I looked up just about the time that Heidi was leaving to see one of her kits trying to raid the compost pail. If you look closely one of his front 'arms' is in the pail - through a ventilation hole. (It's so wet and boggy back there right now that I can't get to the compost pile.)
still trying to get that snack
Heidi called - a few times - and reluctantly the kit gave up and left. Then Dennis, who rarely listens to his Mom anyhow, decided to give it a try. As you can see he managed to pull out the tag which says "Collards". Then Heidi called louder and Dennis left. (See how the left ear is turned to one side. That's the side from which Heidi is calling him.)
(For about 10 minutes after they all left I could still hear Heidi somewhere deep in the forest calling. I imagined that Dennis had gotten 'misplaced' along the way.)
The king (I like that, Ruth) enjoying a marshmallow while cooling off in the pool.
"Mom said I should always wash my hands before I eat."
(Juliet's kid)
One of Juliet's kids getting a drink of water from the tray under the tractor scoot. That's my arm on the far left so you can see that he isn't feeling very threatened by me. (I just cleaned and filled all of the water containers yesterday & the tray under the scoot because I know they use it; so there was no shortage of clean water and he could have drunk from the little birdbath pictured above.)
Getting a little drink of water. (Juliet's)
Great photos as always, Cheryl, especially HRH's look of complete bliss over the marshmallow! His face seems to be well healed, though he'll always have the scar to give him that rugged Clark Gable look.
The Heidi RU sounds like great fun except, of course, for the fact that the guests of honor would avoid the area like the plague because of our presence. Bummer...
Judy, great news that you're now also helping out the raccoons in your area (not far from my old home base in the Woodbridge area, so I have a particular interest in the wildlife there). Good for you: wildlife needs all the help we can provide as our territories expand and theirs shrink.
I could see these stories as a series of books for kids. I would consider Scholastic as a possible publisher.
It was not by choice I was gone for so long!! My dh thought I was nuts wondering about Heidi & the kids, or Buckwheat the deer on another thread!!! lol
We had a young possum come into the yard late saturday night and I was so enjoying watching him. But then dh came out the door and scared it off!!!
Hi Ruth -- HRH's face has healed much better than I ever expected. Last night while developing photos I zoomed in on his face in one pic and found that the separation on the side had somehow found its way back together for the most part. (Will post later)
(Shhh! You're going to ruin the RU. ;-D Last night I was just in a silly mood. I was totally joking around - and hoping nobody took me too seriously.)
Hi nanny_56,
Great idea. Scholastic. Hadn't thought of that, and a series - now, I really like that idea!
I hope you know that I meant that question tongue-in-cheek. I think I was getting giddy from all of the wonderful compliments. : )
I'll bet there is something (sports, politics, evening news, racing) that your DH can't go too many days without either.
Oh, I know that feeling. I can't tell you how many times the 'kids' have come running to see me only to have the neighbors frighten them away minutes later. I'll bet the little fella will be back again soon.
omg, that one of HRH eating his marshmallow is priceless!! You absolutely must include that one in your book! And the one of Dennis showing you the tag he found is cute! Heck, they're all adorable...
Last night was pretty much the usual in Heidi land. Heidi and the kids were there as well as Juliet and her bunch and HRH and Sugar. Fraidy made a cameo appearance but disappeared when I turned back around. After the kids left, HRH came around in front of me to ask for treats. Everybody seems to be getting winter coats, and HRH looks like a Grizzly Bear in his. One of the "unknowns" was there again briefly. I got a pic before he/she ran off. Wanted to get your views. Will post later. Petted Dennis.
What?! You can't just say, "Petted Dennis" and leave it at that! LOL Wow--can't wait to hear the details!
Thanks, KyWoods!
You have no idea how many marshmallows I had to give HRH to get that photo! I'd get my camera ready then toss him a marshmallow (over on the path where he was eating at the time). Every time I'd aim at some great footage and when the shutter closed HRH would have his head down such that you couldn't even see what he was doing. Due to the speed with which he wolfed them down and the delay required to reboot my defective camera after every photo, I only got one chance per mm. After 5 or 6 mm, I gave up. Later when he went over to fish for peanuts in the pool, I just happened to stumble onto that photo shot when he found a left over marshmallow floating in the pool - one I'd tossed to the kids. Go figure.
I was also shocked to get that many chances to shoot pics of the kids at the compost pail with Heidi frantically calling them to leave the whole time (and me having to reboot between pics). Lucky for me they don't always listen so well. (The bright white chair beside me was getting in the pic; that's what caused the 1st 2 pics to come out so poor. When it's dark out I can't see what I'm aiming at. When I depress the button 1/2 way a red light shines on whatever is in the center of the pic. I put that on the raccoon and shoot, but I can't tell what else is in the pic.)
Thanks, again.
LOL! I started writing up the whole story the regular way (in another browser window). That just seemed so 'normal'. I thought I'd shake things up a bit by sprinkling it in with the other stuff and see if anyone noticed.
Was no one surprised to see Dennis so calmly standing up in the corner between me and the other chair and eating candy? Or the one of the other kit climbing up into the tractor scoot for water less than a foot from me - all exposed that way with his head stuck in the scoot? Or did everyone already assume they were so comfortable around me?
>>assume they were so comfortable around me
yes, that is my assumption.
so... you snuck in for a pet of Dennis....
before long, he'll be jumping in your lap looking for snacks and toys.
I'm still hoping some of the mystery 'coons are Trouble and Rupert.
I figured he sees you as his "Auntie", and is therefore quite comfortable around you. :)
.... or the raccoon santa!! teehee
For a while folks have been joking around about the raccoons climbing up into my lap. Well, Dennis is so completely comfortable around me that I have little doubt he would enjoy climbing on me if I'd let him. He only spends a little time with me each night, then he's off to play in the pool and such. Some nights he doesn't come over at all, but that's rare. He just acts like my dog. (But don't worry. He runs away from even the sound of anyone else.) He's always amazingly gentle and always friendly.
One night he kept standing upright and reaching for my finger with his 'hands'. At 1st I wouldn't let him touch it. It seemed like he was just curious. Finally I let him touch my finger with his two raised paws. He didn't grab it or try to hold onto it firmly or anything scary like that. His paw pads touched my finger every so softly on either side, like velvet. He moved his 'hands' over my finger as though he were a blind person reading it in braille. When he had finished reading my finger he let it go and went on to his next exploration - of something else entirely.
One time when he was walking away (and I figured if I scared him his natural inclination would be to run away), I touched the very tips of the hair on his back such that my hand floated a good inch or more above him. He just glanced back at me nonchalantly and continued with what he was doing.
Last night as he was walking away, I gently stroked his back. He didn't run away, didn't act startled at all. In fact, he turned around, came back to me, stood upright by my lower leg, and put his paws on my knee (covered by pants) looking up at me as though to get a treat. So I gave him a treat and he went on doing whatever...after that he was off to investigate other things as he always does. It seemed to be nothing so unusual to him.
At this point, I am actually reconsidering whether George might have been right that this is not any ordinary group of raccoons, that they may be somehow a slightly gentler group than the norm. I look at Juliet who has also been around me for a long time, every night. She eats as close as 5ft from me. I feed her. I even toss her treats. Yet she is always on edge around me, always distrustful. She won't come near me, even for food. (Not everybody gets the same genes.) But it all still depends heavily on Heidi because to date only the young males have the combination of courage and curiosity necessary to get to know me up close. I've confirmed (photos) that Dennis is a male as I suspected. Heidi's other 2 kits will come over near me so that I can toss them treats (especially if Dennis is there) but never come up and get so personal with me as Dennis. It was much the same with last years group. Next year Dennis will be sent away just as Trouble was. Heidi remains the only female that trusts me. Of Juliet's two only one (the one in the photo drinking from the scoot) will come up beside me to look for treats. I'm all but certain that this is also a male. If this trend continues, with only the males getting to know and trust me and with Heidi remaining the only female who trusts me, my 'friendships' with the kits will be limited to a single season.
So that's it. You guys already 'knew' Dennis was that comfortable around me.
Terese, I'm hoping, too. (about the 'unknowns') Can't wait to get your views on the pic from last night, but have to get something done today 1st.
Oddly, though Heidi's other 2 kits both of which I assume to be females, will only come up to maybe 2 feet or so away from me to 'ask' for treats - to be tossed to them. One of them will sometimes come up to my feet when Dennis is there, but even then she is more guarded than Dennis. The other one, the light colored one, sticks by Heidi pretty closely.
Raccoon "Santa"! LOL, I like that, tcs! Guess what I bought at the grocery store today for our coons--marshmallows! That picture of HRH prompted me to. How could I deprive them of something they love so much? Can't wait to watch them tonight...
By reading and following the events as they happen it is very obvious that he was headed towards some sort of physical contact. I would have been surprised if it hadn't happened!!!
Oh & back to my dh, well you can imagine where he is every sunday......
LOL, nanny_56, about your DH and Sundays, I had a feeling.
I didn't stay out very long tonight. Due to the constant rain and resultant mud and bog, I wore my tall, rubber, garden boots, and Dennis spent most of the time straddling one of my boots and my boot clad ankle while intermittently reaching up to ask for another granola bar. Tonight I took out a few whole wheat Fig Newtons, all of which were scarfed up by HRH, and 6 Quaker crunchy Honey and Oat granola bars with peanuts, cashews, and almonds. Dennis was quite fond of the granola bars. In fact, just about everybody was. Dennis stayed at my foot, hugging the boot and reaching up periodically for another piece of granola bar. His behavior reminded me of a toddler. Then when I was trying to open the last granola bar pkg - while he was reaching for it - the package suddenly burst open making a loud noise which frightened him. He turned away, went over to the pool, got in and actually appeared to sulk for a minute or two - as though I'd hurt his feelings by being 'mean'. Shortly after that they all left, so I didn't get to make amends.
Awwww, poor little guy! He didn't know inanimate food could make noise! Sure hope he gets over it and resumes his sweet trusting ways by tomorrow.
Yep, sounds like you have a new "grandchild" to raise. You are the grandma that every kid wants that hands out treats and toys and never gets mad at them or makes them do anything but play.
It is an interesting observation of male/female mentality that you made regarding their comfort level around you. If you think about it though it makes a certain amount of sense. The female is the provider/teacher and is responsible for raising a family and therefore have to be more cautious since they have to think about the care of other creatures besides themselves. Even at a young age I would bet that the girls pick up on that from watching a good mom like Heidi. On the other hand, males do not have to worry about anything other than themselves and probably know that as well at a young age. A male would naturally have to be more adventurous and bold since they would inevitably be displaced as they grow to maturity and this would help them make their own way in life.
I find everyones observations very interesting. I am not good at putting my thoughts into words or maybe I am just not comfortable at it. I am new to posting so maybe I will get into the hang of it as I continue along with you all.
Scuter my neighbor says I should not feed the raccons as it will encourgage them to come to the house to find food if I don't put it out or am gone. She was telling me some horror stories to try to scare me. I feed them about 50 feet away at the edge of the wooded area behind my wire fence. What is your opinion? They have come in the yard quite often last year anyway.
I love the newest photos they are just darling. The kit Angel chased up the tree was poking its little face around to look at us and it was precious.
Spartacusaby Woodbridge isn't that far from me. Yes,the area is so expanding here. There are houses all around me and they are putting them up so fast that if you blink there are new divisions where there was none. The wildlife has no place to go to.
Yes, Judy, the whole DC area is one great example of urban sprawl; and every time I revisit there, the suburbs have expanded further and further. Heck, there's traffic congestion well past Quantico now: just amazing - and sad. Feeding raccoons outside your fence is not likely to cause any problems; as you said, they're in your yard sometimes, anyway. If you're worried about them becoming too habituated to handouts (and thus expecting them), just make the feedings occasional instead of daily; whatever you give will help them survive.
Cheryl, I echo everyone else in saying that, given the descriptions of Heidi's kits' behavior, their proximity to you is really not surprising; nor is the fact that you're able to touch Dennis. The description of him handling your finger with his paws is priceless; their paw pads are so incredibly sensitive and give them so much information (some theorize this is why they "wash" their food). A light gentle touch is not invasive; any attempt to handle or restrain them would produce a very different reaction, but you know that.
Tetleytuna is right on, I believe, in analyzing the gender differences in behavior. Plus the fact that males need to be bolder and more confident if they hope to find mates; shy boys in the wild have a very very blank dance card. Love the image of HRH as a little grizzly in his new winter coat!
How incredibly exciting that you got to pet Dennis and that he checked out your finger too! I just love how he sits on your boot and begs. Your story is the highlight of my days.
I love the pics, but...still wishin' you had a "coon cam" mounted somewhere, so we can see them in action!
Never satisfied, are we? LOL I'm so excited for you, being able to touch Dennis!
Hi Judy,
I'm no expert on the subject. I'm still learning. I can only tell you that based on my experience it shouldn't cause a problem. Heidi and her kids have been prowling around my backyard regularly since I moved here 6yrs ago - sometimes even in the daytime. They eat fruits and berries and such from the garden, raid the bird feeders, steal the suet cages, drink the hummingbird nectar, and dig grubs out of the lawn.
Like you, when I started feeding them I figured, "they've been here for years anyhow." I first started feeding Heidi last spring when she started coming down the fence late in the afternoon when the dog and I were walking around back there; a rehabber that I consulted told me that she was probably a lactating female with infants stashed in a nest nearby and that she was desperate to find enough food for herself - so that she could sustain her milk to feed the babies - and needed to get back to the helpless newborns as fast as possible before predators found them.
The rehabber asked if I would consider putting out a little dog or cat food for her each day; she suggested that I put it as far away from the house as possible and preferably on the other side of the fence. I can't get to the other side of the 6ft privacy fence, so for months I put dog food and table scraps in those compostable bags (made of corn), tied a loop in the top, and tossed them over the fence to her.
For a while I didn't know if she was actually getting them until one day when I was late and she was sitting on top of the fence waiting for me. Then one night I went back there to toss the food and there in the tree were all these baby raccoon sitting up on the limbs like little koala bears apparently waiting for dinner. After the babies got a little bigger they didn't wait on the other side of the fence anymore; they started coming over the fence to greet me every time I went in the backyard after dusk to walk the dog or whatever. That's when I started feeding them in the back yard.
I always feed them at the back of the yard, back by the fence; but I live in the city so my yard isn't very big. They really aren't all that far from the house. Last summer the kits used to come up to the house all the time. If I was late getting out there they would come up to the patio door to meet me. Sometimes they would follow me back to the house when I left. For a while there I was afraid they were going to follow me into the house. On night when they came up to get me, I had to use the duster to hold Trouble back so I could get out the door without him coming in. (Incidentally, even though the young raccoons used to come right up to the back door (French door) to look for me, the only scratch marks on that door are on the inside - where Mr Widget lives.)
Oddly, the group this year doesn't come up to the house - or at least I've never seen them around the door - yet. So far, none of the raccoons have ever bothered my house. Even when I skip a night and don't feed them - as I did recently - they don't come up to the house, and they don't do anything destructive. I used to skip a night or two regularly, every week or so; but this year I was so eager to make sure that Heidi got sufficient nutrition to make sure that all of her babies were healthy that I don't believe I missed a day from early spring until about a week ago. Still they didn't do anything to my property the night I didn't show up. If I don't show up, after a while they just go on there way in search of dinner elsewhere. Recently, when I went out with friends I got home around 11 or so and ran out back to see if any of the raccoons were still around. I waited 30 minutes or so, but they had all gone on there way.
Some people have told me that they will 'mess' in the yard, on patio furniture, etc. Mine don't do any of that. They like to walk on the furniture, and I've even seen them sit in the Adirondack chairs, but they have never left anything 'icky' on the furniture or the patio or even the yard - well, except the one time when I emptied the pool to clean it and forgot to refill it and 'someone' left what we interpreted as an editorial comment beside the empty pool; but that was only the one time in 6yrs, 1.5 of which I've been feeding them back there.
So, there's no guarantee, but based on my experience, I don't think it will cause a problem. Based on my experience with this group of raccoons, I think that raccoons are the butt of a number of undeserved negative myths. BTW, I grew up in a rural setting. My parents were very clear about not feeding or interacting with the wildlife, but unknown to them my little sister used to leave the door to the storage room behind the garage open AND make a trail of bread chunks leading from the forest to the door! She wanted to attract the opossums and raccoons. And they STILL didn't try to build homes in our house.
Yes, the babies are incredibly adorable, especially when peeking out of trees.
Thank you, goldfinch4!
I'm glad you enjoy the story. I'm really enjoying my interactions with Dennis right now. If I had a webcam, when he's sitting on my boot reaching up for treats or reaching up onto the chair seat for candy corn and grapes you would see and hear me going, "YOU are so CUTE! You're just adorable!.." over and over to him. That's just all I can think when he's doing these things.
He really seems to like and react to that baby talk tone, too. Lately when I'm sitting back there waiting and I start to see the holly branch jiggle a bit, I start calling him in that same tone, and he can't get down the fence fast enough once he hears that tone. (He probably knows that means treats and toys.)
Thank again!
Thanks, KyWoods!
I wish I had a webcam, too - well, except on those evenings when I'm not dressed for presentation around the globe. Did you catch my note above about the RU? ;-)
Otherwise, I think that might be more of an '08 task. (If you could see my house!)
LOL Cheryl... that is too funny.
>>"YOU are so CUTE!
I say that to my Buddy all the time. I have to admit, he's a gorgeous dog.
when we talk to Bud in a certain way, he just wiggles about so happy like.
yea -- it usually means he's getting a new toy or treat too.
Thank you, Marylyn!
It has been an incredible experience! If someone had told me maybe 10yrs ago that this would happen, I would have thought them crazy. I'm amazed how little I really knew about wildlife and about raccoons, and about how much of what I thought I knew was wrong. I would never have imagined that a wild baby raccoon could be so gentle in his interaction with me. It's all quite amazing.
(PS, google says you aren't spelling your name correctly. lol)
LOL, Terese,
I can just see Buddy now! Wiggling and wagging!
I didn't plan to talk to Dennis that way, it just happened. There he was with his little masked face, those searching eyes, and his 'people-like' hands. I couldn't help myself. The baby talk just started to flow.
The fact that he's (so far) so sweet and never misbehaves makes him all the more adorable - like the time he grabbed my bag of treats. I just chuckled a bit while still holding one end of the bag and said, "no, no, sweety, you can't have the whole bag. now give that back" and he let go and looked up at me with those absolutely adorable little eyes. I gave him a treat. Since then he hasn't even tried to take the packages anymore, not even when he get up on the chair seat with the packages. When he does that, I put some treats on the seat and eats those and leaves the packages alone.
Thanks Scutler for the information. I intend to keep feeding them on a semi regular basis to help them get better nourishment for the winter. I went out there today to see if all the goodies were gone and got a nice surprise. I am going to put the picture in a seperate thread the wildlife forum so I don't intrude on yours.
How wonderful, Judy! I can't wait to see your photo! You are most welcome to post it here or to post a link to it if you prefer to start a separate thread. I'd love to see it, and I'm sure others would as well. So glad that your raccoon friends have rewarded you with this wonderful surprise!
