Heidi - Awaiting the Delivery

Ok, looks like the laptop is feeling much better now, and thanks to Terese for reminding me, I took the camera out with me tonight for my visit with the raccoons.

Heidi was there waiting for me on the lawn so I didn't get to fill the bowls.We had a great visit before the others arrived. She ate at my feet - I estimated about 2.5ft from the end of my shoe. In fact, as you will see from the photo below, she was so close that I had difficulty getting decent pictures of anything other than the top of her head.

I gave her a bunch of the Purina One chicken and rice, a couple of handfuls of some of Widget's Nature's Logic Chicken, some dog treats including one of the vanilla yogurt candies (made with whey powder, skim milk, sugar, oil, and vitamins) which she seemed to enjoy, and an egg. For some reason, tonight she didn't eat her egg.

I also got 2 short videos of her eating. I'm very pleased with them because they show the cute way she scoops up the food. There are also 2 places in the videos where she gets worried about something and you can actually see her react when I tell her it's ok. Even though it was still "light" out, the videos are a little darker than I'd like. Before I post them, I'm going to check to see if I can lighten them in PhotoShop; I've never tried to do that with video so don't know if it's feasible w/o editing individual frames.

Eventually, everybody showed up, and when I say "everybody" what i mean is if any of you are missing a raccoon or 2, they might be here. News of the all you can eat buffet seems to have traveled far. I believe that I have successfully proven the value of word of mouth advertising. At one point I counted 6 and I'm not sure if I got them all because sneaking around through the garden, and behind the hedges, and around the compost pile, etc is becoming very popular.

These days everybody wants to get to me, so when there is a crowd it can get a little touchy. Tonight I had 2 on one side only about 2 ft away, 1 on the other side (make it difficult to keep an eye on everybody), and 2 in front. Moments later someone came sneaking around from behind me; I hadn't even been aware that one was there. They are always very friendly with me, but sometimes when I'm not looking one will sneak up to smell my foot or something like that.

For a month or so we've been having a severe drought. With 6 or more raccoons, an oppossum or 2, countless birds, not to mention rabbits, turtles, snakes and who knows what else even the large birdbath and 2 large copper basins only hold enough water for a day. By the 2nd day, if I don't refill them, the water level is perilessly low. Today I came home and took a nap after work so I forgot about the water. Heidi can't easily get up to the birdbath these days so she has to drink from the basins. Luckily, she was able to drain the only basin that still had water; the other was bone dry.

After Heidi left, the others got into a few nasty arguments over the water. HRH was there tonight. While Heidi kept him out of the yard as long as she was there, after she left he joined the crowd. At one point he tried to climb up onto the large cement birdbath. That was hilarious! Sadly, on a prior trip back to the house for a pitcher of water, I had left the camera behind - it's large and bulky and tends to get in the way - but I would have loved a picture of that effort.

At didn't seem to be able to just morph instantly from raccoon on the ground to raccoon on the birdbath as Heidi does so easily when not pregnant. He stood on his hind legs and put his front paws on the edge the way she does, then he heaved mightily only to find himself still on the ground. Determined, he then managed to somehow maneuver one back leg over the edge of the rim. That's when it got interesting. So with one hind foot still on the ground and one on the edge of the bowl, he tried to hoist himself up there. It was almost embarrasing to watch his ungainly effort. At one point he had the "ground" foot about 6inches off the ground, and it looked like he might even make it - that or turn the whole thing over on himself, but moments later he tumbled to the ground. (Before I left, I poured the pitcher of water into the ground level basin for them.)

Fraidy came up real close. She ate an egg and a bunch of red grapes - she loves the grapes. One grape fell from the stem to the ground by my foot. She was determined to get that one, and in time she did.

I would've given a lot to see HRH's unsuccessful attempt at a chin-up onto the birdbath: that sounds priceless! Sounds like he's spent much less time than the others around human habitation (which makes sense, given his nomadic and studly lifestyle); he seems pretty clueless about all our household and garden gadgets.

Must be exciting to be in the center of a group of raccoons all looking to you for treats. Just please be sure you can quickly pull arms and legs out of reach if a scuffle breaks out among them: unlikely, I think, but I'd hate to see you be accidentally scratched.

Heidi has pretty well given up the need for a buffer zone between you and her, which is truly awesome. And my, she is LARGE, no?

Years ago, one of my rehabber buddies had a framed cartoon that I loved; if I could figure out where she got it, I'd send you one since it belongs in your house. It showed two possums, one pointing to a rustic building with a sign saying "wildlife rehab center." The caption was, "I'm telling you, great eats! All day and night! Just go on over there and play dead!"

So heart warming that they are getting to trust you. Love hearing all these stories. Keep them coming. Karen

Hi Ruth, that cartoon really gave me a chuckle or two! That's priceless! (And, oh, so real!)

HRH reminded me of an extremely inept person (or comedian) trying to get on a horse. You know that scene you've no doubt witnessed where the person ends up with one leg over the horse, the other in the stirrup, both hands gripping the saddly horn, hanging hopelessly down around the horses stomach, trying to hoist themselves up while the saddle threatens to slide down the side of the horse with them? That was HRH trying to "mount" the birdbath.

Yes, Heidi is a whopper! I wasn't kidding about lately she tumbles over the fence more so than climbing down. That shifting load finally got completely out of hand. My hope is that by feeding her during her pregnancy maybe this time all of the kits will have gotten sufficient nourishment and will be able to achieve full size.

It's nice to be wanted, but, honestly, I'm not too comfortable in the larger crowd. I usually leave when it gets too crowded. Having 2 or 3 up close is nice, six or more is a bit much because it becomes impossible to keep track of them all especially when they start sneaking around on all sides.

Here are the videos of Heidi. I forgot to mention that I don't know how to use Photoshop, so here they are in there original, somewhat dark form. They actually look better on my laptop than when viewed from webshots, but as time is limited, I'd best post them and move on. If you have the sound on, you can hear me reassure her when she gets anxious, and see her respond. One down side of taking pictures/videos is that it's impersonal; it puts a big, hulky camera between me and the raccoons so that it's more like I'm watching them on TV instead of being there. At the end of the 2nd video something frightens her. It happens so quickly that from behind the camera I missed the early cues, so she was off and running before I realized. I was able to call her back that time, too, but I had to put the camera down and speak to her in person rather than from behind a camera.

http://outdoors.webshots.com/video/3064071120015894510OanstX

http://outdoors.webshots.com/video/3017085360015894510OooAhd

Ok, now here's my joke for the day. I took 3 eggs out this evening. While taking things out to the raccoons I am plagued by a shortage of hands so I put the eggs in my pants pocket. I gave one to Heidi and one to Fraidy. Later when I got back inside and was downloading the photos from my camera, I recalled the 3rd egg. It was at that moment that I realized that I was in my nightie and my pants were in the washer! After I played out a brief scenario or 2 in my mind, I trudged down to the laundry room to drag all those wet clothes out of the wash in search of the egg. I made a small lake on the laundry room floor but never found the egg. I have since moved the clothes from the washer to the dryer, and I STILL don't know what happened to the 3rd egg!

Thanks, Karen! Tonight was definitely one of the good nights. I think they are really enjoying the new dog food, The Purina One. Until just recently they were eating the Jim Dandy. They love the dog food, even the Jim Dandy, but they are really excited about the Purina. It may not be caviar but I guess it's pretty close when compared to the things they normally eat.

I hope things are going well with Little One and the rest of your gang!

The videos are great, Cheryl, and it's clear how your voice has a calming effect on Heidi. And boy, she eats like she's late for work, doesn't she?

As you were relating the egg story, I was visualizing a horrendous mess in the washing machine: foamy pale yellow clothes. But really, what on earth happened to that egg?

Ruth, you're killing me! ROTFLOL!!! That is such a perfect characterization of how she scarfs down the food! Funny thing is, today she was eating at her normal, casual pace. You should see her when she's REALLY hungry!

When she does that thing where she's reaching all around, that's when she reminds me of poker player raking in the pot. She just needs a visor, a cigar, and a sleeve garter.

When Heidi reacts to my voice in the video, remember that (1) I have a big camera in front of my face and (2) the camera itself is noisy due to the motor moving the lens and it shines a red light on her and flashes,etc. The act of taking the video effects my interactions with her.

I STILL haven't FOUND that egg! Right now I'm imagining it cooked on the side of the dryer tub. That's worst than the foamy washing machine image. I really don't know. It's quite the mystery. And I'm afraid I might find it...hoping it fell out of my pocket or one of those sneaky coons is a pick pocket.




This message was edited May 11, 2007 7:36 AM

That would be a riot--well they are bandits, right. Pick pocket raccoon. I loved the videos, she is so adorable. I have been going to bed a little earlier since they are trying to turn me into a day person instead of a night person (I don't think that will ever truely happen, but I am trying). Since I do go to bed earlier, I haven't seen Little One in a few days, she seems to come down later in the early morning. I can tell who the "usuals" are--they don't run away when I shine the flashlight out on them as they are used to it. Newbies run away. Also, I can talk the regulars back out of the woods if something scares them away (like my dogs going out). Which is nice. I just tell them "It's ok, now, babies, come back and eat." And slowly one by one they come walking back out of the woods to the feed station. It's kind of neat. Even Little One if I tell her "It's ok" she'll stop worrying and keep eating, but I have to shine the flashlight out where she is looking so she can see there is nothing there. She is afraid of the regular bigger guys, so I have to show her they are not coming her way, but still eating at the station. Aren't they something. Easily scared, yet sometimes easily reassured by another species. I still can't get very close to mine. If I try they hop up a tree partway. Maybe when summer comes and I can sit out there they will get more used to me. I just love the fact the guys think you are just they best cook in the entire world. It would make me a little nervous with them all around me, too, especially the non-regulars. Keep up the good work and the cool stories---and let us know where you find the egg :-) Karen

Hi, Karen, still no sign of the mystery egg.

I hope that you are sleeping better these days, and feeling better as a result. Sounds like you are making a lot of progress with your gang. Time, patience, kindness, and food conquer all!

Here's another quick pic i snapped last night. It was dark out so I couldn't see what I was shooting. The one center back is HRH, not sure who the other 2 are.

Edited to add that I believe that is Heidi on the right, just before she left for the evening.

This message was edited May 11, 2007 6:43 PM

Here is a close up of Heidi's head.

One more of Heidi. This one didn't come out so well. I've figured out what is wrong with my camera. The vibration reduction module is broken. As a result, the slightest movement of camera or subject will blur the image.

Here is [I believe] Heidi standing in the almost totally empty water basin. That's the compost pile behind her.

what great images!! I loved the videos too.

It dawned on me this morning as I sat here at the PC.

I open Daves and look to see if there is a Heidi update the very first thing... even before checking email.
then I sit with my coffee and read -- usually with a big smile as I read about the evening adventures.

Honestly -- it's how i start my day. *BG* :-D

Oh, Terese, what a wonderful compliment! Thank You!

Thanks for letting me know how much you enjoy the adventures of Heidi and the gang. Sometimes I start to wonder "Is the story getting old? Boring? Too much? Too often?" It's always good to hear from the folks who are following the story.

Now I'm smiling :D

I do the same as Terese. First I check for Heidi updates--waiting to hear anything that is going on. What a life we all have . I just feel like an expectant aunt waiting for the babies to arrive. And because of you guys, I have taken an interest in the raccoons in this area. Before I was scared to death of them. Now I don't think I would like one to come up to me as they don't really know me. Maybe this summer I can sit out more (if the darn bugs don't eat me alive!), and we will get to know each other better. Loved the pictures. Now I can picture HRH trying to get into the birdbath. Hilarious. Karen

I STILL haven't found the 3rd egg! Last night I dreamed that I was getting dressed for work and found the egg "baked" onto the inside of my pants. I've since removed the clothes from the dryer and still no sign of the egg. I figure maybe it fell out of my pocket; it was a fairly shallow pocket and one from which other things have fallen before, especially when I sit, bend over, etc - like when I was filling the basin. (Hoping...)

Tonight the kids next door were outside playing, screaming, etc so I figured Heidi would be reluctant to come out until well after they left. I filled the bowls and left them. I also made sure to rinse and refill all of the water containers. After dark when I went back out to take in the feeders, I took the rest of the container of food out to check on the raccoons.

Several of raccoons were eating. I couldn't see the one over behind the compost where Heidi often eats, so I figured that was probably her. Fraidy was quick to come up beside me looking for treats. I gave her the 2 handfuls of premium food I'd brought for Heidi. Fraidy is becoming very sweet, gentle, and trusting. She is so tiny compared to the others. She looks more like a juvenile.

There was a large, apparently male, raccoon eating from the bowl at station 1. He was also there last night. I believe that is Trouble. If so, he really has grown. He's almost the size of HRH now. Last night when he 1st came into the yard I thought he was yet another newcomer. I wondered why a new male would be here now. He was the one that kept going around the yard and coming up behind me. Heidi kept running him off before he could get too close to me. (Tonight Heidi ran him out of the yard again.)

After a while the giant limb of the Heidi tree, the limb that hangs over the fence, started to rock and bounce quite violently - in a manner that I have never, ever seen before in ALL of the evenings that I have sat there. It seemed like a gorilla must surely be in there! This incredibly vigourous shaking and thrashing of the limb continued for a very long few minutes and was accompanied by such a rumbling, roaring, growling, huffing, and puffing that I truly began to fear that the forest was about to cough up a grizzly bear at any moment. ALL of the raccoons stopped eating and turned to stare at the bouncing branches. I kid you not, I was poised to flee at any moment...and then, Heidi dropped unceramoniously from the limb onto the ground and waddled toward me still grunting and grumbling.

For the rest of the evening Heidi sat in front of me as in the video and ate, stopping from time to time to chase the others before returning to finish her meal. She may be chubby, but man can she move when she wants to! When she runs across the lawn to launch a brief attack on one of the others, I quite literally see only the take off and the finish. Everything in between is a screaming, furry blur. That is how fast she moves when she's only days from delivering a half dozen kids and so big she has to fall out of a tree limb to get over the fence! (It really gives one perspective on raccoons.)

During one of those chase scenes, Heidi chased a couple of them AWAY from me, but Juliet doubled back around the row of flower pots and came running through that gap between me and the pots, the same gap that Trouble ran through on his way to the Willow tree that one night only Juliet was going in the opposite direction (I need to do some rearranging). I saw Juliet coming, and anticipated what was going to happen so (remembering Ruth's comment), I held my arms and the food container over my head (so they would be out of the way) and swung my "lifted" feet as far as possible to the opposite side in an effort to stay out of the brawl. But Heidi didn't follow through, and Juliet just ran by and stopped to eat on the lawn in front of me.

Then, I looked to my right - to the side where I'd quickly moved my legs to get them out of the way - and there was Fraidy still standing there about a foot to my right where she had been eating before the spat started. She was just standing there calmly looking at me as if to say, "do you have anymore kibble?" I had moved quickly, raised my hands in the air (holding the container), and swung my feet and knees toward her, and she seemed quite undaunted by any of it. She was just standing there sweetly waiting for me to toss her some more kibble. I'm starting to like her. Can you tell?

Even though I had been careful to fill all of the containers with cool, clean water, Heidi wouldn't let anyone drink it without a fight, this apparently because yesterday I let them run out of water. It's been so dry here that the iris have become "day" lilies, each bloom drying up at the end of its 1st day. There probably isn't much if any water back there in the forest. There is water in the ponds but to get to the ponds they have to go out into the open well away from the forest, and the ponds have alligators. (I wonder if the raccoons know about the alligators?) I sat on a friend's porch one day and watched as a heron was fishing along the edge of the pond and all the while a small, 'V'-shaped ripple was moving ever so slowly across the pond toward the spot where the heron stood. It could easily have been just any wind swept ripple, but from my vantage point above the pond, I could tell that it was an aligator. (Luckily, the heron left before he became dinner.)

I'm going to try to get out and get that pool tomorrow. I think we are down to 8 days!

Old. Boring. Hah!!

I often let it go until I have looked at other things because once I read about Heidi, nothing else is interesting.

LMAO "and then, Heidi dropped unceramoniously from the limb onto the ground and waddled toward me still grunting and grumbling."

I can imagine what she was thinking "those darn kids, after all I've done for them, you think they'd leave a pregnant mother alone...grumble, grumble...." And, yes, you probably dropped the other egg and someone ate it. That seems to be the best explanation.
Be interesting to see how they react to the baby pool. I need to get something bigger for water for my guys. Right now they have a lasagna pan for water. They need more. When it is this dry, the creek down the hill dries up. I did get a little treat tonight and got to see Little One eat most of her dinner by her tree. When she would jump, I would use the universal calming phrase "It's ok." And she would be ok. She would look up at me occasionally while I talked to her. She finished eating and meandered slowly back into the woods. Karen

The bottom of one of the fence boards should come loose so Heidi could make a more dignified entrance.

Good thought--a raccoon door. Karen

Karen, you have made huge progress with the raccoons in your area in a very short time. Don't ever feel the need to hope for more; it will happen in time at the rate you're going.

Poor Heidi: can you imagine trying to climb trees and fences toward the end of pregnancy? That said, the image of the uproar she created with her entrance is just priceless. In other areas, she's acting like the old pro she is: suprisingly willing to tolerate others in the vicinity, but only if they follow her rules and acknowledge that she is in charge.

Interesting if the male you saw was Trouble, and was noticeably larger than at his last appearance: maybe he's becoming a breeding male, which would lead to denser muscle tone, jowls and thus a wider head appearance. It would fit that he was the one to approach you from behind.

Sure hope you're right that the egg dropped out of your pocket; that's a surprise you wouldn't want to find after a week or so....

Karen, Thank You! Your words about spending time with Little One were especially touching. :)
Remember, Heidi just came right up to me from the start. For some reason she was comfortable around people all along. It wasn't anything I did. You, on the other hand, have come a very long way with raccoons who started out afraid of people.

Hi George, so nice to hear from you, and thank you, too, for that wonderful compliment. My smile is growing bigger and bigger! :D))

I thought I'd expound a bit on the incident in which Heidi dropped from the limb.

There is pretty much no way that I can exagerate the extent to which the limb rocked and bounced. As I sat watching, I kept thinking there was no way that the thing causing that movement could be a raccoon. However, while ultimately saw Heidi drop from the limb, I don't know that she was the only one in there. It's possible that prior to her somewhat ungainly entrance into the yard she may have been squabbling with some of the other raccoons who might also have been on that limb.

Given the value of pictures, I thought I'd present a series of photos to give you a better idea about what the scene looks like. Below is a photo of the limb as it appears now. This is the area where Heidi enters most of the time.

Here is a marked up and cropped version of the same photo. I've outlined in orange the limb in question. Although not strictly relevant to this discussion, while I'm showing the scene, I also outlined in red the post down which Heidi usually climbs (when not so pregnant). I think she likes to enter here because she can sit atop the fence (under the limb) or on the limb and scope out the yard to make sure it's safe to enter.

Ok, as long as I'm pointing out things on the pictures, this one is marked up to demonstrate where she has been climbing down the fence (not the post) the past few weeks since she started having problems with the load shifting. The blue "bug" or turtle (LOL. now you can see I really do have art talent!) shows where she climbs on the fence. However, she doesn't actually climb all the way down. She jumps from about the level of the blue bug.

OH.. that last one is just priceless!!

**edited to add comment for next photo


Ahhh, now i can see why the branch shook so violently... it seems not much wider than a twig.

LOL she must really have to hang on while walking on it in her current state of pregnancy.

This message was edited May 12, 2007 5:44 PM

Here is a pic of the tree/limb without leaves so you can see the "bones". I've drawn an outline in orange just above the main section of the limb just to make it easier to see From this you can see that the limb is actually rather small in diameter (so would be easy to shake about) and that it extends down from the tree and over the fence making it a perfect "parachute".

ROTFLOL!!!

I feel this puts to bed any questions as to the veracity of my claims of artistic talent! ;-)

Ok, here's a close up of the bare limb. This one was shot from a slightly different perspective a bit to the left of the other pics. (I have a certain fascination with the form of this tree as you can see).

Lastly, (and I know you are all sad to think this is the last tree shot - for now) here is a pic to (1) show how close the limb gets to the ground and (2) show the bottom of the fence. I mention the latter because compromising the fence to make access easier is not really feasible. Rember I have a small (4.5lb) dog. I got the fence to begin with to keep the dog in. Also, because the fence was erected to contain the dog, the boards are all buried some 6" or more into the ground. A further result of this is that the bottom horizontal board is so close to the ground that it would also need to be cut - or the boards would have to be cut/removed even higher to let her climb over. And due to her size I would probably need to lift or remove 3 (at least 2) boards.

It shouldn't be that much longer before she can climb again with relative ease, and the babies will soon learn to scamper over the fence. In fact, it can be viewed as giving Heidi an opportunity to teach them about fences. I don't think she has a problem climbing trees and she can use the tree and limb to get onto the fence from the other side, so her only real difficulty right now is in getting down the fence on the yard side.

Also, as shown in the picture, the limb allows her to get quite close to the ground so it's not like she dropped from a high limb - as one might imagine without seeing the actual tree.

Hmm. Maybe I'll look around to see if I have anything large and sturdy that I could put by the fence to make "steps". Oh, except the slope there will be a problem. I'll think about it.

Does anyone want to see me draw another raccoon-turtle-bug?

LOL... nah, 1 turtle-bug was enough. too cute though.

so, if Heidi hangs on, she can get "almost" to the ground?
and obviously, it will be good training for the kits.

1 week and counting right? (was it the 19th?)

I never saw a blue raccoon bug before. There possibly could never be another one. That is a one time experience! :-)) I still have to laugh to myself when I think of her coming down the shaking limb muttering, grumbling to herself. Hysterical. Nice tree pictures. At least we have seen the Heidi tree. Keep us updated. Karen

;-D

I just thought it would help to illustrate the story if you could see the setup. Dropping from a limb probably sounds dangerous and painful. If I said the limb was near the ground everyone might still have a different view of how near is near. So now when I mention Heidi coming down the limb...and so forth, you'll be able to picture it.

Last year I dubbed it the Heidi tree because that's where she and the kids hung out. There is a dead/hollow tree directly behind it and slightly to the left in most of the pics. I think that may be where she kept the kids last year.

Terese -- I think the limb gets her closer to the ground than does the "turtle-bug" position, since she jumps from there, too. The 19th is the date that Ruth calculated for us based on the date when Heidi seemed to have "company". Yep, 1 week.

Karen -- Yes, those blue turtle-bugs are difficult to come by. You should have seen that limb bobbing up and down and thrashing to and fro, and you should have heard all the outrageous growling and grunting coming from the limb. I really was sitting there wondering if I should be making a run for it.

I didn't stay out there very long tonight. I did clean and refill all of the water containers. I can't tell you how many birds big and small i saw splashing about in the birdbaths today. This is really making an impact on me about just how important it is to provide water as well as food - for all of the wildlife. We always think about feeding the birds, the squirrels, etc. Sometimes they may need water even more than food.

Quick aside RE: water. 2 nights ago, as i mentioned, I took out a pitcher of water. When I left I poured it in the basin, but when I 1st got back out there I didn't want to scare them all away so I sat down on my bench and poured some of the water into a plastic bowl. When Fraidy came over to eat beside me, she drank from the bowl. Last night, Heidi wouldn't let her go near the basins. After Fraidy had eaten a good bit of the dry dog food, she was thirsty. She went over to the birdbath and tried to drink from it. I had a potted plant (12" pot) at the base of the birdbath and Fraidy had been standing on it to drink, but the plant had gotten so dry and thus light that it turned over when Fraidy tried to stand on it. Then she came over to me. I tried to give her food, grapes, etc. She didn't want any of that, but she kept sticking her nose around near my bench. Then I realized she was looking for the water bowl - which I didn't have last night. I was really feeling sorry for her, but eventually she managed to sneak over there and grab some water from the basin when Heidi was busy chasing the others.

Now getting back to tonight's adventure, we probably don't have to worry all that much about Heidi's ability to get around. I have observed some differences in how she gets around, and in conveying those observations, it seems I've caused everyone to worry unnecessarily.

I say this in part because tonight I watched Heidi climb face 1st down the side of a tree from a height of 30ft or more. Whew! What an amazing feat. I am still trying to figure out what keeps them on the tree. It's like she's hanging from her back toes. She must have velcro on the pads of her feet. I guess it must be easier for them to maneuver on trees than on fences, makes sense as they are designed to handle trees. Tonight, BTW, she used the turtle-bug method to get down the fence. (See this is great. It gives me a shorthand notation for describing the method. However, at some point in the future people will be reading this and going "what the heck is the turtle-bug method?")

Heidi didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood tonight, and I had to laugh at her (on the inside). You know how sometimes when you feel really bad tending to the social graces is just too much to handle? Well, Heidi started out the night eating over at station 2 off by herself. As the others started showing up, Heidi left her dish and came over to me as she has been doing a lot lately, except this time she walked over, sniffed the ground in front of me, sniffed each item I tossed to her, rejected each outright, and promptly turned to walk back to her place at station 2. No pretense of being friendly, no attempt to conceal her intent, just "show me what you've got, no, none of that excites me, see ya!"

Wonder what the heck she DID want, I went back to the house to get her an egg. During the walk there and back I pondered the absurdity of a trained human jumping through hoops on command for a raccon-ess. When I got back, she did, in fact, once more leave her dish and meander over to see what I might have brought with me, but she also rejected my egg and once again returned to her corner of the yard.

I enjoyed some time with Fraidy and one of the others. When a shoving match broke out I decided to call it a night.

Ruth -- It is actually quite amazing to watch how well Heidi manages such a large group of adult raccoons, and it is clear that they all know who is in charge.

I've learned my lesson about raw eggs. I'm being very careful where I put them from now on.

The growling, the limbs shaking--no wonder! The first time Heidi had ever encountered the rare blue turtle-bug. I see she chased it out of the tree first. I think now Heidi is like me when I was pregnant. One day I wanted one thing, the next day something else. One thing I ALWAYS wanted tho, that Heidi can't have, is chocolate ice cream. Had to have that every night. Once her nutritional reserves are met, she will be back just to say hello. For now it is "feed me or ta ta." Karen

Ice Cream! Of course, Karen, I bet that's what she wants - yogurt! I haven't given her yogurt lately. She probably needs some calcium and other dairy related things. I'll have to get her some yogurt! But not chocolate, of course. (I'm such a good trained, pet human.)