Heidi: The New Family 07

I really wasn't arguing for sympathy or compassion for HRH - after all, a bully is a bully, and few types are more annoying - just pointing out that it's rather inevitable that he be one.

Sounds like a magical evening in the garden tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if Fraidy is living in that tree right over your yard; as timid as she has always been, it would make sense for her not to venture far from her original home. She sounds like a real charmer, and I'm glad you're getting to develop a relationship with her since, in a very real sense, she probably survived only because of your help last year.

I'll bet Snowball thought he'd found nirvana if they left him all that chicken! He probably did the possum version of the sardine ecstacy.

>>Terese, now you won't have anything to read with your morning coffee

Nope, i had the last few posts. i literally turned off the PC after I wrote my last mssg.

>>possum version of the sardine ecstacy.

ROFLMAO! now that is a vision! too funny.

Ruth -- There was a point last summer when I had the feeling that Heidi had essentially written Fraidy off, sort of like birds that don't feed the weeker fledglings - better to give all of the available resources to the ones most likely to thrive. I had noticed the others pushing her out of the group, refusing to let her eat. Then one day I was surprised to see Heidi do the same thing. For that reason, I'm inclined to think that she probably wouldn't have made it.

If you recall, when the others ran her off and refused to let her eat, I started tossing her food against the fence. The others wouldn't let her leave the fence and come into the yard so I compensated by tossing food up against the edge of the fence. She would run down the fence, grab some, and run back up to the top of the fence to eat it: http://davesgarden.com/forums/fp.php?pid=2670237
To be honest, back then she wasn't my favorite. I suspect that's because I couldn't get to know her when she never left the fence. I just made sure she got her share of the food because it seemed like the right thing to do. Back then I never would have imagined she would become the sweet, friendly, trusting, little pet she is today.

When I the small, thin raccoon 1st showed up this season I thought she might be Fraidy. Because she wasn't comfortable around me, we questioned if she might be a new raccoon since last year's kits had spent so much time eating up close to me. Then I realized that since Fraidy always stayed over by the fence, she wouldn't necessarily be comfortable around me like the others would. I still wasn't sure though. The moment when I NEW that she was Fraidy, came some time after that night earlier this season when HRH and the others wouldn't let her come into the yard - just like old times they kept chasing her back to the fence. For the rest of the night she sat on the fence crying, whimpering, and whining in a manner that reminded me of a whimpering dog: http://davesgarden.com/forums/p.php?pid=3417256 (note 4th paragraph)

At the time, I recounted the incident hoping someone would offer an explanation. I could not reconcile what I'd seen so it nagged at me. It didn't make sense for an adult, wild animal to be crying that way. I couldn't imagine a wild animal crying in hopes the others would help it, not an adult that is. Since raccoons are autonimous, I wouldn't expect adult raccoons to be moved to help other adult raccoons that were crying, dogs maybe, because they are pack animals, but not raccoons. I also couldn't imagine that this wild raccoon that was afraid of me and hence seemed to have no real "relationship" with me would be crying in an effort to elicit my help. Then one day the light turned on and I realized that she WAS crying because she wanted me to toss her some food against the fence like I used to do all last summer. That's when I knew she was Fraidy.

I had intended to share that realization with you guys but with so much to relate could never find time.

BTW, this morning I awoke early. At 6AM when Widget and I went out to greet the morning, I found the garden full of all manner of birds as usual and then I caught sight of the cutest little bunny rabbit over by the area that is reserved for a small vegetable garden. This year it's just covered in weeds, however. It's incredible the number of wild animals that frequent the garden.

Scutler, I did hit the "unwatch" button. I suppose I hit it to go back up to the top of the thread....I can really be dumb...due to haste. :D
It's amazing how our "first impressions" of a situation or of something can change, huh? Fraidy has stollen your heart, as well as mine.

tcs, It all makes for good readin' with the morning coffee! :D

Joey

Terese -- Good morning! When I went to "Preview" my morning post and got the red alert that someone had posted while I was typing, for some reason I thought it might be you catching up over the morning coffee, and i was thinking, "now you DO have a post to read this morning". (I hadn't counted the other responses from last night.)

Good morning, Joey! (Wow, I need to get up "early" more often.)

I've done that before (unwatch by mistake). I think sometimes when I'm in a hurry and clicking labels without reading them (i do that a LOT), I click Unwatch instead of "Skip To New". Then when nothing happens (or not that i can see), I click it again but the 2nd time I get the right one.

If there is one central theme or moral to the Heidi story, I believe it is the revelation that sometimes life's apparent inconveniences may actually be gifts we just haven't yet recognized. Fraidy was just such an unappreciated gift, but Heidi herself was even more so. If you go back to the beginning of the very 1st thread, I was trying to chase Heidi away. I didn't want a wild raccoon in my yard threatening me and my dog, possibly spreading rabies, eating the bird seed, and damaging the feeders.

Just the other day while I was out photographing the flowers, I grabbed some pics of various fruits in the garden. I thought sometime I might show you guys all the wonderful food for wildlife growing there. Below is a hip from the regosa roses on on side of the berm that rises to the back fence (where the raccoons enter the garden). The hips are about the size of a quarter and ripen to a brilliant cherry red. (They are eaten quickly.) The interesting thing about the regosa rose is that I planted it on the berm about 3-4 years ago because I'd read that it spreads to form an impenetrable fortress. I didn't plant it as a food source, I planted it to keep those annoying raccoons out of the yard!

The ultimate realization of how much energy I'd spent trying to chase the gift of Heidi out of my yard and out of my life was an epiphany for me. It calls me to wonder how many gifts in my life I may have succeeded in chasing away before I ever got the chance to recognize their magic. I hope that each of you will also consider how this might apply to your own lives.

Very well put & definitely words to live by. :-) If you do a book...these words need to go IN!

Joey

>>that someone had posted while I was typing, for some reason I thought it might be you catching up over the morning coffee,

you know me... the early riser. I actually slept in this morning... a whopping 6:30am.
I like to sleep outside (we have a 3 season room with a bed in it) so i usually wake with the birds.... today, 5:15, i just rolled back over.

that image of Fraidy is soooo precious. and her back feet are HUGE.

I can see how she has warmed your heart. it does seem we always want to protect the "under dogs", and the way she was prevented from eating by all the others....

Even though I went out early tonight, armed with all manner of treats, ultimately it didn't turn out to be one of the better nights. Until the time I left, Heidi was the only one there. I had taken out, in additon to the usual dog food and kitten food which now seem to be required staples: 1/2 sliced cantaloupe plus rind and pith from 2 cantaloupes, red seedless grapes, peanuts, and a salmon fillet.

I had purchased the salmon fresh some time ago and had frozen it. It had been in the freezer for 5 months, so thinking it would have freezer burn, I thawed it, and microwaved it for 2 minutes in the white paper it came in. Only when I opened the paper to toss it into container for the raccoons did I find that it was, in fact, perfectly fine, having no signs of freezer damage at all. Even microwaved and unseasoned it smelled delectible.

Heidi chose to eat the dog food at station 2, her old favorite, and I didn't try to call her over to the dish of kitten food before me. Since I'd started her on the kitten food, she had refused dog food. I had been a bit concerned about where this was going, so I was glad to see her eating dog food again. After she had eaten a fair amount of the dog food, she sauntered over to check out the rest of the buffet.

As has now become a daily ritual for several of them, she walked over to the upside down and empty nectar container from several nights ago and pawed at it a bit before continuing her tour of the dining options. Showing no interest in either cantaloupe or salmon, she stopped to eat a bit of the kitten food. Then, seeing the boxes and bags beside me (my storage), she wandered over to plunder them. When she was quite close, I lifted the bag to offer her some grapes.

In a flash she spun on her hind quarters and bolted away like a frightened colt. She went back over to the relative safety of the bowl at station 2 where the compost pile lay between us. I sat stunned and wondering what I had done. She had been so comfortable with me lately, even after the birth of the new kits. Many times I had lifted my box of dog food and my jar of kitten food around her. Many times I'd tossed her food.

Ah, but this time it was a plastic bag I'd lifted. Things had been going so well that I'd forgot all about Heidi's fear of people holding plastic bags. She hadn't been afraid of it when it was sitting beside me. She had intended to look inside to see if she might want any of its contents, but when I'd lifted it she'd fled in terror, refusing to return. Surely, something happened at some point in her life, something concerning a human holding a plastic bag, such that the combination now triggers instant terror.

By that time it was getting dark. None of the others had shown up. I decided to leave so that Heidi would feel comfortable coming back over to eat the kitten food.

Well, they can't all be "best" days. Unless the others showed up later, which is quite possible, Snowball will surely leap for joy when he see's the feast that awaits him.

I am catching up from the last two days. I have an autoimmune disease and when it kicks in, all I can do is sleep, so haven't been on in 3 days. I love the vision of the coons in the dumpster with the English accent--someone with good drawing skills, should draw that for us. It would be a cute cartoon. I love the story of Fraidy. I am waiting for the day that she decides she wants to crawl up in your lap. Nothing different going on here with my guys. Still eating everything I give them. I just love these stories, keep up the good work. You are a good person. Karen

Thank you, Karen.

Sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling well lately, but glad that you were able to catch up today. As for Fraidy, she's pretty close to that already. If I let her, she will walk right up and sniff my arm, leg, foot, etc. She seems very inquisitive about me - and about what I might have in my pocket.

Last night when I ran out of peanuts, I could not seem to convince her that all of the peanuts were gone. She kept wanting to poke her nose toward my pocket. I had already patted my pocket to confirm that there were no more peanuts in there. Still she persisted. Finally, realizing her excellent sense of smell, I thought "Could there actually be some remnant of a peanut in there? Surely, she isn't trying to tell me that i missed one!"

I reached in my pocket, searched about and sure enough I withdrew 2 shelled peanut halves! I dropped them on the ground in front of her where upon she promptly ate them and then wandered off to check out the other offerings. Incredibly, it seemed she really had known that I still had those 2 tiny pieces of peanut, and had been "begging" for them the whole time she'd been sniffing at my pocket and refusing to accept that I had no more peanuts for her. She really is quite adorable now.

Thanks for the compliment on the stories. I'm glad that you are enjoying them. The raccoons do all of the real work of creating the stories; all I have to do is write it down. They are such entertaining creatures.

Clearly you are a good person, also, as from all indications you have been feeding the raccoons and wildlife in your area for some time now.

Sorry to hear that humans seem to be encroaching on the land around you. With any luck the "progress" will be very, very slow. For what it's worth, even though my neighbor's houses seem to be in my yard, we, none the less, still have an amazing assortment of healthy wildlife all around us. A herd of deer grazes on the roses along the foundation of my house each night around 10PM on their way to the pond across the street. My garden is filled with all manner of song birds, butterlies, bees, dragonflies, and hummers by day along with a plethera of squirrels, and the occasional box turtle and cottontail. By night, as you know, it hosts raccoons and oppossums and who knows what else. One of my neighbors once said to me, "it's wild kingdom here."

A peacock inhabits our community and has been known to visit my yard from time to time. On numerous occasions I have gone outside to find a flock of ibises on my front lawn; they don't even leave when I raise the garage door, back my car out, and drive away. Waterfowl from egrets to great blue herons, mallards, Canada Geese, etc are all over our community. You can't drive down my street without seeing them all along the street; sometimes they hold up traffic while they waddle across the street. The mallards sometimes come by my house to breed. When they are here i feed them dog food on the front lawn and they gather around me like pets even though they are wild birds. Heck, we even have alligators living in the ponds right here within city limits; sometimes they even sun themselves in the backyards of people who live beside the ponds. (Sometimes people are even crazy enough to feed them.)

It may be small comfort. I understand that you like your space and like things as they are now, but even if the space is developed, from my experience wildlife will still continue to inhabit it.

It sounds heavenly! I used to live in the "country" and we had all types of critters stopping by. But now in the urban area I call home, I'm lucky to see squirrels and rabbits. Altho a large hawk does make an appearance occasionally. At least I still see some of my favorite birds at the feeders!

I laughed so hard at the "highbrow raccoons". Actually, I'm still chuckling!

mg

Cheryl, I shared your feeling last year that Heidi had given up on Fraidy. This is hard to see and understand; but the mantra "only the strong survive" is really true in nature, and mothers of most species will instinctively back away from a youngster destined to fail. Against all odds, your decision to toss food to Fraidy made all the difference and allowed her to survive. Must admit that I still worry about Fraidy's chances for long-range survival: her extreme thinness (sp?) make it seem that she's not very successful at foraging on her own over the winter. That said, she has become irresistibly adorable, and hopefully all your special care will continue to make the difference for her.

When you've seen Juliet (briefly) lately, does she appear to be pregnant? I almost hope she's not, since two litters, even of different ages, coming to the yard could be problematic; though I doubt Heidi would have trouble chasing off Attila the Hun if she set her mind to it....

The plastic bag phobia is fascinating. Undoubtedly she has some really bad memory related to a plastic bag, but don't you wonder what it could be? Maybe she wound up accidentally "wearing" a plastic grocery bag at some point in her life; this happens all too often to wildlife these days, and can be deadly, not to mention terrifying.

I wondered about Fraidy, too when she was little. We know that mother dogs push away pups that they feel are defective and let them die unless we intervene. And many times we intervene only to find out later that there was something wrong with the pup and it lived only a short life, anyhow. I was wondering if Fraidy had something wrong with her, or if Heidi just considered her weak and too needy to care for. Since Fraidy is so sweet, I would be so nice to her in case her time on earth is short. My dogs like to stick their noses in my pockets and take the biscuits out--might be cute to see if Fraidy will stick her nose in your pocket (wide pockets). I hope she is ok. Not much going down here. Watching them on the coon cam and all seems to be in order. Night, Karen

mg -- Thank You! Love the cute little raccoon pic! Did you draw it?

Ruth -- Even if Fraidy doesn't make the full life expectancy I'm still glad to have helped her live as long as she can. Right now she seems fairly content. I read somewhere that 3 kits is generally all that a raccoon mom can support in the wild and that if she has more it's likely that only 3 will survive to adulthood.

Juliet is almost certainly pregnant. Right now she is about the same size as Heidi (Heidi's current, post-delivery size). I am starting to confuse them unless I look very closely at the face and other markers.

For some time now I have tried to figure out what could possibly have happened to Heidi involving people and plastic bags to no avail. Seems I was stuck on the wrong question. Your answer seems most insightful. I'd read about the danger plastic grocery bags pose to wildlife. Seeing Heidi's fear really makes that message personal.

There is more to tell about tonight's events, but as I don't have time tonight, here is quick tidbit I'm dying to share:

Tonight as Fraidy was sitting beside my bench (less than 2 ft) eating peanuts, she sat way back, then rolled farther backward so that she was all but lying on her back (kind of like in "crunch" position), belly facing me and completely exposed (now I know for sure she's a she) so that she could reach her lower side belly with her nose/mouth, perhaps to lick or scratch. It was an adorable maneuver. After she'd finished tending to the spot (perhaps an itch), she rolled back upright and continued eating.

It seems to me that exposing the belly so calmly around me is an incredible indication of trust. The maneuver looked so natural, just as she would have behaved if I hadn't been there. It would seem unlikely that she would expose such a vulnerable area unless she felt quite comfortable. Am I wrong?

Sorry, guys, more to come. Hopefull, tomorrow. Tonight I'm both out of time and too tired to write a coherent description of the evening's events.

You're right, Cheryl; my experience of wild raccoon litters is that they usually number 3, 4 at the most. Of course up in VA where I worked with them, most mature but young raccoons had two litters a year, so reduced numbers make sense to avoid too much drain on the mother. Heidi is quite mature, has one litter a year, and is in all respects a pro; she has one larger litter, thus having more time to educate them, but still has that practical instinct that urges her to reject a kit who " fails to thrive." Fraidy is one of those unexpected blessings or gifts, and all you can do is to enjoy her to the max for as long as she's around. [Of course she might surprise me and live to a ripe old age, thanks to your support, and I'd be delighted to see that happen.]

Exposing the belly, in just about every species, is the most vulnerable pose imaginable, and is only done when the animal feels completely safe. As a sign of trust, that's about as good as it gets - and just adorable!

Fraidy is taking a first step to being domesticated. If she does at sometime have babies and raises them around you they will began their life unafraid of humans. If they inherit her gentleness they may not be good candidates for surviving in the wild but they will be good candidates for coexisting with humans. Then if there are more kind and gentle humans around a huge change will begin to take shape. I HOPE!

George -- It's a beautiful dream. : )

This message was edited May 31, 2007 1:14 AM

Exposed belly is really a trustful sign. Interesting. Can't wait to hear about tonight's antics. Tonight here thus far has been a disagreeable one. First we heard a big fight across the road in the woods over there. Then later, a small tussle down here. Finally, while I was out watching, Stubby came down to check out the seeds in front of the dog run. All of a sudden he FLEW after something under the motorhome, and the chase pursued until they were both out of site. I never saw a raccoon move so fast. Stubby must have known that other raccoon was hiding under there, and didn't want him around. I am still wondering if Stubby is a she. She is really rotund, I think kind of late for a pregnancy?? But could have a lot of milk. In any case--s/he certainly can move fast when she wants someone out of there. Everyone else in the area climbed trees. That is it from here. Everything else going on as usual. Hopefully by now LittleOne came down fro her tree. Karen

Yesterday I awoke to one of those "spinach on your tooth", "stepped in something" kind of days. Worse, I spent the whole day in some kind of fog that I just could not shake. Unfortunately, this trend continued even through the evening feeding of the raccoons.

"Heidi" had come down the fence post at dusk and disappeared into the shadows of Station 2 behind the composter. Undaunted by her new found aloofness, I spent the time feeding peanuts to Fraidy. A third raccoon, one of the ladies, claimed Station 1.

After a considerable time and into a darkened arena, a somewhat "chubbie" raccoon climbed down a fence post. As is often the case at such times, finding both feeding Stations already in use the new comer used the makeshift path behind the row of potted plants to circumvent the area and come to me in search of food.

When the raccoon arrived at the gap where the row of pots opens just to the left of my bench allowing travelers on the makeshift path to gain access to me, I was still pretty much engrossed in my time with Fraidy. Thus it was that I was taken completely by surprise when, rather than stop in the opening to wait for me to toss her food as they so often do, she walked right through the opening, and continued striding confidently toward me.

Absorbed as I had been in what I was doing prior to her entry, I hadn't paid her much attention. She was chubbie, so I'd assumed she was Juliet. When she was maybe 6-8 inches from my knee and still advancing, I was suddenly "forced" to shift my focus and handle the developing situation.

With Fraidy curled up and calmly eating peanuts to my right and "Juliet" quickly approaching my left knee, having no time to think, acting on instinct, I used my right hand, fingers spread wide to create the largest possible "obstacle", palm facing her, to gently "push" the advancing raccoon back a bit. Much to my surprise, she took one, maybe two, steps backward moving away from my hand and then moved around it continuing on her path.

Three more times I used my hand in this manner to attempt to "shoo" the raccoon away from me, but each time her reaction was the same. Showing no sign of fear, she simply stepped back from my advancing hand then stepped around it to continue toward me. With each subsequent attempt, I increased the boldness of the maneuver, and by the last attempt, I had also added sound to the mix, although the whole thing happened so fast that I am now at a loss to say what sound.

At some point, as "Juliet" continued to approach me dispite all of my efforts to alter her path, I felt a panic rising within me. Old fears and beliefs die hard it seems. Among other things, I was unable to comprehend her determination to approach me. Juliet rarely came near me, and when she did it was only because she could not otherwise find food, and she always kept her distance.

Finally, reacting to my last and boldest "push", "Juliet" stepped backward into the bowl of kitten food I'd left for Heidi - who had not touched it as she was off eating dog food at Station 2. Made thus aware of the existance of the bowl of kitten food, she turned and began eating there. Whew! With the "crisis" abated, I looked to my right to see that despite all that hand waving, little Fraidy was still sitting there eating peanuts at my side.

I turned back to see "Juliet" as if for the 1st time that evening. With a rush of remorse I suddenly SAW her...and she was Heidi. "No!!!" I heard myself screaming internally. No, please tell me I hadn't just run Heidi AWAY! no! No! NO! Not after all the effort I had put into gaining her trust and becoming her friend! No, it just could not be. I could not in one foolish moment of inattention have just pushed her away! What must she think now. Within seconds I went through most of the steps in the grief process: denial, bargaining...all the way to acceptance. For what it was worth and whatever the consequence, yes, I had just pushed Heidi away.

And the, it hit me. Ok, yes, I had pushed Heidi away, BUT she sure hadn't gone very far. We really had come a long, long way. Even if she pouted a bit at the rebuf, still she had demonstrated a lack of fear that I would harm her, hadn't she. Even now, after all that "shooing" she was calmly eating only af few feet away.

Then I looked down at my right foot to realize for the 1st time that Heidi's dish, the one from which she had been eating since I'd moved her to the area in front of me in order to protect her food, was sitting there. It was empty. As of the day before I had changed her to a different dish, the one from which she was now eating a few feet away. For days now we had developed a pattern. Each day she had come to that same dish in front of me to eat. It now seemed as though she had been trying to get to her dish - incredibly considering its proximity to my foot on this particular evening - and when I'd tried to "push" her back, she'd just moved around my hand continuing on her path. Whatever she'd thought of my strange new behavior in pushing her away, she had apparently not thought I intended to harm her.

...the day before...suddenly I wasn't so sure that the raccoon the day before, the one that had eaten the dog food which Heidi has eschewed since tasting kitten food, the one that had run away when I tried to feed her, was really Heidi at all. I know Heidi's face better than any of the others. I can just look at her and know the way you know your friends and family, but for months now I had become so comfortable identifying her by her girth that I hadn't bothered to really look at her face for ID. It hadn't been necessary. Recently, Juliet has been growing even as Heidi has been shrinking, and now it seems their weight graphs have crossed such that I can no longer use size to identify either.

Now I'm not so sure if I was really paying enough attention last night. The behavior, stopping at the outer feeding area, eating dog food, acting aloof, shying away from me, all seemed more consistent with Juliet than Heidi.

Last night I continued to be mildly upset with myself for having pushed Heidi away. By the time I realized my mistake it was too late to make amends. This evening I was eager for the opportunity to do better. Thankfully, tonight Heidi returned to eat from the dish in front of me. In addition to her kitten food, I gave her an egg, peanuts, and grapes all of which she ate. Unfortunately, tonight i did not see Fraidy.

Karen -- What you described sounds a lot like the behavior I saw with Heidi in the days leading up to and just after the arrival of her kits. Stubby sure sounds Ms Stubby. Time will surely tell.

Oh boy: don't you wish that life came with an "undo" button? Thankfully, it's clear that no harm was done to your relationship with Heidi; she certainly has moods, and must figure you have yours. All's well that ends well... Sounds quite possible that the raccoon the previous night was Juliet as well. She must be getting well along in pregnancy to be able to pass for Heidi. Maybe the yard was too busy for Fraidy tonight; have no doubt she'll be back.

Ruth -- What I wouldn't pay for one of those "undo" buttons! As for Juliet, I had already done a double take a few times when she showed up on the fence and for a moment I thought she was Heidi before realizing that while the size was close the look wasn't quite right. Looking at her, I lacked that difficult to describe sense of recognition. Ironically, it was on the very day that I got them confused that you asked if Juliet appeared pregnant. I had chuckled to myself upon reading the question, thinking, "OH, Yeah! Does she ever"

I wasn't worried about Fraidy. Like the others, she doesn't always show up while I'm out there. She's not afraid to come out now even when all 6 of the others are there. She goes around the perimeter somewhere and comes up beside me. The others don't want to be quite that close to me, so, in a sense, being close to me becomes almost protective to her, like a safe zone. She does appear concerned about possibly having them show up while she's eating from one of "their" bowls (outside the safe zone). It looks like she doesn't want to get so absorbed in eating that she fails to notice one of them before they attack her.

Tonight was interesting. For starters, I goofed big time. It was dusk before I got the chance to go out. Then I realized that I was out of dog food (because I didn't go and get more the other day like I said I would), my bag of kitten food was almost empty, and the other bags of cat/kitten food were in the garage. I knew I should go and get one, but I was in a hurry so I grabbed the nearly empty bag of kitten food along with a couple of eggs, some peanuts,and a large bag of Purina One dog biscuits.

Heidi came running to greet me before I could even get to my bench. I didn't fill the bowls at the feeding stations - didn't have anything to put in them anyhow. I poured all but a few handfuls of the kitten food on the ground about 2.5 ft in front of me for Heidi and gave her an egg. That made her happy. Fraidy came up beside me where i gave her peanuts and the last few handfuls of the kitten food. At that point there was one other female there. I tossed her dog biscuits, and she was thrilled.

Everything seemed to be off to a pretty good start until some of the others showed up. Normally they would have claimed the feeding stations, but finding those empty, they ended up coming over to where they saw action - and food. In no time at all, they were compressed into a relatively small area and squabbling over food. Soon my High Brow Coons were standing on premium (for the grocery store) dog biscuits while fighting over peanuts! (BTW, the congestion and bickering was all, to quote that Bionce song, "to the left". Heidi was to the right. Nobody was suicidal enough to try to squeeze in to her space.)

Despite all the congestion and arguing, Fraidy was fine because she was beside me, in that buffer zone where no one else wants to be. Then I ran out of peanuts. I still had a bag full of dog biscuits. Were it not for Fraidy, I would have insisted they eat what we had, but, as you know, I've developed quite a soft spot for my new little friend, so I headed back to the house for the bag of peanuts.

I could not have been gone more than 5 minutes if that. When I returned the others were still there, but Fraidy was gone. I sat down and started callling her. Although I haven't mentioned it, I've started a new experiment. Whereas I had previously used the name "Heidi" to call all of them, recently I've been calling Fraidy by HER name - a 1st step toward trying to get them to recognize their individual names.

In a very, very low voice only slightly above a whisper I called "Fraidy, Fraidy" a few times, pausing between. Then, a hazy little raccoon appeared atop the fence in the near darkness. I called her again. She seemed reluctant to come down the fence at first. I suspect that earlier when I left to go back for more peanuts taking the safe zone with me, the others had gone after her, chasing her back out of the yard. Now she was hesitant to return.

I reached into the bag, withdrew a handful of peanuts and held them in my outstretched hand, showing them to her. She was a good 25-30 ft away. Still the sight of the peanuts clenched the deal, and with that she quickly came down the fence, walked around the feeding area, and came around behind me to get to her spot beside my bench.

Until tonight I had been so focused on my own enjoyment at having Fraidy come up so close to eat beside me that I hadn't noticed she was somewhat dependant on that proximity to me for her safety. After my return tonight, the bickering became more heated, and eventually HRH showed up to add to the quibbling, but for the remainder of the evening I sheilded Fraidy.

At one point, some fairly heated arguments broke out. Even though the battles were some distance away, I stood up and moved around a bit, both to make sure I'd stay out of it and to break it up a bit. They are no longer terrified of me, but they do like to keep an eye on me especially when I stand up and become mobile. The threat of a human, even a relatively friendly one, walking about near them quickly shifts their attention away from fighting with each other.

By this time, Heidi had already eaten her fill and left. A dog barked next door, and that combined with me walking around was enough to send the rest of them running back to the forest - except Fraidy. There I was standing behind my bench, moving around even, and Fraidy was curled up on the ground beside my bench eating peanuts. Not only did she show no sign of fear, she actually looked MORE at peace. Even the giant (relative to her size) shadow that I cast over her did not phase her. (I have long noticed that if my shadow, created by the flood lights on the house behind me, should fall over one of the raccoons when I'm standing, there is an immediate show of fear. Even Heidi becomes a bit nervous about the shadow. While she has learned to deal with it, if even the shadow of my head falls over her she will back away and look up at me for a moment before continuing to eat.)

Seeing Fraidy curled up on the ground below me, calmly eating her peanuts and looking so very much like a small domestic dog even when all the other raccoons had fled I was reminded of George's comments. While I am doubtful that we will spawn a new wave of domestic raccoons, especially as domestication of a species takes many, many years, I am inclined now to think that Fraidy is ... well, for lack of a better word, at least taking a step in that direction.

The others have begun to trust me not to harm them, but Fraidy, it seems, has actually begun to see me as a form of protection. That seems to be an interesting difference.

Only 2 of the others returned, at least while I was out there. 3 seems to be a good number, a number that can eat without fighting. HRH was one of them. He had lots of dog biscuits but he wanted those peanuts that Fraidy had. A few times he tried to go over there to take them, each time trying a different route. When he did this, I stood up and moved toward him, and he back away. Eventually, he quit even trying. All the while, Fraidy sat calmly eating her peanuts. Her almost complete lack of fear of me allowed me - for now at least - to do for her what I couldn't do for Heidi back when I wanted to keep the others away from her. If I stand up near her and start moving around, Heidi will get nervous and soon leave. Fraidy, on the other hand, seems as undaunted by this as Widget might be. Fraidy didn't even feel the need to look up at me, to watch me; she just sat there engrossed in those peanuts.

It really was an interesting evening. Oh, and BTW, this was the real Heidi tonight. I was careful to check for the specific things which identify her. Interestingly, although almost everyone else was there, Juliet did not show up tonight.

Yes, it does take a long time. But here has to be a beginning. If Fraidy had little ones some day she would teach them that you are a protector and another step would be taken. You just have to recruit other humans to take over for you eventually. That raccoons mature quickly means that you can be involved with more generations in your lifetime.

Love the fact that all the food fights occurred on the far side of you from Heidi: that's our girl. Able to enforce a personal buffer zone without raising an eyebrow...

Fraidy's behavior with you is remarkable. As I suspected from the night she cried on the fence for your attention and assistance, she is still functioning as a juvenile and you have been cast as her surrogate mother. This was what prompted me to express some concern for her chance of long-range survival; she is long past the age when juvenile behavior is appropriate or likely to enhance her survival chances. All that said, she is an adorable and charming creature, and I applaud the fact that you've enabled her to survive and enjoy life.

George, I see Fraidy as a totally unique case: a very special animal who would not have survived without Cheryl's help. As such, it is inevitable that she has gone beyond being acclimated to humans, and is approaching tame with Cheryl. I think it's unlikely that Fraidy will ever be strong enough to reproduce; but if she did, I would honestly not welcome the idea of another generation of coons being raised by mother to be tame with people. The raccoon is a beautiful, fascinating and intelligent wild animal; I respect and enjoy them as such, and would hate to see that change. Guess we'll just have to agree to respectfully disagree on that aspect of this marvelous adventure.

Interesting that Fraidy doesn't have the instinctive reaction to a large shadow falling over her. That instinctive fear is pretty hard-wired in most wild creatures: large shadow usually equals silent approach of large predator.

I AM SO EXCITED. Tonight I experienced a first intervention of the raccoon kind. It was about 9PM, getting dark, the infrared light was on casting enough light so I could still see to rake out some rocks from the compost pile. I had put out all the dog food bowls. All of a sudden I saw two raccoons coming toward me. They both stopped at the bowls and didn't run off when I talked to them. The big one decided to check all the bowls for the animal crackers first, chasing the little one away. So the little one climbed the tree to get to the squirrel feeder and the peanuts. She was then about 10 feet away from me. As long as I stood still and talked to her quietly, she kept eating. The big guy decided to wander off after he decided he'd had enough for awhile. A couple more meandered over, but as soon as they saw me, they left. Then another little one came along with a couple others that weren't real afraid of me (if I stayed still), and all began eating. Some chased the others away. But the neatest (and cutest thing) was that after the little one on the ground had checked everything out, she came towards me-creating a little anxiety in me, but I still had the hoe. She stopped about 5 feet from me, stood up on her hind legs and had her little nose going. I had to tell her I didn't have any more food for her. I am not sure if she would have come closer, but I moved my foot and that was enough to have her go back to the feeding bowls. I was sooo excited. I wished I had had peanuts in my pocket. I don't know which one was LittleOne-the one that stood up for me, or the one who ate all the peanuts out of the feeder. But neither were really terrified of me. I was so thrilled that this was the first time I was so close to any of them, and it was a complete surprise.
Yes, I do believe Stubby is Ms. Stubby, as she showed up a little later and everyone took off as she grumbled and tried to take all the animal crackers from everyone. She ate what she wanted and then waddled away--a walk with her rear legs kind of far apart, so I think she is expecting or has a lot of milk. It all fits with the same way Heidi treated the others. That is how Stubby is acting. Don't you think she should have had them by now? Just wondering. There have been a lot of small disagreements in the forest now and then, so some of them are a bit testy. Well, I am heading off to bed now, so glad that I got to have this experience. May try again tomorrow. And nice to hear that little Miss Fraidy is being such a sweetie. And Heidi continues her maternal ways. I think she will forgive you for shooing her back the other night. Probably just thought you were heading her to the kitten food. Karen

Way cool, Karen; what a great experience for you!

Karen,

that must have been such a thrill!!

How cool.

Cheryl,

very interesting about Fraidy and how she sees you as her "protector" and how exciting that you could now call her out of the forest to come to eat.... or even to be protected.

Terese

Now my raccoons are totally wild, so I do not know what to expect from them, as Cheryl does with her kids. The one standing up looking and sniffing at me did not look like she was agressive, angry, etc. She just looked inquisitive. I just am not ready for them to come any closer. I think that is the closest I have ever been to any of them. This POSSIBLY was LittleOne, but I am not sure. Or her sister. IF I go out there tonight, do I take extra peanuts with me in case she comes back? But, I think she might run if I move my hand toward my pocket anyhow, so don't know what would happen. She ran when I just moved my spade a little. I think I need to get to know them a little better. But they are delightfully cute. Karen

Earilier this evening (even before dark) a raccoon came to the feeder station. She was a little afraid of me and ran away when I tried to give her some roast beef (but not from very close). She came back a little later and ate it all, including all the cookies from all the other bowls. She was very pretty-her back was a dark sable color. I tried to get pics. Later one of the LittleOnes came and immediately went to the tree for the peanuts--I was about 10 feet from her and she didn't care. I waited awhile and the second LittleOne came in and checked everything out. She was disappointed there were no peanuts, so I threw one from out of my pocket--she grabbed it and ran behind the tree to eat it. When she came back, we did it again. Finally after the third time, she looked at me as if to say "are you doing this??" Unfortunately about that time my dogs started barking and everyone ran up trees. I called it a day as I was pooped. Maybe next week I can spend more time with the little ones and give them peanuts. Time will tell. So Cheryl--what is going on with Heidi and Fraidy?? HOpe you all are OK??? Karen

it sounds like peanuts are a wonderful treat for the 'coons.

Hi, Karen -- OMG, it sounds like you and your raccoons have made a HUGE leap forward! I am so happy for you. I am at a loss for words (which is very unusual) to articulate just how totally I could identify with each and every moment of the experiences you described. I know the tremendous awe, the joy, the disbelief, and even the fear - fear both that they might harm you AND that in an instant the whole "fantasy" might end, that you might breathe wrongly and send them scurrying away forever. Even as you spoke of being so close, of the raccoon standing up to look at you I could feel the exhileration of those incredible moments.

You have come a very long way with them. I really hadn't expected the break through to come this soon. You've done a great job of making friends with them. I think from here on things will move a lot faster. Once one raccoon comes near you, gets a treat, and isn't harmed, that one will surely return and others will quickly learn from watching her. Soon they will all be coming closer.

(It gets a little scarey when they all start coming to you at once. They don't mean any harm, but it's still a little daunting. I find that 2-3 up close at one time is the most that I can comfortably keep an eye on; much beyond that I start to get antsy.)

Good "work"!

Morning Cheryl -- i know you're here, as when i loggin in there was no update, and now this mssg to Karen... so i;ll sit back with a large cup-o-joe and wait. *big cheezy grin**

Last night I just put the food out for them, cleaned and filled the water containers, but didn't stay. One downside of leaving the food is that I can't be sure that Heidi (or Fraidy) will get their share. Even though Heidi can take care of herself - everyone, even HRH, is afraid to mess with her - she could still miss out if she arrives too late. Since I've been out there most of the time, she hasn't had to concern herself with that aspect.

I forgot to take the bird feeder in, so this morning I found it empty. As there was no apparent damage, not even a spring disconnected, it looked like the work of a very seasoned pro. I suspect that only Heidi could have removed every seed from every port without pulling the springs apart or damaging the plastic ports.

We are finally getting some very much needed rain (probably from the TS off the Florida coast). Right now it looks like the kind of rain that is relentless, the kind that for hours if not days only changes from med drizzle to torrential downpour but never stops completely. Considering that we ended the month of may with less than 1.5 of our expected 4inches of rainfall and considering that even with the AC set on 69F my water bill last month exceeded my electric bill, we really need the rain. However, the rain may make it difficult for me to feed the raccoons and even more difficult to spend time with them, at least for the next day or so.

Happy raccooning, everybody! Hope you are all having great weekends!

Awwh, Terese, that is so cute and so sweet. You are breaking my heart because I don't have a story today. I'm feeling such a flood of emotions. So glad that you feel that way about the Heidi saga and so sorry to disappoint you today. To spend any time in the backyard right now I'd need a plastic rain suit and a paddle boat. ;-)

If the rain doesn't let up soon, my next post may be a fish story.

I know. Let's just all have a cup of coffee together this morning and think about how much Heidi and the gang must be enjoying all that water. After all, they can't even have a drink from the copper basin without standing in it. Just imagine them all out there splashing around in all that water that has been coming down for days now. It's a little dreary for us, but it must be nirvana for them.

no worries cheryl. when i watched the news yesterday and saw the TC heading up Florida -- i was hoping all the drought stricken states would get their share... and help put out any darned fires still burning (are they still burning? i've lost track)

i'm sure even the animals are happy for rain.

**edit to say... we were typing at the same time... i totally agree with that the animals are doing the Rain Happy Dance.

This message was edited Jun 2, 2007 7:12 AM

Thanks for thinking of us. Isn't it interesting how the internet in general and DG in particular have given us such a global perspective? For quite some time now I have noticed myself listening more to news of areas around the country and even the world, noticing weather patterns and feeling real concern. Whether it's the pacific coast fires, the midwest tornadoes, the storms in Texas and the gulf states, the winter storms in New England, or the drought and fires in SE, I find myself thinking of my DG friends who live there, wondering if they are effected, hoping they and their loved ones will be ok.

Edited to add that just about 2 days ago I, too, wondered if those fires in GA and FL had finally been extinguished. Shortly afterward I read that Atlanta was covered in a haze on the day in question due to the effects of the fires which at the time were STILL burning.

This message was edited Jun 2, 2007 8:45 AM