Heidi Chronicles: Adventures At the Backyard Buffet

Hi jlp,

Thanks, and welcome. Nice to have you with us. I was a bit confused though about what part made you cry. It is a bit of soap for raccoon lovers, isn't it?

Hi Ruth,

Trouble certainly doesn't show the kind of wisdom we see in HRH, but I've been thinking as I sit and watch him [behave so badly]. Trouble is young and full of more vim, vigor, and hormones than sense, but I guess in his world a young male who would walk away [from a home with all this free food and lots of ladies] without a good fight or two wouldn't be likely to get far in life.

I'm starting to get a little concerned lately. Despite his nasty wound, Trouble shows no sign of backing down. Lately, he has shown up on a few nights when HRH was there, and now I'm starting to see that Trouble is larger than HRH. Trouble must still be growing. When he 1st came back in late summer or early fall 07, Trouble was still a bit shorter than HRH. At that time he appeared to be built more like a bull dog or quarter horse, short and wide. Now Trouble actually looks a lot like HRH. Sometimes in the dark I have to check the face to be sure which is which. Now when standing side by side it's abundantly clear that Trouble is the larger of the two. That he [Trouble] is both larger and unwilling to back down seems cause for concern.

Ruth, while I've the utmost respect for your knowledge of all things wildlife, I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree with your assessment of writing skills [although I do tremendously appreciate the compliment]. I have long noticed your skillful mastery of words even in your entertaining and often amusing responses and that's not to mention the adorable story of 'Kits at a Drive Thru'.

If you have a number of stories many of which relate to animals other than raccoons and are concerned about possibly hijacking the Heidi threads, have you considered starting a separate thread [hopefully here in Wildlife] in which to tell your stories? The wildlife forum could use more activity especially since everybody squared off in the mini-regional-DG's. I know that we would all come over to join you. I for one would love to hear more of your stories, and I'll bet that many others here would, as well.

One benefit of a separate thread especially if it relates to wildlife other than or in addition to raccoons is that you may well find that your audience includes a number of people who aren't particularly interested in raccoons and don't frequent the Heidi threads and thus would not find you here - in addition to all of us who do, of course. And that's not to mention the folks who may have decided for one reason or another that the Heidi threads were not for them (as difficult as that is to imagine). This same logic [along with the corollary in which some raccoon enthusiasts may not want to sit through voluminous opossum tales] is what prompted me to give Snowball his/her own separate thread - although it hasn't worked out so well just because I lack the time to maintain both threads. I have tons of [i think] interesting photos for the Snowball thread and no time to post them.

The huge downside of a separate thread is that we (and I) sure would not want to see you get so busy in another thread that you forget to visit us here in the Heidi threads [regularly] as that would just be an unimaginable loss and one for which I would have great difficulty forgiving myself for even mentioning this idea. If you do decide to start another thread, please post us a link here. I get out to wander DG only on rare occasion, so we could coexist side by side for months before I find you.

All that said, you are always welcome to tell your stories here. If you are looking for a good and, for lack of a better word [at 6am], 'unobtrusive' time to add a story [without feeling as though you are hijacking the thread], I can think of no better time than one of my 'mini-sabbaticals' such as occurred the last week or so and will no doubt repeat often as I wrestle with work, gardening, writing, and life in general. Since you come by on the 'night shift', you will know when I'm no 'vacation' by my conspicuous lack of post(s).

makj,

We haven't heard from you lately. Have the baby squirrels arrived yet? With respect to your incredible experiences with the squirrel and what promises to be even more unbelievably awesome experiences with the baby squirrels, I think you should also consider starting a thread with all of your photos and experiences - just because I suspect there may be many people out there in DG-land who like squirrels but are not that interested in raccoons [or heidi and company] and as mentioned above might never find your story otherwise. Of course, as mentioned above, given that I don't get out often, I wouldn't likely know if you had already done this, so please post a link for us if you do.

Cheryl, you're right: young males who lack chutzpah, not to mention an excess of testosterone, don't win many ladies or territories. It's no surprise that Trouble is now bigger than papa HRH; think of the great diet he has had both pre-natally with Heidi and while growing. Sadly, if he is not willing to back down, he may eventually oust HRH; one can only hope that by then he will acquire the maturity and wisdom to be as peaceful a king as his father has been.

Thanks for your kind words; and if it won't disrupt these threads, I'll post some tales from my past when you're involved with work and all else. Hopefully folks who aren't interested will just skip over them and wait for you to post more tales from Scutler's backyard buffet.

Liz,

How wonderful that your raccoon is becoming somewhat comfortable around you - or is it that you are becoming more comfortable around her? I often say that I did not so much 'tame' Heidi as she tamed me for it was I who in the beginning was so terrified of her and she who was always relatively comfortable around me. It does sound as though you have a new bunch of raccoons on the way. Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to see the little ones pitter-pattering around your place soon. I hope you do as no words can adequately express the experience of seeing those little tykes for the 1st time.

Opossums seem to be something of an acquired 'taste' (and I don't mean that in the literal sense). When Snowball 1st showed up at the buffet I found him/her more than a little repulsive, even subtitled his thread 'a face only a mother could love'. At that time I never would have imagined this, but a week or so ago when Snowball was eating just a few feet in front of me I was honestly thinking how cute he was. So it has taken a year or so, but I've evolved.

Heidi's coat became particularly ragged, dull, and harsh and she herself looked especially haggard when she was nursing. At the time I just kept thinking how old she looked - and near death. Ruth kept trying to reassure me that it was due to the fact that she was nursing. I guess it takes a lot out of a body trying to provide nutrients for 3-5 extra beings. Sure enough - as always seems to happen with Ruth's predictions - as soon as the kits got on solid food and started visiting the buffet regularly, Heidi's coat smoothed out and she returned to her look of [almost] youthful vigor.

Thanks very much for the concern you expressed in my absence. I have been incredibly and at times exhaustively [but in a good way] busy, so much so that several nights I fell asleep on the sofa and with all of the lights on and then woke up in the early am to actually go to bed. I'm still racing spring in my attempt to get as much done in the garden as I can before (1) all of the vegetation - bulbs, lilies, daylilies, etc pop up - fills in making it difficult to work without damaging things; (2) the snakes get up and about making it hazardous to try to clean up debris; and (3) it gets too hot to go outside without risk of verifying the myth of spontaneous, human combustion. In addition, we are still very busy at work.

All that said and while I have, in general, felt very good in the interval since my recent illness, regrettably, one night last week I very suddenly and without provocation commenced barfing. It had been a good day. After work and a brief nap, I had fed the raccoons, cleaned the kitchen, found time to cook some things for the next days lunch and dinner and had retired to my bed when the nausea struck me quite without warning. Then next day I forced myself to go to work even though it was after noon before I felt at all good. Right now I am in denial at the realization of what this must mean. Sudden, apparently random and inexplicable bouts of extreme nausea cannot be a good thing. I must hurry to get that book written.

So much has happened lately. I probably won't have time to tell you about it right now but will post a few pics (taken at jlp's prompting - thanks for the reminder, jlp).

Here is Heidi. Photo from last night. I call this one "...And Please Lord Let These Kits Be Born SOON!"

Trouble on left, shows his battle scar which is now starting to heal over. That he allowed [I'm guessing] HRH to strike such a massive 'blow' at such a vulnerable location as his neck and vertebra is less than encouraging. That said, his unwillingness to leave [or even leave HRH alone] despite this injury speaks of extreme machismo. If he survives this, HRH will have taught him a lot in the process.

Another look at Trouble's wound. Here he is behind and slightly to one side of me. The pinkish thing on the left is my light burgundy (boy is the color off here) sweater. The narrow white area between the sweater and Trouble's ear is [the back of] the arm of the white wicker bench on which I am sitting. Trouble is eating the remains of a cupcake [paper and all] Dennis left. The pic came out lousy (as expected) because with a quick twist of my torso and the camera in my right hand, I [without aiming as I can't see anything in the dark] hit him with the IR light to verify that he was in the picture area and snapped the pic. He was too close. I didn't have time to change to a macro mode lest I miss the moment altogether. And I knew that at such close range my body, the bench, and possibly the tractor scoot beside me would adversely effect the camera's ability to auto focus on Trouble in the dark, but I took a chance.

Oops! As I watched the 'send' bars go across the bottom of the page I realized...I forgot to attach the picture.

My favorite picture from the evening. Rupert peering into a dish of kibble, b.o.s.s., and fruit loops with a look of sheer fascination. (That thing on the right is a garden statue that the raccoons will not allow to remain standing and which I will hopefully move when/if I make it to that side of the yard on my cleanup mission)

edited to add: note how Rupert has his mom's black 'hands'. in this photo they are wet which is when his and diva's hands look especially dark

This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 7:01 AM

Lastly, here is dennis eating the remains of a cupcake. (I ate part of the cupcake earlier but saved him the frosting.) Note that he doesn't have to eat the one I'm holding as he has part of another cupcake on the ground below.

This is another photo in which he was too close and I took the photo with the camera in my right hand. In the next photo it a little easier to see that he is standing partially upright with on foot on the tire of the tractor scoot.

dennis again. due to close range and inability to focus manually in the dark (can't see anything on lcd or thru view finder), i knew this would not be a great pic but had to try.

A very pg Heidi again

Rupert eating fruit loops

edited to add that when viewed from certain angles (this one), he reminds me of wiley coyote

This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 7:13 AM

Sculter, these are wonderful pics......Of course, Dennis is not going for the cupcake on the ground, there is NO frosting! Geez, he's a gourmet after all.......LOL Love the shot of Rupert, he looks like he's doing ennie,meenie, mine, mo, shall it be blue or pink?

That's a nasty looking scar on Trouble. I hope they can get that sorted with a minimum of damage to either one. For all that Trouble is bigger, he's a lot less experienced and I have a feeling HRH can teach him some things.

Another not so great photo but shows Trouble (front left) looking a lot like HRH if we didn't know better.

Edited to add that the yellow thing in Trouble's mouth is a cupcake paper. Rupert ate the cupcake and left the paper. Trouble ate the paper. Also, that is Rupert behind Trouble.

This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 10:54 AM

LOL, doccat.

You got it. Dennis ate the top (with frosting) off of the other cupcake and then stood up to see what else I had (and what was in the plastic container on the seat beside me there). When I ate the other cupcake a few days ago I scraped all that too sweet frosting (I knew I didn't need) off the top and left it in the paper for Dennis as I know that's his favorite part. After he ate all of the frosting, Dennis went off and left that cupcake bottom behind for Trouble to eat later.

That pic of Rupert is my favorite pose.

That wound on Trouble looks a lot better now that when I 1st saw it. It is shrinking now in length and width. at 1st it looked like HRH gave him a reverse Mohawk. It's a good thing they heal so well. Believe it or not the night I 1st noticed the gash on his neck, Trouble was still walking around intentionally aggravating HRH and then, oddly enough, backing down whenever HRH came at him. I say 'oddly' because I find it strange that he at once (1) keep pestering HRH and (2) backs down when pressed. Reminds me of a kid.

And that too may be part of his learning? I know friends who tell me fulling grown buck coons can kill dogs with no problem. So this may be not only a dominant male issue, but HRH could be showing him how to fight?? Who would have thunk it?

BTW, Trouble is behaving a teensy bit better - or at least, the others are taking less of his crap. Heidi has become especially testy at this point in her pregnancy. The other day when Trouble leaped off the fence and came barrelling straight for her and her food, Heidi demonstrated that head low, clicking like a rattlesnake thing, the one she taught the girls. As Trouble drew near the dish she used that maneuver to turn him away and send him elsewhere. Go, Heidi!

I am quite surprised by Dennis. Not only does he refuse to let Trouble take his food, but several times he has actually strutted over to Trouble's dish to steal a bite or two, this despite the extreme size difference and Trouble's attempts to tell him to stay away. Dennis has a most unusual and difficult to explain personality marked by a very sweet disposition, severe ADHD, and chutzpah to wander fearlessly into danger and somehow come away unharmed. I'm not talking courage, necessarily. He actually looks as if he is unaware of the presence of danger. He's either very crafty or very clueless. I'm not yet sure which, but either way he reminds me of that commercial some years back for insurance, the one about leading a charmed life - in which the guy walks about unscathed as beams fall and buildings collapse behind him. As I watch Dennis' behavior, thinking it's cute now, I am also acutely aware that these same behaviors may foretell even more 'trouble' in the future when he matures.

Anyhow, more of the others are taking a stand against the bully - Trouble. Trouble, on the other hand, is learning his own variation on the maneuver for stealing the food. He walks up beside the other raccoon and with his head and neck slightly past the other, then side steps into the other raccoon using his greater weight to push the other out of the way while he takes ownership of the dish.

There has to be "one" in every crowd............LOL

Scutler, you constantly amaze me with both your skills at observation and your ability to interpret them. You really think it is possible that HRH is still trying to teach Trouble? It would seem that after suffering such a wound that Trouble would get the message and find his own way in life. But the fact that he and HRH can still occupy the same space seems to give weight to your theory. If indeed it was really time for Trouble to go, HRH would make sure that would happen. Trouble looks huge in those pictures. All due to the great care from his "grandma"

I also did not fail to notice the comment about your hurry to get the book written. I know your health issues are a private matter, but girl you are scaring me to death. Is there anything I can do or send you??

I agree with Scutler regarding wanting more rehabber and squirrle stories. PLEEEZE--- (did you notice that irresistable cajoling -- ok whining-- voice and the big puppy dog eyes??)

This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 8:41 AM

doccat, tetleytuna,

Actually, I wasn't so much suggesting that HRH is intentionally teaching Trouble to fight as that, if Trouble manages to survive (seeing that wound) he will have to learn to defend his vulnerable areas much better than that, and, as a result, HRH will have taught him a few things whether he meant to or not. If you fight with the master and survive, you are bound to learn something. But then, who knows? A mere month ago I would have laughed if anyone had suggested that HRH might wait around to protect Heidi from the misbehaving youngster.

I agree, Scutler. I think Trouble is trying out his "wow" power and HRH is thumping him back in line. This really seems to indicated Trouble's growing physical maturity. And the urge to establish dominance. I think the "old man" can still take him........LOL Messin with the girls is just stupid, they are 150 percent meaner and get down and dirty in a hurry. LOL

tetleytuna,

Thanks so much for the compliments.

HRH is huge, and Trouble is even larger. I didn't want to believe it at 1st, kept trying to believe it was an illusion, like maybe I was looking at them from a strange angle, one of those foreshortening, linear perspective things or something. But after a while and especially after seeing them standing side by side, I finally had to admit that Trouble is now absolutely taller and larger than HRH, maybe 2-3in taller.

And if the way Trouble is eating is any sign he's either pregnant, too, or still growing. I have never seen any of the raccoons eat like that 'boy' does. All of the other raccoons eat slowly and in a surprisingly dainty manner. Trouble scarfs food down like a hound dog coming back from a trail run after chasing deer for miles and being lost for 2 days. Every time I see him he eats as though he's been on a deserted island for a month without food. And he doesn't just eat fast, he eats a LOT. In fact, with him around the food isn't stretching anywhere near as far as it used to. I think he might be the reason that the others are coming around to eat earlier now - so they have a prayer of getting there before the last bit is gone. The benefit for us is that I get to see them, take pics of them, and, hopefully, someday relay the stories.

Sorry, tetleytuna, that [comment about having to rush to finish my book] was just my bad, bad sense of humor, not realizing sometimes that you guys can't see through the network to see that I'm joking. While I do have a serious illness, the one that was diagnosed a while back when I couldn't stay awake, as far as I know I'm not dying. The illness, which I'd actually be more than happy to divulge to any one of you but prefer not to mention on the Internet just because I know that authorities recommend as much, is serious and without proper treatment (by me and the Dr) likely would shorten my life; but it is not a terminal illness or even one that limits what I can do - well, it might keep me from climbing Everest, but I think it would have to stand in line behind my age, lack of fitness, etc.

That one night last week when I had a great day, got lots of stuff done, felt perfectly fine, and then suddenly and without any know cause started barfing quite violently - but only for a brief time - just made me realize that all that resent GI stuff may not have been a virus after all and may not be over. Unless it's the medicine (to treat my condition) that is causing these bouts of nausea, I can't otherwise think of many good reasons for sudden and inexplicable barfing attacks. Many years ago, I acquired from a dear friend the ability to step back a bit, see things as an outsider might, and see the humor in even the bad things. As a result, that night after the sudden barfing, I thought to myself, "better hurry up and finish that book before I die." But, it was just a nervous joke. As far as I know, I'm no more terminal than any of us is - I mean, considering that life is a terminal illness and none us gets out of here alive. Uh oh, there I go again with the bad humor.

Edited to add. In fact, now that I've downed breakfast and finished my coffee, I'm on my way outside to slay the overgrowth in my backyard cottage garden and try to impose a little order out there. I've been cutting down limbs and large rose canes, piling them in my cart, and driving them out to the curb behind the lawn tractor. Probably made 10 or more trips already. Not in one day. Oh, and if you wanted a laugh you should see me trying to manuever that huge beast (the lawn tractor with attached cart) around my tiny yard, esp with the fence and gate and such and all the plants in the way.

This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 10:15 AM

doccat,

I think you are right. Being older and wiser, HRH has been enough fights to wisely choose to avoid them when he can. Trouble is 'feeling his oats' and testing his boundaries. The youngster likely has enough natural steroids coursing through his body right now to hardly feel the cuts and scrapes. He's like a drunk at a bar spoiling for a fight even if he does get his butt kicked.

I suspect that Trouble will soon learn another very good reason not to mess with the ladies since, as Ruth put it so well some time ago, females of all species have very long memories, and he's going to need to stay in their good graces.

On a more serious note, we may have lost another member of the group (raccoons, i mean). Last week on the way to work I saw another dead raccoon on the side of the road just outside of my neighborhood. Looked smallish, like one of the yearlings maybe. It's hard to imagine that a raccoon might be that close without smelling the coffee and dropping by for a meal or two, so it might have been one of 'ours'.

The good news is that as you can see from the pics most of the major players are accounted for: Heidi, Rupert, and Dennis, at least. It was too small for HRH, and I think I've seen him since, anyhow. Not sure about Cissy. She's the one I'm a little concerned about. Saw her recently but not sure if it was before or after the roadway incident. Haven't seen Fraidy in quite a while, but unless she's changed a lot, I can't imagine her venturing out onto the highway.

Such is life, I guess. Lacking a lot of major predators in the area, I guess the car is now part of the 'natural' population control. Oh, and speaking of predators, while looking for something in online version of the local newspaper, I found an article from last summer about police and DNR having to come to get a 6ft alligator - that was hanging out in front of a lawyer's office on the same highway outside my community. Per the article, officials were particularly surprised to see the gator hanging out in the parking lot instead of the nearby wetlands, river, marsh, etc and expressed concern that this may be an indicator that the gators are getting to accustomed to and comfortable around humans.

Cheryl -- one lil thing that i have noticed in many of the 'coon images lately, is that 'stuffed animal' with [it looks like] plastic blue feet.

is it that they just always happen to be in that spot when you are photographing... or does that lil thing get moved around a lot, and it just happens to be in the photos.

it is so cute, btw.

Hi Terese,

Somehow I missed your post earlier. I started to mention that blue thing when I was explaining about the statue. That is one of the toys I gave them. It's a stuffed dog made of burlap with bright blue vinyl on its face, feet, etc, supposed to be a tougher version of 'plush' for dogs that play rough.

Although the raccoons don't appear to play as much as when the kits were very young, I gather that they do still play sometimes since the toys are still being moved around although less frequently. That particular toy, the one I call the 'blue dog', is currently over in the edge of the veggie patch following a slow migration from just behind the tractor scoot (beside my bench) across the back side of the feeding area where it would have shown up a lot in photos taken around what was called 'Julia's area' and around or near the strawberry jar. It has been back in that general area since fall I think.

When I [finally] make it over there with my garden cleanup task, I'm planning to gather up all of the toys including the ones I couldn't easily get to in summer because they were in tall weed and plant growth. One day when I was back there I got an idea for a raccoon toy box, a appropriately sized container with a drainage hole (or 2) in the bottom into which I will put all of their toys. I'll just leave the toy box back there somewhere in their area. They can pull the toys out to play, and I'll put them back when I cleanup and when I need to clear the area to mow, etc. Previously I didn't really know what to do with the toys. I didn't want to take them away from the raccoons (and don't really want them in the house). Between all of the plastic dishes and toys and such that area is looking pretty bad. I'm hoping the toy box will help a bit - although I understand that the kits won't be likely to put their toys away themselves. At least it will give me a place to keep them.

Edited to add that during the blue dog's 'journey' across the feeding area, it did a stint in the 'cat litterbox turned mini pool' before emerging again to continue its trek. When it showed up in the mini-pool I knew it was 'in use'.

This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 2:35 PM

One recent event at the backyard buffet is what I call the 'attack of the opossum's'. I don't know what the possums were drinking or smoking that day but at least 4 showed up and their behavior was nothing less than stunning. There were 3 Snowballs - one very petite white but slightly dirty Snowball and 2 larger but still quite small Snowballs with varying degrees of light to medium grey on them - and 1 Puddle who was noticeably larger than any of the Snowballs. (This might explain a few mysteries.)

I think i might have put out some chicken bones that evening. Perhaps it was the aroma of what appears to be an opossum favorite that brought them all out at once and made them drunk with imaginary power. One of the Snowballs, the smallest and most 'real' one, approached the dish of one of the yearlings raccoons - sorry at the time I was unsure as to the id of the raccoon. Snowball 1, as we will call him for now, approached the dish from the side opposite the young raccoon who was eating there. As the opossum drew near and the 2 came face to face over the dish of food, the opossum snapped at the raccoon from across the dish. Apparently shocked by this rude display, the young raccoon stepped back for a moment and that was all it took for Snowball to step in and commandeer the goods. When the youngster tried to reclaim his food peacefully, Snowball snapped at him again. Again the raccoon stepped back from the frightful snout full of teeth. As I watched the raccoon turn and walk away from what at been his food, fair and square, I was more than a bit surprised at this turn of events. Everybody knows raccoons trump possums, at least, everybody at the buffet knows this.

But the young raccoon, though lacking in experience for handling such matters, was no fool. He did, in fact, walk away from his food - and around the flower pot to arrive back at his food again but this time from the vantage point of being behind the rude little opossum, a position from which to take a nip out of the opossum's bum and send him scurrying away without having to do business with those multiple rows of teeth.

A little while later Snowball 1 tried again to take the dish from the same raccoon. He had, after all, gotten so close the last time. This time, however, the youngster wasn't going for it. Having apparently learned from the prior experience, this time the raccoon lunged across the dish at the opossum's initial approach. Dejected, Snowball 1 walked away seemingly in realization that it was over.

Snowball 1 seemed most interested in getting some of those Fruit Loops, so I tossed him a few handfuls to start and another from time to time as his supply ran low. That alone represented yet another milestone in our 'relationship' as previously my movement to reach into the cereal bag coupled with the crinkling of the bag would have sent Snowball running for cover. Even as colorful "o's" rained down on his nose, Snowball continued to eat and didn't even flinch. He had finally learned about the tossing of food.

A bit later one of the other Snowballs, this one a bit darker and a tad larger, made a play for Rupert's food. We'll call this one Snowball 2 for now. Time on his own seems to have made Rupert tougher in some ways. He stood his ground as Snowball 2 approached again, as with Snowball 1 and the other raccoon, face to face and from the side opposite him. When the opossum tried to stick his snout into the dish, Rupert lunged at them in a move that sent the opossum 'flying' backward away from the dish. The repeated this maneuver a few times before the opossum finally gave up. Each time, the action was so fast as to exceed my eye's 'shutter speed'. Each time it looked as though the raccoon's lunge actually pushed the opossum backward through the air - as the latter did actually clear the ground and move backward quite rapidly, apparently, I reason, actually leaping backward away from the attacking raccoon. I had no idea that an opossum could execute such a move, having thus far only seen them shuffle about in a rather slovenly manner, yet I watched repeatedly as Snowball 'flew' straight backward maybe 6in or so and did so quite rapidly, at least in human terms. Finally, the opossum gave up and walked away.

Did I mention that the opossums were somehow oddly emboldened on this particular evening? Usually, the opossums dine either before the raccoons arrive or after they leave, but on this night, perhaps having recently found that there would otherwise be no food left for them, the opossums had become strangely determined to bluff and bully their way into the diner along with the raccoons. One opossum even made a brief play for Heidi's dish; however, that ended quite abruptly when Heidi turned and gave him her "don't even think about it" growl while the opossum was still some distance away.

Later Puddle tried to lay claim to Dennis' food. As Puddle walked up beside him at the dish, Dennis in the manner described earlier, just ignored the opossum and continued to eat. Even as Puddle made repeated bluffing snaps at his neck and head, Dennis went on eating the very slight dodging movement of his head being the only sign that he even saw the mouthful of teeth repeatdly diving toward him.larger

Edited in attempt to remove duplicate

This message was edited Mar 9, 2008 8:04 PM

>>At least it will give me a place to keep them

For Buddy, i use an old laundry basket. Easy for easy clean up, and he can pick and choose what toy he wants.
You can put drainage holes in the bottom to keep the stuffed stuff drier.

>>Somehow I missed your post earlier.
Seems we were posting at the same time.

LOL Cheryl --- in that LONG post, you seem to have duplicated it.
might wanna snip it a bit. ;-)

All you need, "stoned" possums!!! LOL!!!

Terese,

Uh! Oh! I think Widget must have been playing around with the laptop while I was outside working. He is such a kidder! LOL

Thanks for pointing out that duplication thing. No idea what the heck happened, but that post was long enough without the duplication.

Ruth,

Oops, it's been such a crazy, busy day. Almost forgot to respond. I'm a little afraid of that (with HRH and Trouble). Sure will hate to loose HRH. I'm trying not to hold Trouble's behavioral problems against him, trying to realize that he's just doing what comes natural to him.

Must admit that upon reading your post I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Didn't like the way that other route played out in my head: you going too busy in your own thread and not having time to spend with us. Ironically, now that I'm doing so much better and sleeping nights it is difficult for me to find time to post regularly. I suspect there will be plenty of 'dead air' that you could fill with interesting tales from your rehabber days.

My goodness it has been busy!! Love the photos, Cheryl!

I was very worried too when I just read the'hurry up and finish the book comment. So glad, as I kept reading, that my radar can go down a little bit. (But I do worry)

It would be so sad if the raccoon you saw on the roadside is one of 'ours' but it is an unfortunate fact of modern life.

Ruth, I would love to read your stories!! I do not go to any of the regional forums. It just seems Indiana real doesn't fit anywhere...

Thanks, nanny!

I'm fine. Just read the report about all of the prescription drugs found in municipal drinking water around the country. Seems we are all taking low doses of everybody else's' meds. Now that might explain the nausea.

I don't spend too much time in 'my' regional forum because one of the many things I love about DG is the opportunity to talk with people all over the country and around the world. Recently, however, I've become very much aware of how much of the subject matter that would otherwise 'belong' to individual forums now ends up in the regional forums. Sigh.

Huh? Prescription drugs in our drinking water? I missed that news item! Eeeew...gonna have to google that one for sure.

KyWoods,

Heard it today on cable news channel. Then saw a more detailed account over in Sustainable Alternatives Forum; I was out wandering around again, seeing the sights. Over there they have the whole AP wire report printed out. Seems a percentage of the meds aren't metabolized and are thus recycled through the water system, planet wide. Low doses of all manner of things from heart meds to tranquilizers, pain killers, hormones, steroids, anti seizure drugs, you name it are turning up in municipal water supplies, rural wells, and watersheds alike. No one is quite sure at this point what sort of effect - not likely a good one - this may have on us or the animals. These are not medicinal does, BTW, but we don't have any data on the effects of sustained low does and/or all manner of random combinations of pharmaceuticals.

In addition to all of the obvious concerns raised by this info, this also begs the question, for me at least, if our legal drugs are being recycled doesn't that mean that the illicit ones probably are as well? Are we getting low does of those as well? I suspect no one bothered to ask that question or seek the answer only because clearly there is nothing much we can do about that source. Yikes!

Didn't mean to alarm everyone, but it might be an important piece of data to have. Most water filters don't take these out it seems. Per the article reverse osmosis may be the only way. Distilled water is probably also clean. Bottled water is not immune to this problem. Many brands are just filtered tap water. Even brands that come from deep water sources and/or European countries may not be immune. This problem has been noted pretty much around the globe. But, I reiterate, we are talking about very small and non-therapeutic quantities, at least that's what the article indicates. A few months back the same issue arose regarding birth control pills as these chemicals have recently been found in pretty much every water source they checked.

Big oops!

One of the major sources of prescription drugs in drinking water, I believe, is that so many people flush excess prescriptions when they are no longer taking the drug. As Cheryl said, sanitation treatments and water filters don't remove these drugs from the water supply. Sending excess drugs to the landfill is hardly ideal, either, but beats introducing them to the water supply.

Fascinating that the possum gang got together for a bold invasion of the buffet. Doesn't sound very successful, but it's intriguing that they even tried.

I still have hopes that HRH will prevail over Trouble, since he has wisdom, maturity and experience on his side. I'm just trying to be realistic and prepare us all for the fact that eventually a younger larger male will prevail. That will be a sad day. Meanwhile, given his thuggish behavior lately, Trouble certainly will not win the heart of many fair ladies; I'm quite sure they're all rooting for HRH! And BTW, I agree that HRH is not intentionally teaching Trouble how to fight; he is quite a benevolent fellow, but that would be foolish and suicidal. But as Cheryl says, Trouble is no doubt learning much from their encounters; let's just hope he learns manners soon.

The photos are great as always, Cheryl; and it's so cool that Dennis is still comfortable hanging out so close to you (and that Snowball now is, also)!

We're all hoping you'll soon have time to bring us up to date on the recent adventures, but do understand the need to catch up in the garden and at work. Those of us further north will be doing the frantic garden cleanup bit very soon. Mainly, please take care of your health! And thanks for everyone's encouragement to post wildlife rescue tales; next time you need to take a time out, I'll post the story of the ducklings in the swimming pool, since it happened around this time of year.