Cheryl, I am glad your feeling better. I would rather give birth than go to the dentist...although I go every six months. I am one of those white knuckle patients holding onto the chair arms. Just getting them cleaned my mouth hurts for a week. I can't imagine what you went through.
I did the impacted wisdome teeth issue right after my 18th birthday and it was near Halloween, I sure didn't need a costume. I tried going into work 3 days later and they sent me home as my face was completely black and blue and they were afraid I was going to fall over.
Your little bunny friend sounds so cute. You truly have a nature garden there. Maybe toss a carrot his way every now and then.
I am excited to see Heidis new babies also when they come out. Not much longer probably. It is so exciting. I am sure Juliette will bring hers around also.
Keep resting, don't need to relapse with the pain.
Debbie
Heidi: Just Hanging Out, Kids In Nursery
Ouch, Marylyn, I don't know. They didn't knick my nerve. That's sounds scarey. So glad to hear that you got the feeling back. Had to laugh when I got to the part where your sister was eating a HB same night. Isn't that just how life is!
I'm feeling much better today. I awoke about 8:30AM and my very 1st thought was, "no pain! yay!" Throughout the night the best that I could do with even dbl meds was try to keep it down to the barely tolerable level. By early AM I was starting to understand how some of those unintentional overdoses could happen as I found myself alone, drugged, and in screaming pain, knowing that I had already taken more meds than I was supposed to and that I would likely have to take more still and at some point trying to keep track of what exactly I had consumed. Thus, I was SO happy to awaken this morning without pain. [so far] I've not required pain meds since.
Now, however, I have the hugely swolen face you mentioned. I felt it even before I saw it. The tooth (for any dental geeks out there) was #5, top just past the pointy corner one (clearly this is not my are of expertise). Not only is my cheek swollen to at least 2x the other side but the swelling has moved into and "consumed" the nose and eye areas. Seeing this I called the surgeon's office just to be sure this was acceptable. The nurse who had participated in the surgery said that it was not unexpected considering the "for lack of better words, amount of violence they had to do in there to get all of the pieces out" when the brittle tooth and roots began to crush and fracture under the pressure of extraction (her words). That was the 1st I had heard it put quite that way!
This morning I went out to get something from my car, something that would otherwise melt as the day heated up. I was surprised then to learn that I was considerably and unexpectedly weak. It was an eye opener since I awoke thinking now that I felt better, I could go to work today. NOT!
BUT, all that said - I mean, all that whining aside - I feel pretty darn good now, especially by comparison to last night. ;-)
(Sometimes it takes those bad times to help you appreciate even the mediocre to mildly yucky ones.)
Hi Debbie - Sorry for the lag in replies. I have to nap between reponses.
Before I planted the cottage garden with ample food and cover for lots of creatures, the backyard was just the ususal barren expanse of lawn all but devoid of activity. I couldn't even coax the birds in with a fully stocked bird feeder. In order to feel comfortable enough to visit the feeder they needed a place or places nearby to hide when a hawk flew over, etc. Adding all of the plants and a few small trees made all the difference for them. I also chose numerous plants which provide food, and added a number of water sources. Soon the place was teaming with life. I registered it as a wildlife habitat. The creatures have really added life and magic to the garden. I am proud of my little oasis.
CARROTS! Silly me. I went on line one day to see what bunnies eat so I could leave him a treat now and then. (LOL, how often the simple sollutions alude us) I learned that they like weeds and wildflowers. Well, heck, that explains it; my garden is perfect for the bunny. I have lots of gaillardia, black eyed susan, mums, daiseys, salvia, correopsis, etc.and a gracious plenty of weeds, esp grass types. I put a handful of young fresh snow peas out in the area where I often see him. Don't know if he liked them, but as they are gone it seems somebody like them. I also see box turtles out there a lot in the same areas where I see the rabbit.
Looking forward to seeing the fur babies soon!
bunnies love dandelions too... when i'd see them eating way out back i'd grab the binoculars to see if my plants were getting eaten... they love to eat the stems of the dandelions. OH and lavender.
I have a female that nests under a rose bush that is intertwined with lavender... and when the babes get bigger - that is one thing they snack on. and seedlings of any kind... any sort of "new" foliage. I had an old rose bush that no longer flowered... so i put it out back where the bunnies live and they mow down all the new growth... just saw it this morning and the top was chewed off.. but that's ok cuz i planted it for them. they had a field day (no pun intended) with my winter sown seedlings... i dont have many left. out of about 20 or so sunflowers, i have 1 (1 mind you) that survived.... it's about 3' tall and flowered.
but i love the rabbits... and we encroached on their territory (our subdivision is in the old corn fields) so i tolerate all the munching... though i'm not always happy.
OK.. nuff about bunnies.... hope you have an enjoyable evening with your kids.
Terese -- I have lavendar back there, too and dandelions among the weeds, and clover - do they eat clover? I take a similiar approach to all of the critters back there. It's inevitable that the critters and I will sometimes disagree about which things they should and shouldn't eat, but as long we can work out some kind of compromise that lets me enjoy my garden, I'll work with them.
Tonight wasn't a good night in HeidiLand. Heidi and Panda showed up, but the neighbor's little dog kept barking incessantly. Panda left. Then the neighbor walked the pit bull back there which sent Heidi running for the trees. She came back only to be frightened off again only a few minutes later when the neighbors were outside talking loudly.
To make matters worse, my tooth had started to hurt again perhaps due to the swelling and resultant pressure and the fact that I'm up and around. I found that I was becomming increasingly irritable, so I left.
The neighbor with the dogs has become a source of frustration, and apparently not just for me. They can't seem to just admit to themselves that they don't want the dogs, so the people have become a problem for the dogs and the dogs have become a problem for everyone else.
A few years ago their kids (13-20+) met my little Maltese and decided they wanted a dog so they got a mixed Shih tzu which they kept inside for 2 years or so. If they came near anyone while out walking the little dog he would behave quite vicously, so I began to see a failure to teach the dog proper etiquette. Then one of the kids came home with a pit bull puppy. The parents didn't really want the pit bull but didn't know what to do with it, and the kid (20+) who brought it home never had anything to do with it and moved out a few months later leaving the dog behind, of course. The parents tied the young pit bull up outside where they left her alone indefinitely - I'm not a fan of tying dogs on a line for extended periods. The pit bull wasn't even grown yet and any time they tried to walk her she would quite literally drag the man (who is large) around. Worse, they didn't understand the potential dangers of such an animal, especially one that is bored, anxious, and untrained. The pit bull snapped its thin lead and attacked my then 3lb maltese puppy [in my back yard, no less]. Thankfully, I was out there at the time and Widget escaped with only pschological scars. A few weeks later the dog broke loose and went after a child walking by on the sidewalk. As the owners were right there to grab the dog, the child was only shaken up badly.
At the same time that all of this was going on the Shih tzu started to act out (probably due to the arrival of the pit bull). Instead of dealing with the problems, they tied the Shih tzu outside as well, where he sat barking endlessly without ever even stopping to breath. Now with 2 dogs tied outside, untrained, and no one ever, ever seen playing with them or otherwise interacting with them, with the now adult kids moving on to other endeavors, and the adults out traveling and enjoying their new found freedom, you might think that they would decide to find new homes for those poor dogs. But no, realizing the threats posed by the pit bull, they locked the dog in the garage where she has now been for more than a year, rarely ever seeing the light of day. They leave a small gap in the bottom of the garage door for air circulation. Given that summer temps here exceed 100F with 80+ humidity, it is unbelievable that the dog has managed to survive in there all this time. She has eaten the door facings and other woodwork between the house and garage, but who could blame her with all that bottled up energy and nothing to do with it; she seems to be a fairly well behaved dog for what she has been through. I buy a lot of toys and treats for Widget, and donate to the pit bull any that turn out to be unsuitable for him - toys that are too large, treats that are too large or too hard. I have heard her playing with some of them when I'm out on that side.
One hot, muggy day as i was turning in to my drive, I saw the pit bulls legs and nose sticking out through the gap at the bottom of the garage door; she was lying against the crack. It was more than a little disconcerting. And all the while the little one was out back tied up and yapping endlessly such that no one could enjoy the outdoors without earplugs. I think the folks on the other side from them must have said something about the noise, so they moved the little dog over and tied him up against my fence - because I never complain.
One day when I could take it no more, I said something to them about the barking; they promptly moved the little dog into the garage to live with the pit bull. If you are wondering why I'm telling you all of this, well I'm just amazed by it all, amazed that people who are never home, never spend any time with the dogs or even outside for that matter can't just see that they don't want or need dogs, amazed that they are willing to let the dogs drive everyone else crazy and live under very adverse conditions and for what reason? Well, the other morning as I was leaving to see the dentist, the animal services vehicle from the city police department was at their house and an officer was prowling about the garage investigating; needless to say, he did not look amused.
I'm also telling you this because I don't know where the saga of those 2 dogs goes from here but I have an ominous feeling about the whole thing. With the neighbors complaining, the police showing up, and no one spending any time with the dogs, you'd think this might be the breaking point where they would finally get it, but I'm most doubtful. I suspect that the city has put them on notice that the dogs can't live in the dark garage without a/c or even adequate ventillation. This may cause them to get back to work on putting up the fence so the dogs can live in the back yard and I'm afraid that will effect us all. The pit bull is older now and is pretty quiet and well behaved, but her presence back there will likely have an adverse effect on Heidi at a time when Heidi is about to start taking her kits out for lessons and we are all waiting to see them. The little "monster" (shih tzu) will undoubtedly continue to bark endlessly if they try to put him back there. As I have reached my limit for the barking, at that point I will have to act which will lead to hate and discontent - and getting the little one to shut up won't change the effects [on Heidi] of having the pit bull back there.
...hoping for the best..but a little frustrated since Heidi has seemed especially "jumpy" the last few days. Does she smell/sense my "injury" and does that scare her? Does she pick up on my irritability and partial intoxication? Does the latter make her feel less secure? It is also possible that the pit bull has been close by the last few days and I, because she is now very quiet, I have been unaware of her presence...
Well, I am glad the police or dog law officer was notified. Hopefully they would just give the dogs up for adoption. The little one needs a bark collar if nothing esle. They both need a better life. Glad you are somewhat better-DO take the pain medicine when you need it. You cannot get addicted when you have pain. You still may have a few bone/tooth chips work their way out yet.
they increased my prednisone today, and it is making me sleepy, so I am going to make a stop to see what coons are out and if the babies are here. I told Maggie tonight that I better see some babies or her cookie supplies are being cutoff! Aren't I a meanie?? She just kept eating. Like she believes me. Ok guys, night. Karen
Recently, esp after Karen mentioned that she hadn't been able to spend time online due to illness, I realized that some of you might wonder how I could be both in severe pain (last night) and posting online. Well, 1st of all you must understand that I'm the kind of total geek who "lives" with a wireless laptop 24/7. I keep this one hibernating on the nightstand. Yes, I know that's weird, but I AM Dilbert (lol). This is the only web site where I "talk" online but I also shop, study, do research, etc online and use my laptop to process photos, plan artwork, read books, papers, and documents, and even work (on my software), etc. Heck, I even garden online.;-)
Sometimes when you see me posting at odd hours during the night such that I appear to never sleep, actually I may have slept for 4hrs or so and then awoke, and finding myself unable to go back to sleep right away, may have gone online briefly. Likewise, last night during times when my pain was great enough to keep me from sleeping but controlled enough to keep me from loosing my mind completely, I pacified and entertained myself with the laptop which has become practically an extension of my arms.
That said, Karen, if you're out there, have you considered getting a wireless laptop? It's amazing how much easier it is to go online when you don't even have to get out of bed (lol).
Look, folks, I learned this behavior because 3 or 4 years ago when I was temporarily bedridden after surgery (and expecting to enjoy temporary disability) my company sent a laptop over to my house and hooked me up so I could work without even having to sit upright. (Nothing wrong with your brain or your fingers so you can still write software - get to work.)
Ok, back to the real subject - well sort of...
Ruth -- Sorry that I didn't get to respond yet to your post of June 26 when we were discussing communicating with animals. The next day I spent hours, yes, hours trying to get the videos loaded and was late to bed and late to get up for work. Then came the tooth related illness, and there was never time for proper treatment of such an important subject.
I must put that book on my reading list. I had never heard the "yawning" thing before. It makes a lot of sense, especially in view of the lack of understanding surrounding human yawning. I'm wondering if the calming behavior you described may apply to all "pack" animals and may also explain why yawning is "contagious" among humans. Anyhow, since reading your post I've been experimenting with this on Widget when he gets anxious.
While I agree that communication consists of many things other than words (even for humans this is true), I'm inclined to disagree that animals don't understand (or can't be taught to understand) specific words. We know that dogs are capable of associating specific sounds with specific commands. Horses are also,but to a lesser degree. I am cautiously optimistic that raccoons may be able to learn a few words. My optimism is based on the observation that they themselves use such a wide variety of sounds to communicate with each other - hence language.
While interacting with them I have purposely limited my communications to a very few words with high repetition. I call them, only recently branching out to use their individual names and always use the same words, "it's ok" when attempting to reassure them. My hope is that they will learn to associate the words with the actions, especially when I have refrained from confusing them with other conversation. It's early to say for sure but I believe that I am beginning to see some signs that this is working.
There are circumstances under which they wait for me to speak so that they can determine my mood, but as they are also at times responding very favorably to my attempts to reassure them when they are afraid of other people, sounds, dog, etc. they appear to understand that I am not just conveying my own mood. Also, even when several of them are close to me I see distinct evidence that Heidi looks up and/or responds when I call her name but not when I call Fraidy, and vice versa. But, again, it's research of a sort and too early to say for sure.
My last dog Sassy taught me a great deal. I taught her the basic commands: sit, stay, come, wait, heel, out, down, drop, etc. "Out" cancels a command. On her own she learned whole sentences and even demonstrated that she understood the difference between the beginning of the sentence and the key word. Here are some of the sentences she learned to respond to:
Do you want to go outside?
Are you hungry?
Do you want a cookie?
Do you want to play?
Go to your room. (this began as a joke but worked so well it stayed.)
Do you want to go for a walk?
When company came over and Sassy got in the way, I could say, "Go to your room" and she would trot off to the mud room and get into her crate where she would stay until I said "out".
"Do you want to go outside?" referred to the backyard and to business. I didn't walk her a lot so one day when I said "Do you want to go for a walk?" (a rhetorical question since I hadn't "taught" her that one) and she immediately spun around and ran to the front door, I was shocked - and a new sentence was added to our combined language.
To test her I started saying "Do you want to..." > "...be a little white dog?" she would look at me like "no, that's not it". Then I'd say "Do..you...want...to..." and she would be freaking out and looking at me like "come on, come on, you can do it, come on". I'd keep finishing the sentence wrong and she'd keep going, "nooo, try again - because I'm really hungry". When I'd finally say the write sentence she'd jump up and down and run to the kitchen or back door or what ever was appropriate. It became clear that she understood the 1st part of the sentence introduced a question and the 2nd part or key word - hungry, outside, etc - indicated the specific question. Other times when I really didn't know what she wanted and was honestly trying to figure it out, I'd run through the list of questions until she responded.
But the real clencher came one day when we were playing. All of her life without any intention of teaching her the words I had merely by habit been using the same sentence frequently when she made a mess either by leaving a litte "accident" or by tearing up tissue paper everywhere or something like that. Then I would point at the mess and say "What is this!?" in a most accusatory tone and she would back away head down showing contrition. So one day while we were playing I just happened (unintentional) to say (of some toy) "What is this?" The tone was 180deg out. It was a playful tone, the same tone I'd been using to say everything else I'd said while we were playing. Instantly, she stopped playing, dropped her head to look contrite, and started backing away. Her entire demeanor changed from play to serious just that fast. For a minute or so I sat playing back the last few minutes trying to figure out what happened, why she was suddenly acting so weird. Then I realized that I had, not withstanding the complete difference in tone, said the same sentence I so often used when I was upset with her for making a mess - and she had recognized that sentence! From that moment I knew that it is not true that they only understand tone, not words. Sassy had learned a sentence that no one had intended to teach her and she had recognized it when used in a totally different context and with a different tone.
I do understand that animals key in on a variety of signals that convey information to them in ways of which we are often unaware, like body language, tone, even scent. I know that they gain a tremendous amount of information in this way. I believe it is probably as a result of these non-verbal cues that Heidi chose to trust me to begin with - before I wanted to BE trusted. (lol) Even when I wanted to chase her away, she could tell that I wasn't serious about my threats and didn't intend to harm her. She runs when she hears the neighbors outside even though they aren't threatening her; but she refused to leave when I pretended like I was going to hit her with the rake. She just looked at me like "right!" and rolled her eyes.
But, again, they do understand verbal cues as they use them with each other to reinforce their messages. From what I've seen the raccoons seem to have a remarkable repertoire of sounds (words), more so than other animals with which I've dealt.
As for non-verbal communications, I think I am more aware of and tuned in to this form of communcations than the average person. At the age of 8 I began going out to the pasture, choosing and catching one of a number of full size horses, bridling and saddling it, and riding with no adult supervision. Moreover, the horses I rode then were spirited show horses accustomed to knowledgeable, adult riders. I learned that the horse knew and reacted to my emotions, that my fear would be conveyed to the horse. I also learned to read and feel my horse, to know what he was going to do before he did it so that I could try to prevent unwanted and possibly dangerous behavior. Some of this was intentional on my part; some was just born of necessity.
When I was older I trained extensively in jumping and dressage. I learned to convey my desires through the subtlest touch or change is weight distribution. I learned to tell the horse which foot to put where, to walk sideways, to pivot walking the hind legs around the front or vice versa, to take longer or shorter strides without changing gait, etc. For a time I performed with a precision drill team of 4-6 riders executing manuevers in unison in an enclosed ring. One of the most unexpected challenges was to keep my horse "even" with his "partners" both beside him and across the ring without stopping or changing gait. This was particularly true in executing "group" turns. The inner horse had to pivot and "dance" in place while the outermost horse had to take long strides to "keep up". The riders were working constantly to convey all this information to the horses while looking like they were just up there for the ride.
When I was learning to jump I was afraid the horse would fall over the low step we started out with. I wanted to watch the jump so I could "help" him. I had to learn to look up and beyond the jump to convey my intention of going over the thing. Any time my horse did anything wrong - like refuse a jump - my instructor was very hard on me, insisting it was my fault. I had quit before the jump and the horse had done what I had, therefore, conveyed. I hadn't believed he would jump,and he hadn't jumped.
I think that all of this has a lot to do with how I approach and interact with all animals, including the raccoons. I learned to watch the world through the gap between my horses ears and to know what my horse was thinking from a combination of things including his ears and what his entire body conveyed through the saddle. With the raccoons, as with the horses, I've learned that it is easier to keep them from bolting than to reign them in after they do so. If I watch them I can forsee and often avert problems. When I'm taking photos and videos even though I can still see them on the LCD screen I miss the subtle cues and am often left behind the action trying to catch up, saying "it's ok" too late to be effective.
When I said that Heidi seemed to want to please, I probably seemed to be going to far in ascribing human emotions to them, but that was how I read that moment. I'm very much uninclined to expect that raccoons want to please me. Since they are loners rather than pack animals it seems unlikely. Horses are perhaps my favorite of animals and while I love them I see little evidence that they form any kind of emotional bond with us or even with each other. I could well be wrong, but that day Heidi really looked like she wanted to cooperate, perhaps more for the benefits that derive from our friendship, who knows, but she really looked like she wanted to do what was being asked of her, and she looked like she understood the request.
But as a result of my interactions with my prior dog Sassy I am inclined to think that dogs (and animals) may read minds...but that's a topic for another discussion.
The one thing though about which we do all seem to agree is that through whatever means the raccoons and I are beginning to communicate - and it's pretty exciting!
Glad you're feeling better, Cheryl!
I didn't explain my thoughts well at all about communicating with animals. Yes, of course, animals learn to understand specific words and phrases, probably through a combination of repetition plus body language and other subtle signals; training dogs would be impossible if this weren't true! [And I agree that certain exceptional animals may well read minds, or at least they seem to do so.] I was thinking more of words/thoughts/phrases outside their normal experience. For example, if you got up and moved toward the house while the raccoons were in the yard, saying, "Excuse me, guys, but the phone is ringing, I'm expecting a call from work and have to see what's up"; the coons would probably leave or stay based on their usual reaction to movement from you, but would not understand what you said. If I sit down at the end of a miserable day and tell my cat all about it, he knows that I'm upset; but I don't think the understands the causes of my distress from my description. [But who cares? They're there for you when you're upset, and that's all that matters.]
I don't think you're reading too much into Heidi's behavior the other night. It's clear that she and Fraidy in particular enjoy spending time with you; I have the sense that Heidi really tries to figure you out and enjoys the puzzle. So that situation was a classic approach/avoidance conflict for her, as her behavior clearly showed. It's actually remarkable that she hesitated at all, and inevitable that the need to flee would win out with babies waiting for her.
Oops. Yes, I guess I must have misinterpretted your post. Oh, yes, I agree with that. Like when I showed Heidi the egg and (jokingly) said I'd give her the egg if she came back (from the forest). Yes, I said that very much tongue in cheek and against my normal rule of not chatting around them, but I was hoping she would understand my motion of showing her the egg - and it appeared she did get that along with the voice/tone, etc.
Sometimes Heidi looks at me with a kind and friendly face and sometimes, during her pregnancy and nursing period, she looks annoyed with the world, me and the other raccoons included. It's as like she finally got a spare moment to herself for a quiet meal and there we are bothering her. Below is one of the photos I dubbed "Could you P-e-LEASE stop with that thing already (me with camera)! I'm trying to eat here!"
Heidi drinking in pool. I don't think I showed this one yet, but sometime I get confused about that.
heidi eating - up close
Edited to say, "Don't bother clicking to enlarge. It enlarges to a giant white space" ;-)
Actual photo for this is below. I was trying to load a tiff which apparently doesn't work.
This message was edited Jun 30, 2007 9:44 AM
oops, now i see the problem. i was trying to load a tiff.
Juliet eating grapes (older pics)
Chewing grapes with my mouth open. caught in the act.
Hey! What was that sudden flash of light...and the red light...I think I may have spotted a UFO..."
Mmmm! I just looove grapes - elixer of the gods. (and I managed to close my mouth before the shutter closed.)
"Oh, man, there she is with that dag nab camera thing in my face again - after a tortured day listening to the kids wail - man, I wish she would grow UP"
"Sometimes humans are just SO immature...Oh, my aching back"
"Just eat faster and try to ignore her."
"Just eat faster and try to ignore her."
Edited to add: Don't know what happened here. Somehow DG and/or I stuttered. This and the next few posts are all clones of the one above, all of which were created from a single post - somehow - It took forever to post. I may have clicked again while waiting. I do that sometimes even though I know better. Oh, well, oops.
This message was edited Jul 1, 2007 4:06 AM
"Just eat faster and try to ignore her."
"Just eat faster and try to ignore her."
Oh, WOW. Serious stuttering problem! For some reason I couldn't get the photo to post and then, poof, lots of them!
I just thought she was eating faster and faster. Anyhow, let me say that the Fourth of July is coming up fast, and I have discovered that Maggie does not like the loud fireworks. She was eating nicely from a bowl and "boom" someone set off a loud one and up the tree she went. I tried to reassure her, but she kept klinging to the tree for a half hour of so. Finally when no more went off, she slowly came back down and started to eat again. So, I can see i might be a rough few days till all the noise stops. I have two dogs that are really uncomfortable with the noise also. I read on some of the dog lists, that putting a t-shirt on them can help, but I don't think Maggie would be receptive to that, especially since I can't get that close to her yet. Still no Maggie babies. Kent saw another baby from another mother, a little dark one. Maybe that was from the original Sadie. I can't tell her apart from the others anymore. So that makes at least one baby from ?Sadie, 2 babies from Stubbie and none showing for Maggie yet. The babies we have seen so far, are pretty shy and run up a tree from the flashlight, so I haven't gotten a very close look at any except for the first night. Not much else going on here and by grandson is coming for a visit tomorrow--great excitement, so got
to finishing cleaning up a bit tomorrow. Night. Karen
This message was edited Jul 2, 2007 11:03 PM
Hi, Karen -- There were some fireworks across the street tonight while I was out there. None of my Ladies paid it any attention, probably because we seem to have a fair amount of fireworks going off around here from time to time so that they are more or less accustomed to them. The folks over there usually set off quite a display on the 4th along with other minor displays up and down the street; that one might scare them. We'll see. Worse case, they'll come back to eat after all of the partiers go to sleep.
I didn't quite understand the t-shirt part. Maggie is a raccoon, right? Please say you aren't going to try to put anything on a raccoon as I should think that even the friendliest of raccoons would throw a fit about being asked to wear a t-shirt. Don't want you to get hurt. [ps, I'm misunderstanding things lately - must be the meds - so if I got the t-shirt/Maggie thing all wrong, sorry, it's a trend with me lately.]
BTW, did you get my tip about using a wireless laptop so you can web surf in bed when you don't feel well? Not suggesting you use it in the early AM like I do as that might not go over well with roommates (or DH's), but they come in handy for use on days when you can't get around well due to illness, pain, etc.
SO glad to hear that your grandson is coming for a visit! How wonderful. Hope you guys have a fabulous day!
I haven't seen ANY babies yet. Waaaa! ;(
Wonder what caused all the blank space in your last post, Karen? Or maybe just a glitch from my own computer, if no one else sees it... Love the idea of raccoon wearing T-shirt: but not to worry, it never worked anyway with the dog we had who was phobic about thunderstorms and fireworks.
The photos are awesome, Cheryl, especially with the perfect captions. Heidi looks about as thrilled with the camera as I usually am...
It's still too soon to hope for babies, I'm afraid; in the normal order of things, they wouldn't have the needed coordination yet to negotiate fences and tiny limbs like the overhanging branch of the Heidi tree. Of course, with that dynamite diet mama got all through pregnancy, maybe their development will be speeded: in which case, keep up the good work and let's see those kids!
Hi Ruth -- The superfluous spaces/lines are there, not just your computer. It's odd that Karen got the million extra lines in her post which just happens to follow the post I made that ended up multiplied about 5 times - referring to the post with pic that got repeated so many times from only a single post. Weird stuff going on today.
Yes, Ruth. Sometimes Heidi gives me the sweetest looks...and other times, especially after I set off multipart flashes a few times in her eyes in the dark, she gives me that "would you PLEASE cut it out" look. Thanks, glad you enjoyed the pics. I hate to say it but I think Heidi looks a bit aged in those shots. But, hey, she's still holding her own and is still the queen of her realm. Tonight she was coughing a bit though.
Just tonight as I was watching them eat I started wondering - given that you had mentioned the kits might be coming soon - if I should put some kitten food in one of those compostable "corn" bags, tie the top, and toss it over the fence like I use to do. That way if Heidi gets it she could either take it to them or bring them to eat it on that side of the fence. On the other hand, one of the others may run off with it 1st.
Last year when the kits 1st started coming to the yard they climbed up the cherry tree which has a 4-6" trunk and is very close to the fence. The adults sometimes climb it and just step from it to the fence; Snowball uses it, too. But they still have to figure out how to get down the other side - Where's that board I was supposed to get for Heidi? That would come in handy now.
Again, tonight Heidi ate and ate and ate ...was STILL eating when I left. This is a big change for her. For the longest time, since at least midways the pregnancy she came, ate fast, and left in hurry. She rarely wasted much time with the rest of us. Now for the past few nights she's there forever. Juliet came and left. Panda came and left. Heidi was still eating.
At this stage of lactation, most moms are pretty well drained emotionally, physically, nutritionally, you name it; they're just plain exhausted. They're bound to look tired and worn out, which with Heidi may translate to looking older. Better days are coming: the little buggers should soon start eating solids, which will help immensely. Not a bad idea at all to try tossing kitten chow over the fence in the biodegradable bags: Heidi is very familiar with that presentation, and the others probably aren't. No guarantee, of course, that Heidi would get the food; but it could be worth a shot, as it were.
Here's tonight's (or last night) news:
Fraidy was there tonight. She ate beside me. She's so laid back she makes me laugh out loud. She ate standing up like normal for a while. Then I guess she must have gotten tired, so she sat down. When I turned back to look at her she was sitting so far back on her "hip" that she had to lean on a flower pot to stay upright. At one point she stuck her leg up into the air to lick her foot. I could see her tummy and everything else. It was cute to see how comfortable she was. After she finished licking her toes, she sat back up a bit, back legs apart in a V shape and ate food off the ground from between her legs by picking it up with her paws. That was so cute and so human like. I sit like that sometimes on the floor to do things - but I hadn't expected to see a raccoon do it.
Sugar was there also. Seems she's the new Juliet, who's the new Heidi. What I mean by that is now Sugar is aggressively chasing everybody (below her in the pecking order that is) off. This is a new side of Sugar that we haven't seen before. I fear that she may now be "with kits". When I last saw HRH I though he and Sugar were behaving strangely. For one thing, during that time I learned that apparently that clicking/chirping sound (is that what you guys call chittering?) that I only hear when HRH is around is actually coming from the ladies. It seems to be part of some kind of coy or submissive, possible flirting behavior. When HRH was eating (a week or so ago), Sugar kept walking up to him from behind. When he would turn around as though to threaten the offender who was intruding on his meal, she would crouch down low to the ground put her head down such that her lower jaw was flat on the ground momentarily and then keeping her head low would then raise her nose up while making that clicking/chirping sound. HRH would then respond by putting his nose to hers and then resuming his meal without arguing about the intrusion. I also thought that she seemed to be hanging around him quite a bit that one evening.
At one point during the evening last night when Fraidy went to the pool for a drink, Sugar chased her away and refused to let her return to the path leading back to the area beside me where she was eating. Fraidy ran over to the other side of the feeding area, over by the compost pile. I tried to call Fraidy back. I was using her name and the word "Come". Suddenly, Heidi looked up from her dish cast a glance at me where I sat to her right and in front of her. Then she looked over her left shoulder toward Fraidy and back at me. I swear it looked as if she actually knew that I was talking to Fraidy, and her face seemed to express a desire for Fraidy to go over there so I'd shut up already. I couldn't resist the urge to laugh out loud at her.
Snowball showed up, too. He walked around the ground back by the fence as though trying to let the raccoons know that their time was up. Man, is he tiny. I need to start taking the camera out all of the time just in case something like this happens. Fraidy went over to ask him to leave. That's when I saw how incredibly tiny he really is. He's considerably smaller than she is. He's smaller than my 4.5lb dog - of course, with Widget there's the hair factor. I bet Snowball doesn't way over 5lbs. He's still almost solid white. To be fully grown and so tiny and solid white he has to be most rare. Isn't it also unlikely that such a creature would have survived under normal circumstances. I think he benefits greatly from leftovers from the raccoon buffet. Tonight I took out 2 eggs which no one ate while I was there, but which were gone when I returned to walk the dog hours later - possibly Snowball. Anyhow, Fraidy chased him back up the fence and he didn't return while I was there - you know he has to be small to run from Fraidy.
Edited to fix at least some of the typos. ;-)
This message was edited Jul 1, 2007 5:04 AM
I'd been wondering why the other two presumed females (Panda and Sugar) weren't yet pregnant; guess that's answered for one of them. The behavior you describe with Sugar and HRH is consistent with a female in heat, and yes, the sound you describe as clicking/chirping is probably what raccoon people call chittering. Talk about a population explosion in your yard: hopefully Juliet and Sugar won't have litters as large as Heidi's, but given the excellent diet and their youth....
You seem to have definitely been assigned the role of Fraidy's surrogate mother; she is so relaxed around you that no other explanation makes sense. How endearing!
Solid white animals rarely survive in the wild, and they are often smaller than normal: the white color makes them all too visible to predators. Your diet has probably been invaluable to Snowball, as it has to the coons. Years ago I knew a rehabber who had an albino cardinal that she kept for life because he was unreleasable: a hawk would have seen him from a mile away. Talk about gorgeous: as he matured, he got the slightest blush of apricot/reddish color on the wing tips and crest, but was solid white otherwise. For some reason white squirrels sometimes are able to survive in the wild. There's a town here in NC that's known for white squirrels; apparently the gene is so widespread in the local population that they're the norm there. Of course they have human interest and protection since they're a tourist attaction; like your diet and Snowball, that may make all the difference.
Ruth -- The white cardinal sounds beautiful. I have also read that birds will tend to shun their albino relatives even going so far as to attack then to drive them away from the flock, perhaps because they don't want to be anywhere near the target or maybe they just don't recognize them as part of the group. With so many things working against him, it's good that your friend gave him a safe home.
I keep hearing (and seeing) that raccoon babies are out and about everywhere - except in HeidiWorld. I think you may have explained this to me before, but...Is it just a matter of Heidi having more time to wait (due to our mild climate) whereas raccoon mothers in northern climates have such a narrow window during which to get those babies raised and trained before the deadly cold sets in again? On that note, I did the math and it seems like Sugar won't be giving birth until around the 2nd week of September. Then if she waits 2 months or so before taking them out into the world they won't be ready to meet the world until November. By that time the raccoons here have moved on to their winter quarters, whereever that may be. At the very least, her babies shouldn't be making their arrival on the scene until Heidi's are quite large enough to handle themselves pretty well. Maybe that will help to ameliorate problems - or not.
And, yes, much as I feared I am having a population explosion here. My current plan is to limit the quantity of food to that which I currently put out each day + any additional leftovers and/or treats. That will lead to food fights I'm sure, but hopefully it will also work as nature intended to limit the population in the area forcing some to move elsewhere. It's about the only plan I can think of at the moment. If figure, when in doubt, do what nature does.
Today I put a bowl of kibble out just in case anyone stopped by for an afternoon snack but had to take it in later due to afternoon storms. Tonight I was away; didn't get back until well after feeding time. Even though I ran out there with food and called to them, no one showed up. Seems they had all given up on me. I felt bad about leaving them all hungry that way - but maybe I - and they - need to remember that they can feed themselves occasionally, after all.
I'll put some food out in the morning just in case. Often when one of them misses dinner, they drop by in the morning to raid the feeder.
I picked up lots of treats for them including lots of grapes since those are on sale right now and they can't seem to get enough. Recently, I discovered another new treat that they seemed to like - those canned, refrigerated biscuits, the flaky, butter ones. One evening I put a few in with a dish with other leftovers on one side and cat food on the other. Much to my surprise, several of the raccoons walked up, sniffed, then reached in and, as though they had found gold and wanted to keep it a secret, grabbed a biscuit and ran away to eat it somewhere alone before returning to snatch another. I hadn't expected the cold, leftover biscuits to go over so well. I think they were Grands and I had put some actual dairy butter on them. Anyhow, given the reception they got, I bought a few "cans" of biscuits for them. This time I remembered the bananas. I also got them some apple chips, crunchy peanut butter, fruit yogurt, and a jar of blackberry jam for Fraidy along with lots of peanuts, melons, some frosted shredded wheat minis, graham crackers, pistachios (to try) and probably some other stuff that I've forgotten now - oh, an mini marshmallows for Fraidy (to try) and anyone else who might be interested - but, as you know, Fraidy has a serious sugar jones.
Oh, another think that I noticed recently is that they appear to know - by smell - the difference between premium organic apples and cheap, bagged, red delicous apples. A while back when they were scarfing down apples as fast as I could put them out, I had shared with them a bag of organic gala apples which I'd bought for my own consumption. Thinking the raccoons wouldn't know the difference, when those were gone I replaced them with a bag of cheap ones. Immediately, and no one showed any interest in the new apples; they didn't even need to sample them to know the difference either. Hmm.
Oh, well, sorry to have missed "dinner", but there is always tomorrow.
Was today Father's Day? If so, I do hope that everyone had a great day, esp the Dad's.
Just more errata. I think I'm missing the little fellas/ladies - since I missed the dinner meal.
Meant to mention that I don't expect to see Panda having babies any time soon. She really isn't much bigger than Fraidy. While Fraidy seems the least mature, neither Sugar, Panda, nor Fraidy have adult looking coats like Juliet, Heidi, and HRH. Sugar is closer to normal size, and she and Panda have coats that are a maybe 1" long and somewhat more full than Fraidy's. Their coats aren't so thin and sleek like Fraidy's. Still Panda is pretty small. I was watching her eat the other day. Like Fraidy, she also looks like a cute little dog or fox; I think she also looks somewhat juvenile. (I say "she", but she may well be a he for all I know. Time will tell, I guess.) Sometimes in the dark it can be difficult to tell if the little raccoon running around is Friady or Panda (when they are both together, I can compare them, but when there is only 1 it is harder). The one clear difference between them is that Panda has furry cheeks (because her coat is not so sleek) while Fraidy's face is sleek and "clean shaven". Anyhow, assuming Panda is a female, I think she's too small to sustain pregnancy any time soon - but, of course, I'm a novice at this...
I think I mentioned this before, but another big difference between Panda and Fraidy is that Panda has enough attitude to growl at Heidi.
This brings me to another matter. Folks, don't ask me how this happened, but I believe there is another Fraidy. I know, I know. But lately there's been something weird going on. I'm pretty sure I have a spare small raccoon running around out there some times. I can't explain it. I've given up even trying. Just looking for a name...
Wow, the kids are in for some good eating: that will more than make up for one night's scant dinner! If watching raccoons eat peanut butter is half as much fun as watching dogs, you're in for a treat. And I won't be surprised if the marshmallows are a treat with several of them. Were the biscuits raw or baked? That seems odd, but they do like the whole-grain bread and the butter has to be a big hit.
Never had any experience with wildlife in warm climates like yours, so much of what I "know" is hard to translate to your area. Up in VA, the young coons typically had two litters a year. The first must have been conceived in winter, because the babies were reported in chimneys and other "annoying" locations as early as late February or March. Those kids would be out on their own by summer's end; the second litter would be born in very late fall, late October or so, and stay with mom all winter. Don't know if it's Heidi's age or your climate that limits her to one litter a year. Since her daughters seem to be following the same pattern, it's tempting to think climate is the primary factor; but the daughters are also very young, and may just now be mature enough to breed. In other words, I really don't have a clue: sorry.
I hate to say it, but it's a blessing if Panda is still too juvenile to breed; you've got about all the visitors one yard needs/can handle. If Fraidy, Panda, and Sugar all have a juvenile look compared to Juliet and Trouble, maybe what you saw with Sugar was immature pre-estrus behavior rather than a true heat. That would certainly explain HRH's lack of visible romantic interest in her; good to know the old boy isn't into jailbait! November would be a much less than ideal time for a first litter to be born, even in your warmer climate, so I'm hoping she's not yet pregnant.
Limiting the amount of food you put out sounds like an excellent plan, and is very much nature's way. You do realize that it's going to be really difficult to stick to that resolution if babies are in the picture, right? Just keep telling yourself that, in nature, the best thing is do is often the hardest.....
Well, WE HAVE BABIES. They are soooo adorable. They didn't come out until after dark with their mother (probably Sadie). There were two adults and 4 little ones of a couple different sizes. Maggie was shocked, she didn't know who to chase away first, so everybody pretty much got to stay. I tried to watch them on the coon cam, but picture isn't very good--so would go out with the light and try to see them. The ones I did see--one little dark one and one regular one were sooo adorable with the little face, mask, tail and body. Then after we let the dogs out for their last potty, the kids left and haven't seen them back yet. Still is making me wonder when Maggie is going to bring kids?? She definitely is a female (checked it out with binoculars), but have seen no evidence of kits yet. Since she comes out before dark, I am not sure if she would wait until later to bring out kids or not. I would think the kits would get bored and just decide to follow Mom anyhow, one of these days.
Cheryl, I was kidding about the t-shirt on the raccoon. It was tongue in cheeck. After looking at those teeth, I don't think I could try that. She wouldn't let me near enough, anyhow.
If there was a big space in my last post, could be because I was falling asleep here and didn't catch it--sorry. Since our computer crash, I haven't been able to download any of my pics, but my husband worked onit, and I think I can send a pic of Maggie, finally. It may be big, so I hope it doesn't take up much bandwidth. He has a new editor and I haven't worked too well with it so far. I liked ACDeeC, but it crashed, too. If you can see her skin, it looks like she had an infection or disease and now the undercoat has grown back and some of the regular color is returning, but she is definitely one in the crowd you can pick out. OK, gotta get to bed here. Dr. sending me to PT tomorrow at 8am. Sigh. Night. Karen
Congratulations, and welcome to the new generation, Karen!
Ruth -- Way back when everyone was hoping the 06 kids would stay, I was afraid of this. As soon as the idea came up I could see that the exponential growth would occur far too quickly. I had hoped to keep Heidi and say emotional and difficult goodbyes to the kids each year to make room for the next year's brood. What's that saying about the best laid plans of mice and men?
I also got peanut butter filled cookies.;-)
Yes, the biscuits were cooked. They were the flaky type. When done and still hot, I had split them and put a thin pat of real butter in each. By the time the raccoons got them they were cold so there wasn't any dripping butter or anything like that. I had given a few partial sections w/o butter to Widget and was also surprised to find that he like them. Widget is very picky these days about what he will eat - because of me, no doubt.
In some of my earlier research on raccoons, I read something that indicated that while northern and southern raccoons started out the same they now appear to have grown apart to become almost like different breeds in dogs or different cultivars in plants of the same species - still the same species but with some distinctly different characteristics the most obvious of these being size/weight. When I look at some of the photos other people are posting, the raccoons have such long think coats in comparison to ours that they look quite different.
Ok, this thread has become difficult to load even with high speed, so I'm going to transition here.
Karen - What a fabulous picture! What kind of camera did you use for that? I still need to buy one. She's a beauty - and, again, so much different from the Charleston raccoons (lol). I think I have my own seperate breed here since mine don't look like anybody else's. (I like ACDSee, too. I have Photoshop but use the former more often.)
You know, this brings up something I hadn't thought about. Last year at this point in the process I wasn't feeding Heidi in the yard; I was leaving care packages for her across the fence. Even though she was coming to pick those up before dark, when I 1st saw the kids it was later, after dark one night when I went out to get the feeder and found them all hanging off of it with mom giving instructions from below. I guess what I'm saying here is that I really can't compare this year to last year because things are different now. I have no idea how or when she will bring the kids. She may bring them later in the evening or she may already have done so. Last year I think they were living in the dead tree just past the Heidi tree. After they got just a little older they started coming over the fence whenever they heard me in the yard. That in time was the nexus for me to start taking treats out to them and eventually feeding them in the yard.
Karen, if you get a chance some time would you possibly consider editing the long post to delete the extra lines? I'm still moving to another thread, but it would help a lot for others who might still want to read posts on this one. If you just click "edit" and go to the end of the post, you can backspace "up" to delete the blank lines. It would also be helpful to DG. I've heard Terry (DG Admin) say that extra lines at the end take up space on the servers so she has to go in and edit them out. (I'd edit to remove my extra photos above if I could but we can't do that.)
Ok, now I'm definitely starting a new thread here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/742551/