point (above) is to look at how your yard connects with area forests & roads to get a sense as to whether the opossum is most likely to live on your side of the road or whether he/she probably has to cross a road to get to your yard. Then again, either way they still have to eat. If you are concerned, maybe consider only feeding him/her during the time of year when they are raising young, as that is when the raccoons are especially famished.

I'm glad you asked about Desi and the bunch. I've been meaning to stop by here to give status on that situation. Basically, I have not seen any sign of a raccoon in my yard since that night when the one youngster and I fought over the bag of homemade kibble. Since she stayed hat night to eat not 1 but 2 servings and showed no sign of being afraid of me, I've no idea why she hasn't been back. I joke with myself sometimes about how that food I baked for her ran her off.

It is very strange that she hasn't returned for more kibble. I have no idea what to think. I'm guessing either (1) something happened to her or (2) she just isn't that hungry. Their appetite is greatly reduced in winter, so much so that I frequently had difficulty cutting the food allocations down low enough in winter (so they didn't leave food). When nursing and such they eat 3-4x as much, maybe more. In winter they eat just a scant handful. They are related to bears and experience a sort of hibernation in cold weather, such that their metabolic rate drops to near 0 and they stay in their den/tree and sleep until the weather gets better. The 1st few years I fed them, Heidi and the group did not come to eat in winter. I'm guessing they can find the small qty of food they need w/o walking this far.

Anyhow, this time it isn't me. The last time they disappeared it was me. I had stopped feeding them due to the financial situation, but this time, as you know, I have a bag of food for them, the food I made from the cornmeal with the bugs in it. It's in the freezer waiting for them & I check for them every time I hear sounds out there, but I never see them.

The other things which might be keeping the young raccoons at bay is Ms Kitty. The young raccoons are afraid of her, and she quite literally goes out there on the patio every day around sunset specifically to keep them away. She patrols the backyard and then sits on the patio table. She does not approve of the raccoons come into the yard - or my interacting with them - so she may well be the one keeping them away from the house.

Last night was a chilly, drizzly night, and I had already made several trips to both doors in search of my cats, both of which appeared to be hiding out, either from the rain or the neighborhood fireworks. I was in the kitchen cleaning up a bit but still keeping a periodic check on the patio door for Ms Kitty who has learned to sit close up against the glass so that I can see her in the darkness.

Suddenly I looked up to see a most unexpected visitor, a raccoon standing on her hind legs and peering in at me. It was Desi this time, not the Rascal or the other kits. She knew to stand at the door to get my attention but was skittish and ran away as soon as I tried to open the door to give her anything. I only had a small amount of the raccoon kibble left (the stuff I made). Since the raccoons had stopped showing up, Widget and I had eaten most of those 'crackers'. Even though Widget at most of the bug infested crackers (as sub for his daily treats) I had to include myself in that because, alas, I ate some, too, one night when I was not on Ambien. I had made myself some more appropriate crackers at the time using an internet recipe, but upon realizing I actually liked the 'raccoon crackers' better, I ate some of them one night for a snack.

Anyhow, it was nice to see one of the raccoons again, so even though it was raining, I went out on the patio where I sat down to make myself less threatening. Desi hid in the shrubs for a while, and I, my backside already soaked from the water which had accumulated on my seat, sat in the rain trying to convince her to come out from her hiding place. After a bit of cajoling on my part, she did eventually come over near me to eat the raccoon kibble. When she got to the last chunk, she grabbed it and ran back to her hiding place to eat it. I decided that was my cue to call it a night.

I still have about 3c of that bug infested cornmeal in the freezer (bugs long dead now, of course). Now that they are coming around again, I need to use that to make some more kibble for them asap. The temp is supposed to plummet either tonight or tomorrow night. I'll take advantage of the next cold night to make the kibble, so the oven heat will work for me rather than against me. Actually, given that it is now January, it shouldn't be long now before the raccoons start cavorting and the whole cycle starts anew, bringing them out of hiding in search of food. Anyhow, seeing Desi was a nice and very unexpected treat, and one which makes me all the more inclined to believe the cats may be the reason the raccoons haven't been around lately. I say that since Desi showed up on a cold, rainy night, a night when no self-respecting cat would be hanging out in the backyard.

How nice to see Desi again!

Hi June,

I was wondering if anyone 'heard' this - about Desi showing up again 'out of the blue'. Yes, it really was nice to see her again. It always brings a smile to my face when I look up from the sink to see one of the raccoons standing (or sitting) at the door. It's like seeing an old friend again - or a pet.

I haven't seen her since, nor have I seen any of the others. I'm still inclined to think that Kitty & Cocoa may be keeping the raccoons at bay. Kitty in particular, makes a point to go out there and sit on the patio table for a few hours around sundown, where she looks for all the world like a sentry of some kind. She doesn't do that when it's near freezing, but then the raccoons never did show up on super cold nights, which fits with what I've read about raccoon behavior/physiology. Also, I actually heard Cocoa out there growling quite menacingly at something one night, something I think was probably a raccoon, something that ended up running away. It was a very rainy night when Desi showed up, and I don't think that was a coincidence, since cats aren't inclined to go out in the rain.

Back when Heidi was around, I don't think I made a point to mention this, but while the cats were afraid of Heidi, all of the other raccoons were afraid of the cats. I always found that odd. Heidi would give chase anytime she saw Kitty - and Cocoa wouldn't even go in the backyard at night in those days. Kitty would run from Heidi. But, again, all of the other raccoons were afraid of the cats. Since Heidi's death, the cats have reclaimed the backyard. The cats don't like the raccoons hanging around and seek to keep them away. I suspect this dynamic will change in spring, however, when extreme hunger drives the nursing moms to be more assertive.

When Desi stopped by that night, I gave her the last of that kibble I made for them. (Widget and I had eaten the rest in their absence). I have more of that bag of bug-riddled cornmeal, though, and now I have another entire 5lb bag of the stuff, purchased on last shopping trip and found to have weevils as soon as I got it home and opened it for xfer to air-tight container. I put the new bag in the deep freeze to kill the bugs and will keep it, too, to make future raccoon food - in case the new season begins before I'm gainfully employed again. (I struggled with whether to take the recent bag back, but it only cost $2 so probably not worth the fuss/effort - unless it happens again.)

My DMom always stored flour, cornmeal and sugar in the freezer to kill any larvae that might be in it and to keep it sealed away from whatever other bugs. This is a fact of life in the south - they are there and they always will be. This also kept our countertops cleared of cannisters and I liked that look.

June,

I'm glad you mentioned that about pantry bugs being part of life in the south. It occurred to me that folks in other areas may be wondering why I'm having so many of these bug sitings all of a sudden. (I'm guessing it's due in part to the type of store I've been frequenting since my job loss.)

My Mom kept a few pantry items in the fridge for the same reason. I've read that many people routinely place flour and other susceptible items in the freezer for a few days immediately upon bringing them home from the store, this to kill any bugs/eggs before they get a chance to multiply and infect other items. I like that idea, especially since experts say that in most cases the bugs enter our homes via items we bring home from the supermarket.

That 1st bag of cornmeal in which I found the pantry mites had been in my pantry for a while and thus might have been spared had I been practicing the freezer routine at the time. This last bag, however, was already heavily infested when I brought it home. As soon as I brought the groceries inside, I opened the cornmeal intending to pour it into an airtight container. Right away I saw a live weevil near the top of the bag. As I looked around in the cornmeal, I found numerous other weevils along with copious evidence of their activities. The weevil being much larger (and more obviously 'buglike') than those minute pantry mites, there is no way I would consider eating that cornmeal. I did put it in the freezer asap to contain and kill the bugs, but I will have to use that cornmeal for raccoon food.

I don't like a lot of clutter on kitchen counters either. On the other hand, I rarely have room for all susceptible items in the fridge/freezer (I had to buy a smaller fridge/freezer - not the largest size - due to limitations imposed by overhead cabinets. argh!). I had a number of large, 'lock & lock' containers on hand, several of which I originally bought for storing pantry items.

Lock'n Lock containers have a rubber gasket around the lid which forms a water/air tight seal. The seal is so 'perfect' that I have been known to carry my lunch to work in MY PURSE, contained in a small 'lock & lock' container. I've even carried a small, 2c 'lock & lock' container of collards in my purse a time or two - now THAT is trust. (You can literally hold a lock & lock container of liquid upside down and shake it vigorously w/o spilling a drop.) Anyhow, after I found the bugs in that 1st bag, I put all of the flour, rice, cornmeal, etc in large 'lock & lock' containers which I store in the pantry. I believe the air/water tight seals should be impervious to bugs. Time will tell. So far,so good.

I keep forgetting to tell you about the adorable thing I found a while back when I started moving those giant patio pots around to start planting veggies. Right in the 'center' where 4 of those huge pots (like 18-24in in diameter) came together, I found stack of raccoon toys, a stack of wet, dirty, plush toys, obviously put there by the kits who played with them while out there waiting on the patio. The small area where the 4 large pots met made the perfect hide-away for the kits and their toys.

When I pulled the large pots apart and found stack of toys sitting there, it brought a smile to my lips just to imagine those little guys out there hiding and playing.

Sounds like your guard kitties are doing their job. Very interesting that they respected Heidi's authority, just like the raccoons do... Yes, adorable to hear about the kits toy stash, hidden to prevent other kids from playing with them!

Hi Liz,

I think the cats respected Heidi because she demanded their respect, giving chase anytime they came near the buffet area, whereas the other raccoon were more inclined to take a subservient stance by lowering their heads, avoiding eye contact, and retreating any time they came in contact with the cats. Heidi's behavior and results in comparison to that of the other raccoons, demonstrate what we have long been told that we teach others how to treat us.

Actually, I think the toy stash was 'hidden' more because that was where the kits hid from danger while playing with them. When their mom had to wait a while for me to show up with the food, the kits would hide amidst those huge pots for safety. I knew the kits were hiding in there, as I often saw them peak out from between the pots - and I would toss them cookie pieces when I saw them. I just never realized the kits had toys in there. I just think that is so cute, that they took their toys to there hiding place in there so they could play. It's just one more example of how they are more like us than not.

The toy stash in the center of the flower pot 'jungle' included 4 plush toys, about 6-8" types. The toys were stacked on top of each other, almost as though 'Mom' had told them to put their toys away before leaving. I'm guessing maybe the stacking was actually due to the small space available between the pots. Two of the toys were ones I had given those kits directly last summer, 2 toys from Widgets vast collection, toys he didn't favor or play with. Even more amazing, to my mind, is that the other toys were older toys which I had given to former kits years ago and which these kits apparently found somewhere in the yard and brought to the patio for play. The plush toys were wet and muddy but apparently still play-worthy.

Seeing that little stack of plush toys hidden between the pots made me very happy that I had chosen to give them to the kits - rather than let them go on sitting in Widget's toy chest, clean and dry but unused and unappreciated.

For a couple of weeks now I've been trying almost daily to talk my tired/lazy self into getting into the kitchen to make a large batch of dog biscuits for Widget and some more kibble for the raccoons. It has been cold and rainy this week, perfect weather for oven use (so oven temp helps to heat the house at a time when the extra heat would be advantageous), but I've been too busy with my sales efforts lately to even have the time and energy to cook my own meals let alone anything extra.

Still, I knew I would be needing more dog treat soon. That plus the nagging idea that the raccoons would probably be showing up any time now left me all the more pressured to make those treats. Also, my bag of chicken bones, skin, etc was getting very full as was my container of 'bad' cornmeal. It was time to clear out that section of the freezer and convert it all to dog & raccoon food.

Unable to otherwise motivate myself, I decided to break the task into smaller parts. Last night I filled the pressure cooker with chicken bones, skin, and such. Tonight I processed the stuff to make the slurry that flavors (and adds nutrients to) the treats. Hopefully, tomorrow night I will finally get the treats baked.

one step at a time :-D

Tonight while I was in the kitchen making dinner and cleaning up, I heard some noise. I don't know why, but upon hearing the noise I dropped what I was doing and went to the patio door to check for raccoons. I say "I don't know why" because raccoons are usually very, very quiet. On the occasion that I do hear them outside it is virtually always due the sound of them arguing amongst themselves never the result of them knocking things over which was the type of sound I had heard this time.

Kitty was just across the kitchen counter in the breakfast nook at the time and would have been a much more likely source of the racket. Yet for some reason, I could not get the raccoon idea out of my head, so I went to the door to check. Even so, I was surprised when I arrived at the patio door to find an actual raccoon there standing upright and looking back at me.

The raccoon looked like Desi, and true to Desi's skittishness quickly moved away from the door to hide as I approached. I opened the door and called to her, "Desi." Right away she reappeared. Clearly she recognized me and, although still reticent, nonetheless felt sufficiently comfortable to come to me when called. "Wait here," I told her, as I headed back inside for something to give her. Yep, I definitely needed to get to work on those raccoon treats and very soon.

I decided just for the one night to give her a scant scoop of that [relatively inexpensive] Friskies kibble I had bought for the cats, to complement and extend their better quality food. That [the Friskies] is the same food I used to buy for the raccoons anyhow. I can't afford to buy it for the raccoons right now, but I figured it wouldn't make that much difference, all things considered, if I just gave her the one scoop tonight - and then made sure to have some of the homemade kibble (made with the bug-ridden cornmeal) ready for tomorrow night when she will surely return. After all, I did give the rest of the bag of raccoon kibble [that I made in Nov] to Widget in place of his regular treats. It all works out in the wash when you do the math, and I just couldn't send Desi away with nothing. It had been so long since I had seen her.

A fine mist of rain was falling as I walked out onto the patio with the small scoop of kibble. Desi hid behind some shrubs about 10ft away but came toward me ever so slowly and cautiously when I called her. I waited to put the food down until she came up to me. She stopped about two feet in front of and facing me. I reached my arm forward to put the food about 1/2 way between us, and she reached her neck forward to nibble at the edges of it even before I turned to go back inside. Yes, I definitely need to make that kibble asap.

Oh, she's baaack! I assume she's pregnant & feeling more hungry. Are you concerned about trying to limit the # of raccoons you're feeding this spring?

I totally forgot to tell you in the above account about how adorable Desi looked sitting patiently at the door like a pet waiting for my return (when I went inside for the kibble). Likewise, I also forgot to mention that on this particular rainy night when Desi showed up again after such a long disappearance, both cats were inside due, no doubt, to their distaste for both rain and cold (it's about 42F and wet, enough to send even a scared cat like Cocoa inside).

As I've mentioned before, I think the cats may be keeping the raccoons away from the patio. Kitty stays in the house pretty much 24/7 these days but is quick to go out and sit on the patio in the evening where she looks for all the world like a sentry, guarding the patio from invaders. Plus, as you might recall, there was that one night a couple months ago when I heard Cocoa in the backyard snarling loudly at something which I strongly believe was a raccoon. Even when I went out there with him the night in question, Cocoa ignored me and continued snarling at some foe I could not see in the darkness. I did, however, hear something scuttle quickly over the fence that night, after which Cocoa resumed normal behavior, the invader having been successfully driven from the yard. It is quite the coincidence that the only 2 times I've seen a raccoon all winter have both been rainy nights when the cats were safely indoors.

I hadn't thought about that problem yet, Liz,

I guess I will do what has worked for me in the past. I'll just decide how much I think I can spare, and give them that. In the past - of course that was when Heidi was around to manage things - the population limited itself to the number the food would support. I'm hoping it will work the same way even w/o Heidi.

I won't get to choose who stays and who goes, only the amount I give them. The rest will be up to them. I now have 2 large bags (not sure if that's 5 or 10lbs) of the bad cornmeal, plus I have a good bit of chix fat rendered from the saved skin. The cornmeal and chix fat are essentially 'free' items. The only thing I have to add is an egg, so it shouldn't cost much. I just need to hurry to make a bunch before warm weather returns (oven/heat = cost). Last night when I removed the 'stuff' from the pressure cooker, I was thinking I probably have more chix fat than I can use. I need a little fat for the dog biscuits, but can't safely give Widget more than the few oz required by the recipe. The chix fat will be sufficient to flavor the cornmeal for the raccoons (and add much needed nutrients), and the soon to be lactating females will be able to put those extra calories to good use.

Honestly, were you thinking that I maybe shouldn't get involved with feeding the raccoons this year? I'm really interested to hear your thoughts on this - and the thoughts of anyone else wishing to weigh in on the decision. I guess the reason I'm not too terribly worried is that whenever I have stopped feeding them for whatever reason (as happened last summer), the raccoons have always been willing to walk away peacefully. They always seem to be happy for whatever I can spare and willing to leave quietly when I can't spare anything.

Re. the question at the end of your post: I guess my initial thoughts are to weigh the funds you receive from SNAP. If you can balance your needs & the raccoons within the budget constraint of the SNAP funds, it seems like a no-brainer to feed the raccoons. If you have to use some of your discretionary $ (if there is such a thing now), then it's a matter of weighing the joy you receive from helping & interacting with the raccoons. You're entitled to choose where you want to find your joy... Don't if I'm getting my point across with any clarity, & I haven't really thought this through.

What you say makes sense to me lizzipa and DOS. It is more than just feeding raccoons in the generic sense. There is a history here. But they will seek and find food elsewhere. It's the way of nature.

Liz, Cville,

I do very much appreciate that you guys posts your views on the subject. I'm sorry I didn't get back here sooner to respond. Just SO much going on, but during this time I have been mulling this situation over, considering the pros and cons. I make some decisions, and I found your thoughts and ideas very helpful in the process.

EDITED to add this qualifying paragraph:
Oops! My bad. At times, and this was one of them, as I type a bit, stop and ponder my words, then type some more, I forget somewhere along the way that I started the post as one directed to a particular individual. It starts out as something for that person and then along the way transmogrifies into a post for all - and a LONG one at that. So that is what happened here. Very sorry. The previous paragraph is for you guys. The rest is more general and for all, something to read or not as time and interest allows.

____________________

Below are some of the conclusions I came to:

1) My happiness doesn't depend on having the raccoons around. Truth be told, I enjoy them very much some times, and other times I would like to have my patio back (for my veggie garden). The 1st 4yrs or so of the Heidi Chronicles, back when I spent an hour or more sitting out back with them most nights, was a truly magical experience which defies description, but I always knew that was a relatively short term thing, not something I had the time and energy to continue forever. These days, I would think it just perfect if they would show up on occasion, maybe once or twice a week - but not every night.

2) I don't feel comfortable using SNAP funds to feed them, as doing so violates the spirit of the program which is intended to buy food for me. Even pet food is not covered by the program.

3) I definitely will not feed them any of the food others have provided for Widget and the cats, as again, that would violate intent of the gift, not to mention the fact that I need that food for its intended recipients.

4) Discretionary funds? ROTFLMAO! Good one.

Once I thought all this over, I began hoping maybe Kitty & Cocoa would keep the raccoons at bay, at least most nights. I also hoped maybe Desi wouldn't 'knock' at the door if she didn't see me in the kitchen. As I said, now and then = good. Every day not so much.

Not sure which of these things worked, but I didn't see Desi the next day or the next or any of the other days in between. I didn't see her again until 2 nights ago. Once again, she found me in the kitchen working, and once again, it was a sound, like something knocking on some of the stuff out there, just the one knock, that alerted me to her arrival. This now seems to be a pattern, this knocking sound. It's surprising to me, since raccoons are by nature unbelievably silent, stealthy. But Desi appears to have learned somewhere along the way that she can get my attention this way - and it works. Also, when I check out there, I am never able to find anything she moved, much less knocked over; this is good.

Anyhow, despite my vows to make that raccoon food, the day she arrived it was STILL not made. (So busy with other things.) I hate to send her away with nothing, so I whipped her up a bowl of hummer nectar; I have a few bags of that stuff around, and raccoons love it. It's not necessarily a healthy meal for a raccoon, but I figured it would be ok for one day. Back before we got so well acquainted, Heidi used to rob the hummer feeder nightly.

The very next night, last night, I forced myself to make that raccoon kibble. I don't feel right using the SNAP funds to buy food for the critters, nor do I feel right about using food purchased that way for the critters; however, I have no qualms about using bad, spoiled, or otherwise unusable food for the raccoons.

Several nights earlier I had finally gotten around to making Widget's treats using the bones, cartilage, and bits of meat, skin, and fat I had put in the DOG bag in the freezer over the last few months, carcass parts left from my meals and later processed for dog treats, mostly chicken. While processing those items, I also processed a fair qty of chicken skin & fat, mostly still raw, having been collected prior to cooking my meals over the months - this fat, being way too much for Widget I would use to make the raccoon food.

After processing the bones and such (last week), I had over a quart of the concentrated bone/meat/cartilage mix, enough to make a LOT of high quality treats for Widget (which I did last week), plus I have already begun to collect additional bones in the DOG bag for future treats - AND I still have about 1.5pts processed meat & bones from Tgiving turkey, also in the freezer for future dog treats. Bottom line, at this point I've no shortage of the healthy meat/bone mix from which to make Widget's treats. The pint of fat/skin mix, on the other hand, would be potentially deadly for Widget but perfect for hungry, lactating raccoons for whom it would provide both nutrients and concentrated energy - and the skin & fat pulled from chicken prior to cooking is most definitely 'trash'.

I made the raccoon treats using that 2nd bag of 'bad' cornmeal I got a while back, the one with the weevils in it. I did some research on weevil infested cornmeal and found that, unlike the flour mites in the prior bag which are said to be ok to consume, weevils are known to carry e-coli and thus should be avoided. The 30min baking in the oven would likely kill e-coli, but I still don't feel comfortable using that cornmeal for Widget's treats. Thus it, too, is refuse and, therefore, perfect for raccoon food.

In addition to the cornmeal and chicken fat/skin, I also used some of the granulated hummer food mix for flavor and one egg to hold the dough together, but it was an egg from the carton with the expiration date of Feb 2 2013, so I think it, too, now qualifies as 'trash', even though it still smelled fine. (I don't eat a lot of eggs but buy them for cooking/recipes, and usually have a few of these old ones left at the 'end' of the dozen. Think I may start freezing those left over eggs for later use in things like this.) As previously mentioned I have several old bags of hummer food mix left from many years ago when I used to feed them. I figure the raccoon food is a perfect way to utilize this stuff which would otherwise also be 'trash'.

So there you have it, my decision. I won't give the raccoons any more of the cheap cat food or any other pet food. I won't give them the SNAP food. I will save any unusable food for them (along with skin & fat) in the same manner that I've been saving the bones for Widget's treats. I made a 1gal bag stuffed full of kibble for them last night. I AM comfortable with this manner of providing small, intermittent snacks for any hungry raccoons that turn up at my door begging. It doesn't borrow from any of the usable food but rather makes use of things for which I have no other use and in so doing is consistent with my ongoing effort to eliminate waste by finding ways to use every part of everything to the best of my ability - and that makes me feel good.

I haven't seen Desi (or any of the others) again since I made the kibble. I'll just tuck it away in the back of the fridge until the next time a raccoon shows up at my door - and, no, I am most assuredly NOT going to sample this one, not with the visible bugs. (But, seriously, that last one I threw together for them was better than the crackers I made for me - from a cracker recipe. Go figure.) In addition to that gallon bag of kibble, I still have a sizable container of the 'bad' cornmeal left to make more, along with another pint of rendered chix fat, a couple bags of hummer food, and another very old egg - and I'm sure I will eventually have another old egg or two.

My plan is to only see them once or twice a week or less and when I do so to only give them a handful of the kibble, no matter how many show up. That is basically the qty I gave them last summer when I was worried about running out of funds - and before I quit feeding them altogether that year. I figure I don't need to provide a full day's diet for them, just a healthy snack will do fine. They can supplement it with additional food from the forest. So, that's the plan: save/use 'trash' for their food, only see them occasionally, and only give them a handful per visit. The only real cost to me is the relatively negligible cost to run the oven for 30min to bake the kibble, and I've been doing that on cold nights so that the oven provides heat for the house.

Edited to add the paragraph near the top (2nd paragraph) labeled 'EDITED..."

This message was edited Mar 20, 2014 3:14 AM

You made some wise decisions, DOS. As you said, you have had a magical experience with the raccoons. We should all be so fortunate.

I have not seen our resident raccoon for awhile, but the evidence of some night raids has been there (a racoon-opened, partially eaten bag of horticultural corn gluten). I always lean toward leniency since we humans have wrecked so much of their natural habitat. What's a raccoon to do?? :)

Eggs are easily frozen for later use - they will last for a year and are a great way to save $ by buying several dozen on sale at easter ^_^ .

The measurement for eggs in recipes is ¼ cup, equivalent to a large egg. You'll have to check the measurement in your ice trays, it is usually half of that so you will need 2 cubes for each egg called for in a recipe.

The way my DM did it was to mix enough eggs to fill our 6 trays, fill and freeze them and pop them into another container for long-term storage and start all over again with more eggs.

Here's a link: http://frugalliving.about.com/od/freezingfoods/qt/Freeze_Eggs.htm

Two nights ago, I was in the kitchen around 11PM. I don't know why, but I just had this feeling that if I went to the door and turned on the light, I would find a raccoon out there - and sure enough I was right. It is things like this along with being able to 'feel' when someone is looking at us almost as if a line of invisible 'something' emitted by their eyes were actually tapping us on the shoulder, that keeps me thinking we really do have senses beyond the 5 we know and accept.

It was a different raccoon than the one I fed the hummer nectar to last week (or whenever that was). This raccoon was visibly larger, obviously expecting, and reminded me quite a bit of Heidi, something I've not said in a while. It might have just been her size/girth recalling the still familiar look of an expecting Heidi.

I grabbed the bag of homemade kibble and headed out there. She ran away. She didn't just leave the patio but escaped through the hedges, pausing to look back at me only for a moment before disappearing from sight. When they run back 1/2 way across the yard as she did, they usually don't return, no matter how much I call them. I wasn't optimistic, but I called her anyhow in my softest, sweetest, and most cajoling voice. After a few minutes she reappeared just past the hedges and began moving toward me slowly while hugging the ground.

It took her a few minutes, but she did eventually come onto the edge of the patio where she was standing maybe 5-6ft in front of me. I tossed her a chunk of the kibble which she ate, still standing there in front of me. I proceeded to toss her a few more pieces, each ranging between 1-2in x 1-2in. She ate them with enthusiasm. After she had eaten 4-5 such pieces, I went back inside for the night.

Edited to change 'Last night' to 'Two nights ago'. It was 'Last night' when I started the post. lol.

This message was edited Mar 25, 2014 10:25 PM

June,

Thank you very much for the info on freezing eggs. I had a feeling they probably could be frozen and later thawed for use, since there are frozen 'egg beater' type products available. Your concise yet thorough howto instructions were very helpful. Thanks!

Last night as I was leaving the kitchen, I was again unable to dismiss the sense that a raccoon was standing upright on the patio but far enough back from the door as to be invisible in the darkness. I walked over & turned on the light to check, and once again saw a raccoon standing there looking back at me. Eerie.

Like the previous night, I grabbed my bag of homemade, raccoon kibble and headed out the door. This time it was the 1st raccoon, the one I had seen at the door a couple times recently, the smaller one. Although I had previously thought that one was Desi, after seeing the larger one the night before, I now figured the larger one was probably Desi, and this smaller and younger one must be Rascal, the kit that was so fearless and friendly last summer. Upon returning as an adult a month or so ago this younger raccoon (Rascal) had presented as much less trusting. This had confused me at 1st, making me think it couldn't be the formerly fearless Rascal, but now that she has grown up she is no doubt much more cognizant of the dangers in life than that carefree kit had been.

Still, while not as fearless as Rascal had been as a kit, she (this smaller raccoon) is considerably more trusting than the larger raccoon which I will now begin referring to as Desi. (Hope I haven't lost everyone with the identity confusion. I haven't been spending much time around them lately, plus, like all kits, Rascal has changed a lot now that she is grown. As a result, I'm not able to tell who is who anywhere near as easily as I did in years back.

Upon walking outside that night, I decided I would like to sit on my garden buddy. I ended up walking across the patio, dumping the water out of the bottom of the garden seat, then lifting it up to carry it back over to the well lit area by the door. All of that activity, especially the sight of me carrying the large garden seat across the patio, would have sent most raccoons racing for cover in the forest. There are so many reason why my behavior would have been seen as dangerous not the least of which is the fact that I could easily have flung that garden seat at her, causing serious injury.

I was surprised when I sat down on my garden seat and looked up to see that Rascal was still there on the patio with me. At the very least, I expected to have to coax her back, but there she sat in clear view, having not even bothered to hide behind any of the large pots or other items on the patio. Once I took out a chunk of the homemade kibble, she quickly came over to me. I tossed the chunk of kibble onto the patio a short distance from my foot, and she came over to eat near me w/o hesitation.

No sooner had Rascal begun eating that 1st chunk of kibble when another raccoon appeared on the scene. This 2nd raccoon was the larger one, the one I had seen the night before. The 2nd raccoon stayed about 2ft from me, so that's where I tossed her food. Over the next few minutes, I tossed some 3-4 chunks to each raccoon, and they ate. The 2 raccoons seemed to get along quite well together, which is most unusual. The obvious difference in size between them coupled with their comfort eating together seemed to confirm my suspicion that they are mother and (grown) child.

With the smaller Rascal sitting upright to eat so close to my foot, I could now see that she, too, is expecting. Oh, and having already fed them 2x this week, tonight I managed to stay clear of the kitchen.

My wish for you is to have Desi & Rascal visit your backyard & no other raccoons, this season - yeah right! But I can dream for you.

Very interesting remark about sense beyond the five senses - a line of invisible something - I agree!

Thanks, Liz!

I know I only have a limited qty of chicken skin and cornmeal from which to make the raccoon kibble. I also know I cannot afford to buy food for them, so I am highly motivated to minimize what I give them, to keep to the rule of only a handful per visit (that's a handful total NOT each) and only a couple times per week. Just as I did last night, I plan to make myself unavailable once I've already fed them the max times in a week. I know it won't be easy, but then none of this is. It's what I have to do. With any luck at all, this group will respond to scarcity the same as Heidi did in the past by keeping their size to the number supported by the resources. (I can dream with you!)

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I was very busy 1st with ebay stuff and then in a mad rush to get as much yard & garden work as possible done before it gets too hot here - the past week we have seen temps in the mid 80's which is pushing my limit.

I've been seeing (and actually feeding) Diva about every 4-5 days, so well within the limits I set for myself. Each time I give her some 5-6 pieces of my homemade kibble, each roughly the size of the last/outermost section of my thumb. I'm guessing she probably comes through here nightly, but I don't make an effort to be available as I can't afford to feed her on a nightly basis. I've only seen the younger one once since I last posted. On that night, appeared at the door as soon as I got back inside from feeding Diva, making it appear that she (younger one) had been hiding nearby the whole time.

Until very recently, they both attempted to get my attention by sitting in the darkness about 2ft or so from the patio door. Unable to see them in the darkness, I only saw them on those rare occasions when I got that strange feeling they were there and went to turn the patio light on to check. A couple weeks ago Diva changed so that she now sits with her face right up against the glass, her face clearly visible in the bottom corner pane of the door.

I know I probably find odd things interesting, so I apologize for that, but this change from sitting several feet in front of the door to sitting with her face pressed up against the door pane seems to me like a giant leap in understanding, the realization not only that she needs to be seen to get fed but also that I can only see her in the darkness if she sits right up against the glass. That last part seems major to me; however, it is possible that she may simply have observed my cat who also sits with her face up against the very same corner door pane as a way to get my attention to be let in.

I suspect that the reason I now only ever see/feed Diva is probably due to her having learned to announce her presence by sitting with her face against the door pane whenever she sees the kitchen light on. It is also possible that she may have driven the younger one out of the area, especially since I only give her a small amount of food. I've not heard any arguing out there though like I did with prior groups.

At any rate, only having the 1 raccoon visitor 1-2x a week works out well for me. So far I've only made the 1 batch of food and still have enough for 3-4 visits. Last night I processed a pot full of left over chicken bones (with traces of meat, cartilage, etc) to put in the freezer for Widget's future treats. To save electricity, I cooked the chicken skin and fat, collected for raccoon food, in the pot along with Widget's stuff, separating things afterward. I now have a pint of chicken skin and a cup of rendered chicken fat with which to make another batch of raccoon food.

As mentioned, Diva now announces her presence by sitting with her face right up against the bottom pane of the patio door. I look up from whatever I'm doing there in the kitchen to see her face there in the bottom door pane. It's quite adorable to see. I would take a pick but it looks the same as the pics I took previously back when Heidi used to do the very same thing.

I'm pretty sure Diva has had her kits now. For a while there she had that 'swallowed a beach ball' look and now she is looking quite thin and svelte again. I'm guessing 3-4 kits for this litter based on her former side.

She is a bit skittish but is willing to stand a couple feet away each night as I walk out with my folded stool, set it down, unfold it, and sit down before breaking out the food. This alone shows tremendous trust. She is usually comfortable eating about 3ft from me. I toss the food to her. She is not comfortable taking food from my hand yet. Occasionally a piece lands lands as close as 2ft from me. She will come forward to get it but always goes back to her 3ft comfort zone.

Last week we had a particularly noteworthy and, I think, heartwarming episode. I was late letting Widget out for his last time. It was at that in-between time, light enough still to see reasonably well but definitely growing dark fast. I went out onto the patio to encourage Widget to hurry & get back inside before it grew totally dark out. Widget exited the patio door at full 'gallop' and ran over to the nearby shrubs where he bounced around in a manner which suggested he had 'treed' something. I had never seen Diva that early before, but I was pretty sure the thing in the bushes was a raccoon.

I yelled at Widget a few times - he can be quite heard-headed. I never saw whatever he was after, but I would have thought my yelling alone would have sent it running for cover. Widget finally came to me. As soon as I got him back inside and settled down, I went back to the patio door to see if there was a raccoon out there still, although by this time I strongly suspected any raccoon would be long gone.

I opened the patio door and said, "Diva" just the one time, and just like that she stepped out from her hiding place amid the large 'vegetable' pots. She stood before me on the patio, maybe 4-5ft away, stood there looking up at me quite calmly as if to say, "I'm right here." I was shocked that she was still in the yard and even more so to find that after all that, after the dog chasing after her and me yelling, she had been hiding right there on the patio.

I was also surprised at how calmly she had stepped out from her hiding place when called. After all, I was standing there with the patio door open when I called out to her, and only moments earlier the crazy, little barking dog had leaped out from that same open door to chase her. This, too, seemed a surprisingly trusting move on her part and one which reminded me very much of what I might have expected from Heidi.

I am glad to see you back here. I was starting to worry. hugs

Me too. :)

Hi! I was wondering what you and the animals were up to! It strikes me as sweet and funny that although the cats and Widget do their best to scare Diva away, she just quietly hides until they give up and go away. LOL!

Hi Susan, Cville, & June!

Thanks to all of you for caring. Like I was saying above, for a while there I was super busy 1st with the ebay stuff and then with a last minute push to get the yard & garden in shape before it got to hot. My backyard garden was largely untended for some 5yrs or so during the years I was too debilitated to take care of it. The guys I hired did some upkeep but also let a lot of things go due to their inability to discern between weeds/volunteers & desired plants. I'm still working hard to clear some areas where they had allowed sweetgum, oak, & other misc seedlings (planted by birds, wind, forest, etc) to grow to 6-12ft.

In one area my trained wisteria 'tree' had been allowed to send out a vine from its base which had become horribly entangled in everything from a rambling rose to several limbs of the weeping willow (it was climbing UP the weeping limbs and pulling them down to the ground). Likewise, a Japanese honeysuckle I had naively planted my 1st yr and had almost managed to eradicate before my accident had been allowed to grow massive 2-3in vines which had twirled themselves around and nearly suffocated everything in their path even managing to force a few boards off the fence.

It's good that I had that 1 landscaper working to keep my yard under some degree of control. I can't begin to think how bad it might otherwise have been, but he did slay a number of my expensive and beloved plants even while allowing countless 'cheap' sweetgum saplings and other small 'trees' to grow and take hold such that I am left with LOTS of work in my effort to regain control out there.

I mention all of this to explain the amount and type of work I've been doing out there. I'm not talking about pulling small weeds. I'm talking about using my ratchet loppers and a whole lot of muscle to cut through vines and saplings up to 3in or so in diameter. I'm talking about actually having to clear weeds, invasives, and brush to reclaim portions of my back yard (area which are quite luckily behind a 6ft privacy fence as the HOA would otherwise have started screaming about it years ago). In some cases I also have to carefully cut the honeysuckle and wisteria vines along with other weeds away from a plant I want to save: a rose, camellia, tiny Japanese maple, fig bush, etc. Then I have to pile all the giant vines, 2-3in saplings, etc on a tarp and drag them out to the street for pickup. One evening just before sundown, it took my last few ounces of energy just to put one foot in front of the other to walk back to the house & fall into my bed.

On the plus side, I have gotten a lot of work done out there, much more than I expected. I've cleared a large & quite noticeable area on one side of the back yard. There is still a lot left to do, unfortunately, and I probably won't be able to get it all done before the weather gets too hot. (Due to the effects of menopause, I can't work out there once the temp gets up to 90F or so, because I start to sweat so heavily it's more like rain than sweat, and it becomes truly debilitating. I had planned to do this work last winter, but the exceptionally cold weather last winter derailed that plan. )

Anyhow, that's what I've been doing and why the main reason of not had the energy to write. I've been in a last minute race against time to get the yard cleared and in shape, especially the area around and including my old veggie garden. I'm determined to get some things planted out there this spring/summer (in addition to the items in large tubs on the patio). Instead of trying to till that ground in time for planting this year, my plan is to erect a raised bed in part of the area. I have a raised bed kit still in the box in the garage, something I bought right after my accident when I was desperately trying to find a way to keep gardening despite my injuries. I also have numerous bags of compost and soil in the garage which I plan to use to fill the raised bed. Think I may drag all of that out tomorrow and get it set up. I'm running a bit behind schedule with the garden - what can I say, had to clear the area 1st - really need to get my tomatoes, peppers, and such transplanted into the garden asap.

That (1st ebay then the yard/garden) is what I had been working on until about a week ago when the temp suddenly spiked up in the 85-92F range. The heat plus the rain plus the giant mosquitoes caused me to take a break for the past 5-7 days, during which time I got very little done and ultimately allowed myself to descend into a fairly deep depression, so deep that I lived for days on oatmeal, apples, rice, water, and the last few cans of 2011 soup even though I had $190 in my snap (grocery) account. I just could not bring myself to get in the car and drive 2 miles to the store. That's how bad it was. Today I finally managed to get myself to the store to get groceries.

I guess, despite all of the good things I did get done during my recent 'timeout', maybe your concern was to some degree warranted just because of the depression I fell into over the past week. It took enormous self talk to get myself to the store today. I tried to get there yesterday (and the day before and the day before that...) but failed. I am feeling better now. I think I really needed to get out and about.

Just wanted to add that it was heartwarming to come to DG yesterday and find all of your caring posts. :-)

Last night after I finished those 2 posts, I went to the kitchen for something. A couple minutes later I looked up to see a raccoon at the door. Almost immediately, I knew it probably wasn't Diva. Whereas she always sits patiently with her face up to the glass, this one was standing high up on its hind legs and reaching up as though to turn the doorknob and let herself in.

Raccoon kibble & folding stool in hand, I opened the patio door & stepped out to find Rascal. As I sat down and began to feed her it quickly became obvious that this was without a doubt the real Rascal, the adorable but also sometimes annoying kit from last summer, the one that used to climb the door all the time. She had little fear of me, so much so that her eager movements were at times a bit unnerving. I knew she meant me no harm, but I wasn't yet sure that she could be trusted not to scratch me accidentally (as even the slightest scratch could mean trouble).

She got so close to me (as I sat there on my folding stool) that it became difficult to toss her the kibble, as on more than one occasion she reached up to grasp my hand in hers as she had done as a kit when reaching to take a cookie from my hand. Thankfully, she was gentle about it, so there were no scratches.

I was happy to see her, and I must admit that I gave her more than the usual 5 or so pieces, probably closer to double that qty. I had, after all, already rendered the chix skin and fat for another batch, so I guess I was feeling momentarily generous. Even so, I clearly did not giver her all that she wanted for as soon as I got back into the kitchen and resumed washing dishes, I looked up to see her once again trying to turn the doorknob to get inside.

Oops. This might just be the flaw in my otherwise successful (at least so far) plan. Rascal is called that for a reason. She isn't afraid of me and knows no boundaries. And now it seemed that unlike Diva Rascal wasn't down with the idea of going away after receiving a good nibble. That was just an appetizer, and she wanted more.

Oh, how I hated to do it - hate it still even now as I recall it - but as she continued to stand at the door wrestling with the knob, I could see no solution but to spritz her. It wasn't really her fault. She had learned to get food from the door, and that was my fault. Still, she needed to learn that this was not acceptable behavior, and she needed to learn it sooner rather than later. So I opened the door and spritzed her. It was a heartbreaking experience. She was expecting a treat, reaching for one even as I spritzed her. "Ewe!" she grimaced as the water hit her between the eyes, "this wasn't what she was expecting!" Still she reached up again for a treat, still trusting me, and once again I spritzed her. It was heartbreaking, I tell you, but after the 3rd spritz she got the message and walked away from the door. :-(

Edited to fix a few typos.

This message was edited Apr 27, 2014 11:44 AM