I've been running a bit late the last few days. Sunset comes sooner now and I'm just not keeping pace - much, I'm sure, to Heidi's dismay.
Tonight the 1st shape to appear on the fence - a little ways down from where I sit - was large, muscular, sleek, and appeared in the moonlight to have the form and color of a cougar, so much so that I almost found myself fighting back fear briefly as he posed there atop the fence looking so much like a smallish mountain lion ready to pounce. It was, of course, HRH; and I had to struggle to reassure myself of this.
HRH ultimately chose Juliet's dish up by the pool but perhaps to reassure himself that he would not accidentally run into Heidi and the kids there, he arrived by circling all the way around the perimeter of the area behind me and back around to the dish which was only maybe 20ft from the spot where he had entered the yard to begin with.
A few minutes later Juliet arrived. As always, she rounded the corner with full intent to go directly to HER dish, but upon seeing HRH there, diverted her course at the last minute to take Heidi's dish instead. No sooner had she settled in for her evening meal than Diva and Rupert appeared on the fence scoping out the situation. I called to Diva hoping she and little Diva would come around beside me as they often do. I could easily toss food to them over there.
Unfortunately, Diva with Rupert in tow behind her chose instead to try to enter the pool located squarely between HRH and Juliet both of whom were eating. Instantly, Juliet ran around the pool and jumped on Diva. The 2 went tumbling, screaming, spitting, and snarling across the lawn beside the pool. The movement was so rapid and so intense as to remind me of the classic cartoon image of an amorphous, tumbling blob with arms and legs jutting out everywhere.
At some point Juliet was ejected from this tumbling mass of screaming, fighting fur and HRH was sucked up into it briefly...and then the whole thing was over and everyone was eating at their stations again, with the exception of Rupert who at the first hint of trouble had run back to the safety of the tree atop the fence. A second glance clarified the new layout in which while Juliet was still eating from the same dish as before the melee, Diva had somehow replaced HRH on the other side of the pool.
Sensing something to my right, I looked there to see HRH approaching in search of food to replace that which he'd given up to Diva - to keep the peace. I started tossing food to him and after a time HRH sat down there some 4ft beside me. Sitting there upright and with his full tummy exposed for all the world to see, the big guy assumed his rather adorable Winnie the Pooh pose as he sat picking up kibble from the grass between his outstretched back legs. Refills were no problem. All this tossing of food items has greatly improved my aim, allowing me to toss small handfuls of dog food nuggets to him repeatedly such that each landed precisely in the 'v' formed by his legs. With such a steady supply of kibble, he sat there eating for the duration of the evening.
Once things calmed down a bit, Rupert came back down to join his mother, who as usual quickly let him know that he was not welcome to eat from her dish, this despite the fact that she was eating from a container roughly 10"x6"x2" with adequate kibble and space for the 2. Being somewhat bored myself at this point, I took advantage of the opportunity to encourage the little fella to come out onto the open lawn area in front of the pool so that I might toss him food. He did, and I enjoyed feeding him a bit close there. He was so tiny and cute sitting there in the squirrel position on the lawn, a dog food nugget clutched between his paws, nibbling it.
From time to time, Rupert would become frightened by the proximity of Juliet and HRH nearby. At such times he would quickly scurry back to the safety of the weeds and perennials behind his mom only to emerge again a few minutes later to forage on the lawn again. A few times he tried again to stick his nose into the edge of his mom's dish, but each time was quickly rebuffed. And then, suddenly, on one occasion as the little fella was running past Diva on his way back to the safe zone of tall weeds just behind her, he must have had the misfortune to pass too close to her dish for as he rushed by [clearly headed past her and to safely], Diva turned snarling and spitting to pounce on him as one might have expected her to react to another adult coming so close to her while she was eating. Thankfully, that sad display of motherly "warmth" lasted only an instant.
When Diva finally tired of her food, she wandered away, allowing Rupert a chance to eat from the dish for a change. Having rarely been given the opportunity to eat from such a container [he usually eats from the ground], his early attempts were a bit humorous. The dish was larger than he was. As I've mentioned, the raccoons tend to start on the side closest to them and eat there way across the dish; consequently, the food Diva had left him was on the far side of the dish from where he was standing. Rather than just go around to the other side, he tried to step into the dish. The result was the classic Three Stooges stepping on a rake routine, as the dish flipped up into a vertical attitude bopping him in the head and spilling kibble at his feet. (Don't worry, it was a thin, plastic dish which could not have hurt him.)
Soon everyone had had their fill. The party began to break up as the diners departed. I did not see Heidi or her kids, not did Juliet bring any of hers this evening.
