Heidi Chronicles: Raising the Kids

So true, Ruth.

Actually, I can't imagine who else it might have been. I, too, recalled Diva as slightly smaller not larger than the others. When "the unknown" showed up, he walked right up to Heidi's spot beside the pool as though he belonged there, no sign of timidity at all. The shadow of some nearby shrubs was cast across him such that I had difficulty seeing any detail. At first, I though it was Heidi returning, but then I noticed how large he was and how large his head was. I cast a glance over at Juliet and thought about all the times last spring when I commented on how Juliet looked larger than Heidi (increasing my fear that Juliet might take over). As I glanced back and forth between them the raccoon in Heidi's spot was clearly and noticeably larger. A quick look at the face with my tiny LED flashlight showed a face that might well have been Heidi's. While I was still trying to figure it all out, the real Heidi came down the fence with kids at her flanks. As soon as she started grumbling about the fact that her space had been taken I knew (smile) that this was the REAL Heidi - and this one was about the size of Juliet. (I like Heidi's characteristic grumble. Not only does it clinch the ID but it gives her such character!)

After I ran the mystery raccoon away from Heidi's dish for the 2nd time, he left. There were no other available dishes. BTW, for a while now I've been documenting (in photos) a raccoon I've dubbed The Watcher. With so much else going on I never got around to mentioning it. The photos are poor quality B&W pics of a head and eyes peering over the fence from farther down the fence. The Watcher looks but never comes over the fence, at least not while I'm there. The head appears for a few minutes and then disappears again. Sometimes I get a hazy shot of him in a tree peering at us. I have a whole "Watcher" folder full of these pics.

That would be very cool if Trouble was back.

Obviously "mystery" raccoon is familiar with the buffet and you.... so hopefully it's one that was run off and now has returned.

Wasn't there another large male that HRH had trouble with at one time...around breeding season? It was questionable whether it was Trouble and decided it wasn't.

Regardless, seems very friendly....and into the routine. Who knows who visits when your not out there in the middle of the night! LOL

Debbie

>>that HRH had trouble with at one time.

I thought the only one he had troubles with, turned out to be Diva slapping him around.

I'll go back and see what i can find....

**edited to add...

i seemed like Heidi didn't like him being around [her grumbling and the sort] when she was pregnant... that's all i can find so far.
This was April-ish... and Heidi was also trying to keep Trouble at bay too. probably too much testosterone for a pregnant female.

This message was edited Oct 3, 2007 5:08 PM

Trouble looked a lot like Heidi... I'll bet he's back. :-)

Debbie, Teresa -- Teresa is right. The vicious 'male' that attacked HRH in front of me that time - around the same time he showed up with the bum lip - was actually Diva. At that time, I had only seen her once before so I wasn't able to identify her readily. Later when I was 'developing' photos I recognized a definitive marking in the 2 sets of photos, a marking that clearly identified the raccoon I saw fighting with HRH as Diva. This realization completely nullified our prior theory that a younger male was trying to drive HRH out of the territory and that it was this younger male who had both injured HRH's mouth/nose and fought with him that day before me.

Early on in her pregnancy Heidi appeared to trying to drive the others, HRH and Trouble included, out of town; however, as the saga unfolds I continue to learn new things about the raccoons and sometimes learn to question some of my earlier assumptions based as they are on my own unconscious beliefs and biases. That said, it's possible that Heidi never actually intended to drive them out of the area but rather to insure that they understood who was in charge here and what the rules would be. Just a thought. At any rate, I've never seen Heidi draw blood - at least not in front of me. She seems quite adept at making her point without going to such extremes as Diva.

Terese, LOL, "too much testosterone". I can relate.

Marylyn, That's right. Good call. When Trouble reached the approximate size of Heidi I had a good deal of difficulty finding ways to distinguish between them definitively based purely on physical appearance. The fact that the animal was clearly larger than the females and with a face that 'read' like Heidi is what lead me to ask if it might have been Trouble. I really hadn't expected to see Trouble again. I wasn't looking for him to return, but no one else in the 'known' group fits those characteristics.

Of course, as Debbie pointed out I have no idea what goes on out there after hours. I might be feeding bobcats and bears and gators on the early am shift. LOL. But with so many nearly full size kids added to the mix rarely does anything more than crumbs and flotsam remain by the time I leave. Seeing this anybody interested in eating soon learns to show up during that interval.

Seems like the thread is getting a little long and difficult to load. I don't have time to switch out today but will try to do it tomorrow. (If I forget and it's giving you trouble don't hesitate to LMK.)

Ok quick aside. Even though the thread is about raccoons, by now you've all 'met' my dog Widget. When he 1st arrived 2 years ago, he was adorable but I really thought he would drive me insane. I couldn't find the off switch on his model. At 3am he climbed up on the headboard of the bed and jumped on my head while I was sleeping. (Good thing he only weighed 2.5lbs then.) He chewed on everything from my laptop to my telephone. One night I actually went to sleep with one hand over his back to hold him down and force him to be still - so that he would hopefully fall asleep too. Until the other day when I was sorting old files, I had completely forgotten this, but back then I couldn't decide on an appropriate name for him and for a time had actually begun referring to him as little "no, don't do that!"

BTW, tonight I put food out but didn't stay. If you recall, the other evening I put out the treat cube stuffed with all manner of treats. Tonight it was nowhere to be found, and I even looked around in the weeds for it. It's bright red, so it shouldn't be all that difficult to spot. I didn't see any sign of it anywhere. I did see signs - again - that they've been out there playing and rearranging toys in my absence and even without food.

ROFL about Widget's early days! He has calmed down since then, right?
That treat cube could show up years from now, like the big can of goldfish food I left out one night...found it way out in the woods a couple years later. LOL

Oh, the poor archeologists of the future: now they'll find a big red treat ball along with countless bird feeders, rat traps, suet feeders, and dog toys. Heaven knows what conclusions they'll draw about our bizarre civilization from all that....

I'll bet you're right that Heidi was actually setting ground rules rather than trying to drive the others away, back when she was pregnant. At this point I have the greatest respect for her ability to manage and communicate with the others, and bloodlessly: if she wanted them gone, they'd probably be gone!

Had to chuckle over the Widget story, as would anyone who's ever lived with a puppy. Reminds me of one of my favorite cartoons: two mud-splattered puppies are sitting side by side. One says to the other, "My name is 'No no bad dog' - what's yours?"

Hi, KyWoods -- Widget has improved but he still has more energy than either of us knows what to do with. I still think he has ADHD.

Hi, Ruth -- One can only imagine what future generations will make of that stash of disparate stuff the raccoons have in the forest back there. Widget was my 1st ever indoor dog raised from a puppy; I was so unprepared.

Ok, I lied. I don't feel like doing the switch-over (to another thread) tonight. I'll do it tomorrow for sure.

Lately, it has been raining and raining and raining. Everything is soaked, and it's just plain 'icky' back there in the feeding area. Last night I just put the food out early and left it. This afternoon I took a nap after work and was late getting back there. I only had enough cat food to fill the container just over 1/2 way so I topped it off with some of that very high end, healthy dog food I ordered for Widget.

Due to wet ickiness, I wasn't looking forward to going out there but I forced myself. Boy was that ever a ego boost. Before I could finish distributing food and sit down, I was descended upon by the whole 'flock' of kids, Heidi's and Juliet. They were all over me. Swarming. Looking for food. Trying to climb my pants leg. They were all big and chunky wearing what appeared to be their thick new winter coats and just so, so adorable - too adorable for words - and no matter how I counted I had 1 too many of the little fellas. :-)

Tonight for some odd reason they were, as I mentioned, all over me at once - almost as though they actually missed me; and for a change, the 2 sets of kids even tolerated each other so well that as they intermingled around me in the darkness it was often difficult to tell the 2 camps apart. Heidi had chosen this moment to refuse to allow her kids to eat from her dish, so as they came over toward me, I poured out little puddles of cat food on the ground a foot or so in front of me. Later, after Heidi had eaten and left, I began to notice the kids 'scuffling' over the remains of the puddles while ignoring that large dish of food she had left behind. It was only then that I realized that most of the food in Heidi's dish (poured from the top of the container) was the dog food. They all wanted the cat food and the extreme scarcity of cat food in Heidi's container had apparently been the source of her unwillingness to share. (Ever notice how every time you 'brag' about the behavior of your kid or pet, they do just the opposite thing to prove you wrong?)

The kits dug in the grass for imaginary bits of left over cat food and when they all left, that whole dish of dog food remained untouched. Guess I'll get some more cat food tomorrow.

I wasn't out there very long, and nothing really unique happened, but I really did enjoy the attention of the kids.

LOL, so cute how they almost climbed up your pantsleg!! Yep, guess that catfood has fish in it?? Chicken?

I have no doubt that the kids miss you when you don't appear, Cheryl. Think what a unique and wonderful curiosity you are in their world: a huge alien who provides great food, toys, and swimming hole. Sort of like Santa, if our Santa was, say, a giraffe...

It must have been adorable to witness.... they were all probably like "Auntie Cheryl's backl!!!! .... yay!!!!" thinking of all the goodies and toys you have.

Like Ruth said... their version of Santa.

How awesome!!!

I bet they KNOW she is Mother Nature...who provides for them!

I know those little kits had to make your day doing that. What a great memory to have.

Debbie

Awhhhh. Santa Claus, Auntie Cheryl, Mother Nature. You guys are making me feel good all over again! :-D

KyWoods -- The cat food has a higher percentage of protein and has fish meal.

Ruth -- LOL!!! (giant, alien, giraffe-like Santa bearing gifts)

Terese -- I love the way you worded that. : )

Debbie -- It truly is a wonderful memory. I have a number of great memories from my time with them. I feel truly blessed by this incredible opportunity to know them, spend time with them, and share with them.

Each time I read all of your words, I feel good all over again!

Cheryl,

this morning when i read your lil note about how we make you feel....

we get to live the experiences through your words... and I'm sure there are many like me who are laughing & smiling with each of your stories... and many of us rush in here first thing in the morning to see if there has been a new adventure.

I'm also sure, many of us, as I do -- can visualize all the antics (as your writing skills are so colorful) -- that we could "see" the kids clamoring around you for treats. ..looking at you with those cute adorable masked faces.

You certainly have been given a great gift from Heidi to experience all that you do-- and it's just been a lil over a year!!

You truly are very blessed.

Thank you, Terese!

Often, like this morning at work (as well as 1st thing when I wake up and any time the dog gets me up in the early AM and in the mid afternoon at work when I get tired and...), I also rush to check DG hoping to hear from you guys! I really look forward to reading all of your comments. I think maybe I relive the experience through your 'eyes' as much as you do mine. And I enjoy the camaraderie. You guys always know just what to say. Today was one of those really special times. There I was at my desk, smiling like a Cheshire Cat as your combined words transported me back to the moonlit garden all over again with kits sitting upright at my feet asking for treats - like something out of those 'unrealistic' kids stories, except that it really happened that way. And your words (all of you) helped me believe that just maybe the kits actually enjoy our visits, too. What a heartwarming thought!

...So then I had to go out to the lab and talk to the guys about it. They loooved that. (Not! But I put them through it just the same.)

I really have been blessed with a most surreal opportunity to spend time with wild animals - and their babies! Often when I rush in just brimming over with excitement after the most incredible experience with the raccoons, I sit down to write and try as I will I cannot seem to find the words to convey any of it. I end up feeling frustrated by the seeming impossibility of trying to convert all of that magic into words, word capable of springing to life again elsewhere on the net. I hadn't dared to imagine that I'd succeeded at all in conveying even the least of it. Thanks for letting me know that you can visualize the antics of the kids. What a wonderful compliment (even though it's probably more of a testament to your rich imagination than my writing skill, LOL, but I'll take the compliment anyhow!)

I think this thread is about long enough now, so as promised I've moved the action to a new thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/777552/.

Hope to see you there!

Thank you, Jeani!

LOL. It is so fun to relive those special moments with you, esp 2007 as that was my favorite year of all. I believe that was Dennis trying to sneak the grapes. Not to give away the plot, but Dennis has become very dear to me - but not without a few run-ins along the way.

Thanks again!

If I left Trouble off the list it was probably because we all assumed he was gone - for good. Of course, as I told you the story takes some unexpected twists and turns, so who knows...

Cheryl isn't it wonderful to see these old threads resurrected - to relive some of the antics again.... plus - now you have a new member of the Heidi & Gang Fan Club

Terese

I am SO ADDICTED to Heidi and friends it is unbelievable...LOL

When I payed for my membership to DG I thought I would only need it for a few months..so...I only payed for a couple months...I see that is no longer to work for me I have reallly got to get the yearly now...

thanks for all the smiles I have gotten along the way...wish I could speed read so I could catch up but everything happens for a reason.. Im almost up to the beginning of the 2008 thread so it wont be long now hope to see you all soon

BTW you make me want a raccoon too..lol

Jeani

Hi Terese,

Yes, it really is wonderful - both to relive these times and to see things through the eyes of someone new.

ROTF. Heidi & Gang Fan Club. I like that!

Wow, Jeani

Thank you! What a wonderful compliment!

I say, take your time and enjoy. You will catch up with us soon enough. I think the part you are reading now is the best part anyhow. And, as you can see, you are 'with' us. See how folks keep going back to the thread you are on to comment and talk to you?

As for wanting your own raccoon, I do hope you mean a wild one. While there are people out there who keep them as pets, from everything I've read, even accounts from those who have them, they really don't make the best pets. They don't seem to be well suited to our homes and our lives. They like to climb - anything - walls, blinds, drapes, furniture. They may not think to come in the door like a dog or cat but may instead climb the exterior of the house to enter a 2nd or 3rd story window. They like to do things with their hands - rip the stuffing out of upholstered furniture, make holes in wall board and cabinets, etc. They are sweet, intelligent, and just so adorable but not necessarily well suited to our way of life.

I would love to have one, too, but after reading all the horror stories of shredded mattresses and sofas, holes in walls, etc. etc., I figure I'm better off enjoying my wild raccoon friends and letting them live in the forest where they belong.

o i would not want one as a pet....I learned that from you and Ruth..lol

I live where there are no trees to speack of for several miles either way so a wild one is out of the pic also...So your critters will have to do ...which I have fallin in love with already

Jeani

Don't be too quick to give up on the idea of raccoons in your neighborhood, Jeani. Remember that I worked animal control in a city, and spent a whole lot of time responding to calls involving raccoons. Sure, some were in more affluent, well-treed "hoods," but they were all around the housing projects and high-rises too. In cities, raccoons learn to travel through the storm sewers, subsist on dumpster scavenging much of the time, and nest in attics and chimneys-which always gets them in trouble with the homeowner. It's a sad life in some ways, but you'd never know it from the coons' behavior; this is one supremely adaptable creature and one heck of a survivor. It always amused me how angry people would get with them; as an opportunistic species ourselves, we should respect this ultimate opportunist who has learned to not only survive all around us, but make great use of our dwellings, castoffs, etc.

Had to laugh at the comment about your DG membership. Can't tell you how many times I've been tempted to drop it, only to immediately think, "but I can't miss the Heidi threads." Even after working with raccoons for years, I've learned much much more about them through Cheryl's observations; she is getting to know them in the wild in a way that even rehabbers can't manage. And of course her writing lets you feel like you're right there with her...we're all on the list for first editions of her book, someday.

Oh, Ruth,

Words rarely escape me, but now is one of those times. I am truly touched by your compliment.

Hey, Cheryl, no thanks necessary; it's a privilege to share this journey with you, and to have watched you grow from the fearful homeowner (like so very many I heard from in the past) to someone who's come to know these animals in a way I could only imagine.