Heidi Chronicles: Raising the Kids

tetleytuna,

Yes, they really did have fun. In fact, since the fishing expedition, Heidi's kits seem to be playing MORE now, every day, and tonight I noticed that they weren't just eating the peanuts I tossed into the pool with them - and all 3 were in there forever - but they were treating the peanuts as though they were the fish, pushing them around in the water, pouncing on them, wrestling them into the air and sometimes over the side of the pool. When I 1st noticed this, I did a double take, but the more I looked, all 3 of them were doing this. They were playing with the peanuts for a while before eating them and the play looked just like the fishing event. I must get more fish.

Wish I knew a local fisherman from whom I could acquire larger fish. I guess I could get a pole and go sit by the pond myself, but that is so not my thing. The few times I went, I hated killing 'bait' by putting it on a hook, and having the fish come 'flying' at me when I pulled it out of the water always freaked me out. I always ended up screaming, hiding my face, and trying to avoid being hit by the fish flying by me 1st one way and then the other as it swung like a pendulum from my upright pole; eventually whoever was foolish enough to take me fishing would have to grab the fish in order to stop the circus. Hey, nobody's perfect. ;-)

You know, they are so safe in my yard. It's the safest place they could be. I won't harm them. No one else can come into the fenced backyard without my permission. No one can shoot them or trap them or poison them or do anything else to hurt them as long as they are in my yard. Even the dog they hear barking can't get past the fence. I only wish they could know that they are safe here. When they get upset and I say, "it's ok" what I really want to tell them is "no matter what it is, it can't come here and bother you" but I can't tell them that.

LOL, summerkid.

I like that about how they like the playground atmosphere. Heidi and the kids stayed forever tonight. Heidi left for a while but she didn't call the kids to go with her, so they stayed and played and played and played. In time she returned to eat some more, and the kids just kept playing. They played with that yogurt container AGAIN tonight. They love that thing. I need to look around the house for some more container 'toys' for them. Who knew they could have so much fun with 'trash'? Oooo, maybe a large plastic cup from a fast food restaurant, a much larger version of the yogurt cup. Maybe a plastic jar with screw on top and treats inside - a learning challenge on how to open jars.

KyWoods,

Now that's an idea. If all else fails, I'll try calling MUSC (Med U SC). It's just across town. Surely, someone there, perhaps in epidemiology will know the answer...or maybe just send me back to the health dept. LOL to keep from crying.

Julie,

I don't know, but I'll check it out. Of hand, I can't think of any rope around here but i can stop by Home Depot and pick some up. I have bungee cords. Would they enjoy a bungee jump? Do you know what size rope (diameter)? Are these 'swings' just individual ropes that hang down for climbing? The Heidi branch is probably too thin and doesn't really extend far enough out over the fence, and the willow is in Juliet's territory. Would it work if I put one of the Shepard's hooks back there by the pool and hang a rope from that, or does it need to be higher? Good idea, BTW. I'm eager to figure it out and give it a try. The kids seem to be at peak playing age now.

I have to warn you here....I have seen little animals get their heads stuck in jars...going in after the treat and can't get the jar off.

If it is a baby food jar or that size, it might work better.

We use paper towel rolls here, stuff them full of treats...even peanut butter...and the squirrels go nuts. Might be an idea for the "kids". The paper towel rolls are biodegradeable so if they carry them off...not really littering.

I am so heartbroken about Rupert and Diva. Didn't Heidi have four kits to start and Juliet three? I truly think if you hadn't been feeding Rupert as long as you had....he would never have survived this long.

I just love the pictures also...they made my entire week much better!

Debbie

Tonight Dennis was oddly disinterested in me and in my treats. Oh, well, so much going on in his young life right now. I guess I can't be top of the list every night, but I sure did miss seeing him rush over for his treats.

The kids played like there was no tomorrow. They were a playing machine. Last night, BTW, as i forgot to mention this, I took out a stuffed plush hedgehog I'd bought when I got the fish. When Dennis came over for treats (last night) I tried to hand him the hedgehog. He was too interested in candy, but his sister reached over him, grabbed the hedgehog and ran into the flowerbed to play with it.

Tonight I took out one of Widget's unused toys, a vinyl toy shoe, a kid's patent leather with broken strap. I put it near the pool along with a small glow in the dark ball. As soon as the kids arrived the same kit that had taken the hedgehog the day before, grabbed that shoe and started chewing on the free strap and dragging the thing around. She dragged it into the pool and chewed on it some more. Then Dennis saw her and tried to take the shoe but she got away with it, dragged it over the other side of the pool, and with Dennis still after her, ran into the weeds with it. The 2 were gone so long playing with that shoe that Heidi actually left her food to over there and check on them.

Then I got the awesome chance to watch the blondish one play with her tail. That was a first for me. She sat down, rolled back on her back on the lawn in front of me, flicked her tail up onto her tummy, grabbed it with her paws and started 'play' holding it and kicking it all while still on her back - another catlike maneuver. I was mesmerized. I tried not to even breath lest I should disturb the moment. A little while later she was over there playing with Heidi's tale while Heidi was trying to eat. As always, Heidi was incredibly patient. It is no wonder that her kids seem so happy, playful, and well adjusted.

On a different note, I think I found HRH's favorite food: Fig bars. OMG, I thought he was going to go 'Diva' on me when I gave him a fig bar. Everybody else, except Heidi who rarely eats anything but dog/cat food, liked them, but HRH went 'ape' over them and kept 'asking' for more, but in his own very dignified manner of course.

Tonight Juliet and her kids plus Heidi and her kids and HRH alone ate 7 cups of cat food, an entire package of fig bars, 16oz of peanuts, and a handful of taffy candies. Whew! They are a playing and eating machine. They seem to be eating more now. Don't know if that's a reaction to me skipping a night or 2 the subtle weather changes signalling the coming of fall and, I guess, there annual exodus from the garden.

Oh, thank you, Debbie!

You were the one who told me about trying tissue rolls and odd shaped containers, weren't you? I thought it was you, but couldn't remember for sure. That turned out to be great advice. As you can see they love the yogurt container. I gave them the smaller tissue tubes one night with marshmallows in them. The next night they were trying to play with the torn open tissue rolls again as if looking for more treats in them. I've been meaning to repeat that. Didn't think about pb, great idea. Also very good advice about the jars. I'll be sure to only give them jars with mouths that are way too big or way too small to cause a problem. Glad you mentioned that.

When I 1st saw them I did say 4 and 3 for Heidi and Juliet respectively. I'm not sure now if maybe I was counting one of Juliet's with Heidi's, for instance, and vice versa. Recall that early on the kits kept getting confused about who their mother was. One of Juliet's kept hanging out with Heidi's kits until Heidi got mad and started running him off. By the same token, back then Heidi's kids were always wandering over to Juliet or Diva. A couple of times one of Juliet's kids actually followed Heidi and her group up into the tree only to be chased off again. Early on, before we worked out the current strategy for keeping everybody separated and happy, it was pretty hectic with all those new moms and all those confused babies together at the same time vying for eating rights and pool time. It's very possible that I made my early count while an extra kit was wandering around with the group(s). I guess it's possible they lost one or more. I would think it more likely that Juliet lost one than Heidi. Not impossible, of course, but also very likely that I counted that wayward Juliet baby in with Heidi's.

Edited to add: So glad you enjoyed the photos!

This message was edited Sep 25, 2007 10:57 PM

When I moved things around, Diva and Juliet started bickering a lot because they both insisted on eating over by the veggie patch despite the fact that I was also putting food in the dish over on the path where Diva and Rupert used to eat (so Diva could have gone back over there to eat and that would have ended the battle) Diva is actually afraid of Juliet. It's possible Juliet may have run her off.

On the other hand, I guess it's also possible that she and Rupert may have gone fishing in the pond. Sure hope not. Then again, they may just show up one day as if they never left. Or maybe they left early for the fall vacation to wherever the heck they go.

I miss them, too. I even miss Diva. She had finally started behaving herself! And she was a cute 'drunk' as long as the kids weren't around. I can still see Rupert's cute little face. : (

Thanks for all your words to console me. I know this is hard for many of you, too. Many of you were quite fond of little Rupert. Sorry, guys. Here's hoping that wherever he is, he's doing well.

Before I retire for the evening, I'd like to leave you with this humorous thought. Years ago, back when I was still trying to figure out how to keep those 'annoying' raccoons from eating my birdfood, I planted a row of Rugosa roses back by the fence. I had read that they would make a dense an impenetrable hedge that would keep the critters out. LOL, is anything really impenetrable to raccoons?

Well, 5 years later the roses are doing well. Rugosas are quite rugged, and surprisingly pretty. They have spread and grown 4-5ft tall. And the raccoons really appreciate them; they seem to enjoy the bounty of large 1 to 1.5" red fruits the roses bare - rose hips.

It's a good thing I no longer want to keep those rascally raccoon out of my yard; otherwise, I'd be more than a little annoyed watching them dine on the fruit from my 'impenetrable' fortress.

LOL at the rugosa roses, Cheryl; because of the rose hips, they are on several lists I've seen of desirable plants to attract wildlife. With their dense coats, the thorns aren't likely to bother raccoons: too funny.

Also just hilarious is the image of HRH going crazy for Fig Newtons: somehow it fits him.

It's quite possible, if the rate of raccoon rabies is high in your area, that local rehabbers are not openly making themselves available for raccoons. The authorities can be pretty invasive with their regulations for the high-risk species. And, since humans in all fields cover a broad spectrum of ethics/responsibility, the regs are no doubt necessary for the few who would do something irresponsible.

The squirrels are busy hiding mast and the raccoons are eating like there's no tomorrow: 'tis the season to stock up for winter, even in a mild climate like yours. Heaven help your grocery bill...

Love the image of the kids "fishing" for peanuts. Sounds like they're definitely in favor of another fishing expedition!

Hi, Cheryl -

I don't know the rope details, but I had imagined something maybe 1" thick, knotted every 18" or so. Seems like natural material would be better than nylon - less slick. Would the shpherd's crook be stable enough to support a rope with 2 or 3 kids swinging on it?

Sounds like fun to me, until I think about my trainer trying to convice me to hang from his metal contraption and wave my legs around "to build core muscles." Better to watch than to do!

Julie

Hi Ruth,

While the rabies stats for Charleston County are high, the highest in the state I believe, around 80% of the cases come from an island community that while part of Charleston County is not part of the city of Charleston and which is actually separated from us by a substantial body of water; consequently, while the stats for my county look bad, the actual stats for my city are much better than they appear. Whew! Incidentally, the Dr who is trying to get the vaccine because so many people have been asking for it is on the island from which the majority of rabies cases are coming. I wonder if there may be people over there interested in rehabbing raccoons or if residents just want to be prepared.

By 'invasive', do you mean as in background investigation type things or like tons of paperwork to fill out or both? Just curious.

BTW, a bit of interesting raccoon trivia I just learned...There is a park in the downtown area just outside the gates of the Citadel Military College. It's a small park, with a 1mile jogging/walking trail winding through a well manicured lawn punctuated by the occasional oak or magnolia or camellia, the kind of place where you can see across the landscape fairly well, definitely not a forest. There is a substantial man-made and cement enclosed water feature with water spraying up into the air on one side then flowing under a large semi-circular walking bridge toward an area flanked with a formal rose garden, more camellias, etc. The water feature is always filled with ducks and swans. By day the park can get pretty crowded. Across from the park on one side is a small stable where the city keeps the police horses. Otherwise, there is no forest around there, just a college campus and lots of very old homes on very, very small lots. The park is only a few short blocks from the Atlantic Ocean. I mention all of this because I was quite surprised when a friend who lives across from the park (and thinks of it has his yard) told me that the park is home to a rather large number of raccoons. Apparently, they make a good living 'helping' the clean up crew with the 'trash' folks leave behind during the day (whether in trash receptacles or not). I was surprised to hear that they would be in such an open area in the downtown region. They are survivors, aren't they?

Hi Julie,

Thanks, that description helps. I'll have to pick up some rope. I think for now the Shepard's hook is about my only option as there are no limbs in that area. As far as whether it can hold a few of the kids, I've seen 2 or 3 adult raccoons swinging from the bird feeder (hanging from the Shepard's hook) at once. Last summer I went out to find 4 of Heidi's kits on the feeder at the same time. Over time, the repeated abuse of multiple raccoons swinging from the feeder sometimes causes the dirt to give letting the pole lean. When that happens I just move it over. Last year when Heidi and her 5 grown kids started hanging on it a lot they actually managed to bend the pole, but I don't think the raccoons mind if the pole bends or even breaks. It's all fun to them!

I agree with you, it looks much easier when the raccoons do it.

i was picturing hammock-y & bridge-y things made of rope. no?

What about a saw horse with planks runnning up and across....and old clothesline pole for the ropes to hang from? Keep your eye out for discarded childrens toys/swing set types at yard sales etc.

We are having bad weather tonight, so I have to shut down.

Debbie

summerkid, I was, too, but I guess that's not the thing.

Debbie, I hope all goes well for you and your family with the weather. No clothes line or former clothes line. No posts. Only small tree-lets. But you did give me an idea. Maybe I could loop a rope around a fence post and run it over to a tree such that the rope would go through the play area. It would only be 6ft or so high but I could tie ropes off that for them to play on.

I didn't stay out long tonight as I was very busy. I took a new vinyl toy ( 92 cents at WalMart) out and put it in the newly cleaned pool along with the yogurt cup and another older toy. It's amazing how they zone in on the new toys right away. One kit started playing with it as soon as he got in the pool and continued to play with it off and on the whole time I was out there.

One kit went over into the weeds on what had been Juliet's side of the pool for a while. When he emerged he was chasing a moth. I didn't think I'd get to see this twice. The last time the moth was hovering in place and the kit was walking along with his nose up in the air and about an inch from the moth, just hypnotized by the thing. This time the moth was going full speed but only a foot or so off the ground. The kit ran along behind it all the way across the lawn in front of the pool. He/she was kind of loping/bouncing along and periodically swatting at the thing with a front paw - but always missing it.

Tonight I took out some candy corn and marshmallows, but I only gave them a few of each. Dennis loves sweets. He came right over to me. Even though I gave him some on the ground, he jumped up on the chair beside me; so I put a mm there on the chair seat along with a handful of candy corn. He walked around on the chair eating and playing with the candy, knocking it around on the chair seat. I put a few in the dog food container that was on the seat. He stood upright and reached in there - head and all - to retrieve them. Then he hopped back down and left. He came back a little later to play with my big, blue croc shoe.

While I was there only Heidi and Juliet and their kids were there.

That park sounds lovely, Cheryl, and would be prime urban raccoon habitat; and I'll bet they're a big help with tourist cleanup! Raccoons survive beautifully in congested downtown areas like Washington, DC where there are only scattered small parks; they travel via the storm sewers, and scare the heck out of people sometimes when they emerge from the sewers. Yes, they are consummate survivors.

Glad to hear most of the rabies in your area is confined to an island: very good news for the kids in your 'hood. Very glad to hear there's a doctor working on obtaining the pre-exposure vaccine. If all else fails, you could suggest that he or she call the health dept. in Alexandria, VA where I was vaccinated. They routinely vaccinate all animal shelter employees, plus many rehabbers and veterinary personnel; so they must have a good source for the vaccine, and I can't imagine why they wouldn't share the information with a physician.

In most states, rehabbers are licensed by the state, and must have both initial and ongoing training in order to be licensed. Their premises are subject to inspection at any time by both state and local authorities. The paperwork, at least in VA, was extremely time-consuming; each year a report must be submitted to the state listing every single animal received, from what source received, species and age, condition, and ultimate disposition. No animals may be permanently kept without a special permit for each such animal, and the permits are only granted if the animal is crippled (or non-native) and unreleaseable, AND if the animal is to be used for an approved educational purpose. These regulations are fair and necessary, but require a substantial time commitment for training and paperwork; keep in mind that rehabbers are volunteers who buy their own food, supplies, and cages, and are not allowed to take money from anyone who brings them animals. When the incidence of rabies is high, tensions often run high between rehabbers and the local authorities. Local health departments, in these circumstances, will often prohibit animal control officers from releasing or taking to rehabbers the high-risk species. The rehabbers often will still take in baby raccoons, for example, brought to them by members of the public or commercial trapping services; this makes the local authorities nervous, but they can't prohibit it. Surprise inspections can become commonplace, as well as other tactics that are intended to protect public health but are regarded by the overworked unpaid rehabbers as invasive. There is merit to both sides of the equation. The health departments, using animal control officers as their field agents, are duty-bound to protect public health; and rabies is a very serious public health issue. The rehabbers are sworn to protect the animals in their care, and are very opposed to the idea of euthanasia unless the animal is critically ill or crippled. Under these circumstances, many rehabbers of high-risk species keep their heads down and keep as low a profile as possible; they still must report their activities to the state annually, but usually don't "advertise" it locally.

The idea of rope toys for the kids reminds me of a photo I received over the internet a while back. A fellow in Alaska bought and built an amazing set of playground apparatus for his kids: slides, swings, castle, etc., etc. A few nights after he finished building it, he went outside at dusk to find two largish bear cubs having a wonderful time in the playground. So much for that expensive investment: I can just imagine the damage bears can do!

I was told - all those years ago - that the man on Longboat Key had swings, ladders, aerial tightropes, hammocks, etc. - and outdoor lighting that the racoons were used to. It was his evening entertainment: a glass of wine, an easy chair, and racoons outside the window.

I had thought that a climbing rope would be easiest to do, but maybe the rope between the fencepost and a tree would be simplest. I'm sure the kids would have fun with anything like this.

Wish I could remember who the man was on LK - he was a well-known (but obviously not well-remembered!) writer.

Julie

Scutler, I was talking with my daughter last night. She went to school for Vet Tech, and all the kids in the program had to have a rabies shot. She said find a college nearby, that has a vetrinarian or Vet Tech program, or even zoo-ologist etc....and ask them. She said it was required by law for them to have it here in NY.

SO, there is another avenue to ask on...colleges and zoos!

I can just see those little stinkers with the candy corn...probably the same face I make when I get it! haha I love the stuff.

The moth chaser sounded so adorable. Reminds me of a kitten here that chases anything that flies.

Debbie

Just a quick note (at work again.opps.I'll be back later this evening to respond to everyone).

I just couldn't wait to share this news. I think I may have seen Rupert last night. If it was him he was by himself. He came down the fence rather cautiously, slowly made his way across to the pool area (after Heidi left), almost ran off a few times on his way down, nibbled the cookies, pb treats, cat treats, etc I tossed over to him, then ran back into the forest. The only one there at the time was HRH, but HRH was in front of the pool, and Rupert seemed afraid of HRH - although HRH showed no sign of threatening him. When he 1st approached the pool, I called him and it looked like he was going to come to me but then HRH got into the pool and that scared Rupert away such that he back up and almost left. At that point I quickly tossed some teddy grahams over to him hoping to get him to stay and eat. That's when he started rummaging about over there and eating whatever I tossed him for a while before he finally ran off.

Last night I stayed out longer than usual, and if that was Rupert he came out with the 3rd shift'ers. Makes me think he might be coming out late to nibble leftovers after the others have left.

Oh I so hope you are right! Keeping fingers, toes, paws tails and everything crossed!

Debbie

if it as Ruth suspected.... when food was scarce [the night you didnt feed] Diva may have run him off... and now without 'her protection' [if you can call it that] he feels more timid - being on his own.

I certainly hope so. He was/is such a cutie..... that image of him 'smiling' is just so adorable.

That sounds hopeful! I'll be "keeping everything crossed", too, like Debbie. LOL

Edit: Just found this news article about a raccoon with a peanut butter jar stuck on his head: http://www.local12.com/guides/petcare/story.aspx?content_id=283feeaa-8fed-4bbc-996f-cd5fe802c251

This message was edited Sep 28, 2007 10:53 PM

Here's hoping you're right, Cheryl. Late arrival and timidity would fit behaviorally for Rupert, especially if Diva has chased him off.

It been a nice several hours of just relaxing and reading and catching up on the gang. it amazing how you can not see pic s for a week and then look at the new ones and se e how big and fat they all getting now. Looks like they growing winter fur and fat. Got a feelign we gonna have such a bad winter and a logn one again this winter, they gonan need all the stored fat they can get.

I really enjoye d the fishing photo's. Wonder if anybody near you sells live fresh crawfish or are they also called crawdaddies I think in different areas. I laughed so hard at them fish photo's and got to thinking kids it a good thing she put them in a pool for all the noise and splashign and waves they made, I surprised they could catch anything. : )

not sure where one of the gir;s found it, but she got this rubebr ball that has different shaped hole sin it for her dog. You put the treats in the ball and they have to roll it and play with it and work it all aroudn to get the treats to fall out the shape holes. Keeps her puppy busy playign for awhile.

I love fig bars too. They are the best treat there is. If I sit up and beg will ya throw me a few too. LOL

I wondered had you thought about giving them any of that like granola nut/fruit type cereal cluster stuff?

Just had a crazy thought. tell all your friends to send ya peanut brittle for Christmas for the gang. : )

LOL, good idea, starlight!! I'll bet they'd go crazy over that. And I did read that coons like crawfish (crawdads to y'all nawthenuhs--hey, I'm from N'awlins originally). Maybe they sell them at bait shops??

Hi Ruth,

Recently on another thread I read about a 'rehab' outfit (in another state) that was placing healthy animals in homes instead of releasing them; so apparently all those regulations and the annoying paperwork are necessary. It's always the handful of bad and misguided folks who make trouble for everybody else.

LOL about that playground. I sure hope the guy got some good photos out of that. I would have loved to see a video. In fact, before I read your words about the damage they would do, my 1st thought was "Ahwww. I bet they were so cute!" I was picturing little grizzly cubs going down the slide, "Weeee!" As if they would know to use it that way.

[In the recent post that I 'lost' due to browser problems, I mentioned ] The one thing that has troubled me all along about the idea of the raccoons and 'fishing' is that I can't figure where they could go to practice this behavior without the life threatening risk of alligators. Around here all inland (not salty) bodies of water are potential alligator habitat. Unless the raccoons are capable of sensing the presence of gators well in advance, fishing around here would seem a bad gamble as alligators can move quite fast on land and in water. This line of thought led me to question whether Heidi's apparent lack of interest in teaching the kids to fish may actually be because she doesn't consider fishing a necessary life skill (around here) so it's not on her training schedule. Just a thought.

The odd thing about Diva and Rupert is that except for the one possible Rupert sighting and one questionable maybe-Diva sighting, I haven't seen either of them around. That seems odd. Makes me wonder if they were both run off, Diva due to her bad behavior and Rupert by association.

Sorry for being MIA, Friday after work I went out to dinner with some old friends who were in town. As a result, I missed the daily raccoon feeding. As soon as I returned home I went out with food and called Heidi repeatedly but without response. It seems everyone had long since given up on me and gone on in search of food elsewhere. Perhaps the prior skipped meal was beneficial in teaching them not to wait around too long for me when I'm late. I say this because on Saturday they were not so 'starved' like before.

On Thursday night (backing up a bit for a moment), Heidi came to dinner with only 2 kids, no sign of Dennis anywhere. I had been a bit late that night. Given Dennis' independent spirit, I figure he got tired of waiting in the tree, and Heidi was unable to restrain him. I figure he struck out on his own to try out his hunting skills. I didn't worry about him, and he was back on Saturday. The good news is that he must have good hunting and foraging skills because after missing dinner both Thursday (because he was a no-show) and Friday (because I skipped out), he arrived on Saturday with only a modest appetite.

Based on the way things went last year, Heidi and her crew should soon start to miss meals, sometimes for days at a time as they 'wean' themselves from my support and spend more time foraging for themselves in preparation for the annual fall departure. Already, I haven't seen HRH for a few days and the others for even longer. Lately, it's just Heidi and Juliet and their kids - and Snowball who has actually learned to venture out a bit and eat from a dish with me around.

BTW, despite their size, the kids are still playing a lot. Even though I did not feed them on Friday, I went out Saturday morning to find 2 toys removed from the pool and another one added to it. Even without food, someone stopped by to play.

Thanks for the info, Julie. I hope I get a chance to try out the ropes before they leave. I might be running low on time now. The mention of hammocks reminded me: the kids also seem to enjoy climbing on outdoor furniture, just to explore. I've watched them climb up onto the seat of both the chair beside my bench and the Adirondack chair over by the veggie patch. I find it interesting that they don't climb up the back and sides (like a tree); they always hop up onto the seat - like people, as though they understand the proper usage of the thing.

Hi Debbie,

Thanks for the great ideas. There is a nearby tech school with vet tech program. We don't have a zoo close by, but then Charlestowne Landing has animals in "natural environments" (that really are pretty impressive, I think) so that's another possibility.

A rehab facility that places wildlife in homes??? Oh that is so illegal - not to mention unethical - in every state in which I've worked. Guess you're right; the few make regulations necessary for all.

You make a very good point about the gators and fishing; certainly explains Heidi's lack of interest. Might make the fishing ventures, however much fun, a less than wonderful idea. Darn.

It's always sad to think of everyone decamping for the winter; can't help wondering where they all go.

Debbie, Terese, KyWoods, Ruth, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the little guy, too. He really needs those "Survivor" genes now.

KyWoods, interesting piece on the raccoon with the jar on his head. Incredible that he was able to climb a tree with his head still in the jar. I'm very glad that one had a happy ending. Thanks for sharing the story. I'm not going to put out any jars they might get caught in - thanks to you guys.

Starlight, glad you enjoyed the pics. (Since I went out to eat Friday - and, forgot to mention, quickly became 'ill' again afterwards - still not processing food all that well - I didn't get to redo the fishing episode yet.) I haven't heard of anyone around here using craw fish for bait, mostly worms, crickets, minnows, and, I think, sometimes shrimp.) I'll have to check with a bait/tackle store - soon as I find one. Worst case, minnows might be a nice change, huh? The other night it looked like they scarfed those ghost shrimp down really fast. I thought they might be hard to see, but apparently not, and I guess they are much slower than goldfish.

Hi Ruth,

I figure the "safe" fishing won't hurt them - since Heidi would put the fear of ponds in them already - and they sure do enjoy it. Seems, in the worst case, harmless. If time allows, I'll plan to do it again, anyhow.

I always hate to see them leave, too, especially since the kids return as adults, so it means the end of my time with them. As kids they are playful, innocent, and trusting. By the time they return they will be far more skeptical of my motives and no longer playful. Worse, each year when Heidi leaves I fear she may not make it back. But, much like the cycle of plant life in the garden, next year their will be new kids to meet and spoil.

Oh, another think I forgot to mention earlier, for all who worry that my time with them may make the kids more vulnerable to other humans, tonight (Saturday night) was a prime example of how, amazingly, this isn't the case. Tonight Heidi and the kids ran back across the fence and up the Heidi tree at the slightest sound of a human voice no matter how far away and no matter how I tried to tell them it would be ok. They are more alarmed by the sound of humans than of dogs. It's nothing short of amazing that they could be so 'tame' as to climb up onto the chair beside me and yet so fearful of everybody else - but I am very glad they are able to make that distinction.

I don't know where they go in fall. Strange, isn't it? I was wondering if maybe their 'home' is somewhere deeper in the forest - away from humans and dogs - and they only come here to the area behind the houses to have and raise their babies, perhaps to take advantage of our food (and bird feeders) and the natural 'barrier' we provide to predators that might harm the defenseless babies - bobcats, foxes, etc that might snatch babies while the Mom's are out scrounging for dinner. Bobcats, in particular, don't seem to come this close to populated areas. Since we have a year round growing season, I guess adult raccoons don't have that much difficulty feeding themselves here in 'winter' (don't forget I usually run the ac on New Years Day), so maybe they are happier living deeper in the forest where they can be alone in their natural environment. At least, that's my theory for now. I guess it's always possible that they will stay, but I'm doubting it.

starlight -- granola, granola bars, and peanut brittle are great ideas! Thanks, I'll check for them on my next shopping trip. (Tonight I did peanuts and a handful of Reese's Pieces - like ET, they like them, too.) And thanks for reminding me about that treat dispenser toy. I have one of those. Just need to fill it up and take it out there - where it will promptly find it's way into the pool I'm sure.

Oh, I wish I could get those fig bars through the net. I got 2 packs of regular and one raspberry. I had better slow down on stocking the treats. Don't want to find myself holding a large stash of peanuts, animal crackers, fig bars, marshmallows, grapes etc when the group leaves for the winter.

KyWoods -- I could be wrong, but I just don't think we have a lot of crawfish around here. Heidi and the others have never shown much interest in any of the seafood I've offered them - cooked and raw but not live, that is. (Hmm. wonder if this may also be due to the fact that they aren't accustomed to eating fish around here?) However, on one occasion when I bought a lb of very large prawns (headed and deveined but with shells and feet in tact) for me, I put 3 aside for Heidi. I would have given her more but figured I was wasting good food as she would probably not eat them anyhow. Boy was I wrong. She scarfed those things down as soon as she saw them, ate them shells and all. I wish I'd given them all to her since they turned out to be 'tough' - too large.

I'll check out the bait stores - as soon as I find one.

And each year you get to see more of the babies' natural development and behavior, as the mothers grow more trusting of you. That's a priceless experience. And Heidi is such a consummate survivor, I'm betting on her to be around for a while longer, I hope I hope.

Since the purpose of pool fishing at this point is purely for its entertainment value, I'd stick with the feeder goldfish; they're relatively inexpensive, and the kids won't find them in the wild to tempt them.

I sure hope you are right about Heidi, Ruth. Heidi's kids are the only ones that are really friendly to me. Diva's kid is more or less gone. Juliet's kids don't come very close to me. Because Juliet and Diva are less trusting of me, they both taught their kids to be afraid of me. The last few days one of Juliet's kids has been coming over near me to get treats though.

The contrast between Juliet and Heidi is amazing, and even more amazing is the way each has passed her traits on to her kids. Shortly after I rearranged things, I found it necessary to 'bust' Heidi and her kids back to only one large dish in order to further discourage Juliet from going over there. Today Heidi's large kids took up so much space around the dish that they ended up crowding her out, and there she stood patiently waiting for an opportunity to get a head back into her dish. I tossed some cat treats over there to disperse the crowd a bit so that she could eat, too. She and her 3 kids eat so peacefully together, and the kids get along so well together. I have never seen them fight and have only seen maybe 2 minor disagreements both of which were resolved without so much as a growl.

Juliet, on the other hand, as you know by now, snaps at her kids if they get too close to her food. They have to find their own food. For a while I was giving them 2 dishes, 1 for Juliet and 1 for the 2 kids. Now that they are getting bigger, even that's not sufficient to keep the peace. Sometimes the 2 kids each take a bowl and then snap and snarl at their mother when she comes close - like she taught them to do. The kids can no longer eat together as they now fight with each other, sometimes quite brutally. About a week ago I added a 3rd dish so that each of them could eat separately. Given that I have a limited area for feeding, I put their dishes in a straight line 18" apart such that they cover 3 linear feet. Even that has not been sufficient to even minimize fighting; so now I've moved them to a triangle arrangement such that they are ea 3ft apart. Now they had better make that work, because I that's about all the room I can spare for the 3 of them. It's just amazing how one group (Heidi's) can eat so peacefully from a single dish while the other group (Juliet's) has difficulty not killing each other while trying to eat from 3 different bowls spaced 3ft apart!

Last night an unknown raccoon showed up after Heidi and her kids had run away (from a voice down the street) and before they returned. The unknown was rather large, noticeably larger than Heidi or Juliet, but smaller than HRH who was eating over on the path (so I know it wasn't him). In the dark I had difficulty making out the features, but I had a tiny led flashlight with me. When I shown it on the face briefly, it looked much like Heidi. The unknown raccoon was familiar with me as he/she walked right up to Heidi's vacated dish some 5ft from me to eat.

It wasn't Heidi or HRH or Juliet for sure. It was clearly too big for Fraidy, and I don't think it was Sugar. I'm guessing either Diva - although I don't recall her being larger than the other females. (Anybody else have any insight into the size comparison between Diva and Juliet or Heidi - from pictures, maybe?) or if not Diva, is it possible that HRH might let Trouble come back to eat now if the breeding season is over? Just a thought. He/she was in the shadows so I really couldn't get a 'read' on this one, but it was noticeably larger than the 'girls' and had a face that could have been Heidi.

Anyhow, when Heidi returned with her kids to find her spot occupied, she headed over toward the weeds in the edge of the veggie patch, grumbling loudly I to voice her unhappiness, I might add. Had she continued on that path she would have quickly met up with Juliet and a heated argument would have begun. To head that off and because I really wanted the kids to stay, I stood up and moved toward Heidi's dish causing whoever was there to back away from me. As the other raccoon backed away, I called to Heidi, and she turned around walking back toward the pool area, kids in tow. By the time she got to the edge of the pool, the other raccoon returned to the dish again. Again I walked toward the other raccoon while simultaneously calling Heidi. This time as the other raccoon backed away from me, Heidi walked up to take her dish which was now quite near my feet. I backed slowly away to take a seat at my bench as the kids rushed in to join her.

Last night one of Juliet's kids turned over the little birdbath they drink from. After that, the kits kept searching for water, but even while Heidi and her kids were gone, they would not venture over to the pool for a drink despite the fact that I had just filled it with clean water that very day. (I'd filled there birdbath too, but they turned it over. They like to jump on top of it.) I'm beginning to see that they really are very territorial about the eating space. I have a large square pan that I can put over in Juliet's section so they will have more water - now that I realize the 2 groups can't share the pool.

Tonight after Heidi and her kids had been gone for a while, the more aggressive of Juliet's kids went over to the pool, grabbed the new plush toy I put out today (which Heidi's kids had been playing with earlier) and took it over into the veggie patch. He didn't appear to play with it. It just looked like he was taking advantage of the opportunity to confiscate it and move it over to 'their' territory. Then he went back, grabbed the toy shoe out of the pool (Heidi's kids had also been playing with this quite enthusiastically) and took that over to the 'Juliet stash' over in the veggie patch. With that, he promptly went back over to his assigned area. Turf wars! It's like one fraternity taking the mascot from another's house and hiding it. (I've noticed, BTW, that while Heidi's kids play with the tools in and around the pool, they don't mess with the any of the large stash of toys that Juliet's kids have dragged over to the veggie patch.)

Tonight I gave Heidi's kids a little plush alligator and that treat 'block' filled with all the cat treats, Reese's pieces, and candy corn I could stuff into it along with the dog treats that were already in there. They played with the alligator right away. This was before Juliet's kit carried it off, of course. Then one kit grabbed the toy shoe by the broken strap and jumped into the pool with it to play. They are able to maneuver the toys over the edge of the pool with ease now, BTW. He dragged it around the pool in a zigzag fashion, wrestling with it all the while. Another kit wanted to get in on this, so he jumped his sibling (playfully) and the two wrestled around and around the pool with the shoe. While this was going on, the 3rd kit discovered the treat ball and started working to get stuff out of it.

About that time something scared decided to leave. Even though she called to them repeatedly, the two kits in the pool kept fighting with the shoe and the other one went on trying to get food out of the treat ball. Obviously the treat ball was a hit because that was the 1st time I ever saw the 3rd kit ignore Heidi. After a while the one with the treat ball dropped it to go to his mom - who was still frantically calling. Dennis and the other kit went on playing with the shoe for quite a while before the other kit finally went to his mom as well. Dennis, who clearly does his own thing, stayed for quite an extended time, playing in the pool, trying his hand at the treat ball, nibbling around on the lawn, coming over to me for treats, trying to threaten Juliet's kits away, etc. Finally, I heard this odd sound "T-T-T-T-T..." I was just trying to figure out what kind of weird insect would make that clock ticking, rattle snake rattling sound when Dennis turned and ran for the fence and I realized it was Heidi. Hmm, a new sound. When "whoop, whoop" failed she went to the click, tick, rattle sound. I'm thinking that one must be raccoon-ish for "Don't make me tell you again!" or "Do you want me to come down there and get you?!"

Oh, and while I didn't see Fraidy (or HRH) tonight both were there last night.

It is really interesting how well-defined and important the issue of territory is to your clan. And it makes sense, since it is probably what permits peaceful co-existence in the limited forested areas that are all we have left to them. And yes, it's fascinating how much the kits' behavior is influenced by who raises them. Unfortunately, those nurturing effects don't seem to hold true when the kits are on their own, or Juliet would not be the troublesome creature she is.

The new unknown is fascinating. It's hard to tell from photos, but my sense is that Diva is not larger than either Juliet or Heidi; she appears more wiry than them, if that makes sense, and perhaps a bit smaller as well. The size does make one think male for the newcomer, but the fact that HRH was there and unconcerned makes that dubious; though, as you said, the time of the season might make a difference in that. I'd be inclined to think Trouble, also, but why would he back away from your approach? He was always the most comfortable of the lot with you last year. Unless he thought that, like HRH, you wanted him to move on... It's a mystery; will be very interested in further news.

Love the story of Heidi's new vocalization to get Dennis to move his butt. It seems to be true in all species: mothers have a vocabulary all their own, and every kid knows when she's serious.

Hi Ruth,

Well, now that is a good point about Juliet. I hadn't thought of that. Well, at least good parenting makes them much easier to deal with for the 1st year. I guess Heidi can't do much about how they behave after they leave home. : )

All of the raccoons will move away from me, yielding the right of way, so to speak, if I walk up to them, even Heidi. Even those that will come to me if I'm sitting down will still back away if I walk up to them. That the raccoon the other night only backed up a few feet instead of running away showed a good deal of trust. Then he/she came back to the dish almost immediately such that I had to move forward again, waving my arm a bit to back him/her away from the dish a 2nd time. Even then the raccoon was poised to return had Heidi not slipped in quickly to take the dish. To me that shows a high degree of trust. Also, recall that when they've been away a while - as when Heidi returned in spring - it takes them a while to "warm up" to me again.

I must get to sleep. Car trouble and lots of drama this evening so I missed the feeding, and am pretty exhausted....
....Zzzzz

Would be great if it is Trouble, even if it is just a cameo appearance before they disappear for the winter! At least you'd know he's alive, well, and remembers the diner!