Heidi Chronicles: Baby Shower (All Invited)

This is the ongoing saga of Heidi and friends, raccoons (and other critters) who frequent my backyard buffet.


Prior thread in the series: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/818641/
The original thread that started it all: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/603944/

Below is a photo of Heidi taken a few days ago. [Still] carrying her 08 kits. We've been waiting for the birth of Heidi's kits as that marks the beginning of the roughly 2 month wait for the cute little fluff balls to show up at the buffet and win our hearts.

And, now it looks like TODAY is that day!

For a while now I've been unsure as to the real status of Heidi and her new family or family to be. Sometimes it seemed as though she were alternating between her fat clothes and her skinny clothes just to throw me off. But most of the time, as you can probably see from the photo above taken a few days ago, she looked more or less as pregnant as ever. I hadn't gotten around to mentioning this because I couldn't make up my mind one way or the other. I figured I'd just wait until the kits showed up. That way I'd know for sure.

Two days ago I saw another raccoon dead on the side road. This one was clearly a larger raccoon, not yearling size. It was large enough, in fact, to make me hope that Heidi had gotten enough food the night before so that she had not felt the need to roam that far in search of food.

Last night I went out a little before 10PM. Heidi and I have an agreement. If I'm not there at 8, I'll be there at 10. Like clockwork, every night she is always there at 8. She waits around for 30 minutes or so, and if I don't show up she returns at 10. Always. The only exception to this rule is for a storm with lightening, extreme wind and/or pelting rain don't stop her, but in an electrical storm Heidi is no where to be found. But last night was neither windy nor rainy nor was there any sign of lightening anywhere near by, yet Heidi was strangely absent.

Every night when I walk out at one of the appointed times, Heidi is either already in the feeding area waiting for me or she jumps down from the fence to greet me. But last night the area was uncharacteristically devoid of activity. Neither Heidi nor any of the other were there, except for one yearling, one of Juliet's I believe, who came down a bit hesitantly to eat near me. Still remembering the large raccoon I'd seen on the road, I was particularly eager to see Heidi just to be sure that nothing had happened to her. I waited almost 45minutes, but she never showed, and I thought it quite odd that none of the others did either. The others, BTW, are most likely to show up for 10PM feeding. They usually show up only a few minutes behind Heidi - very coincidental for a bunch of supposed loners, don't you think? Trouble had been here every day lately, and HRH had shown up most days. But where were they now?

I had taken out (in addition to dog food) an egg for Heidi, a 1/2 bag of the cheese coated popcorn the enjoyed so much when last I served it, and a large box of fried chicken from the deli - not bones, mind you, but entire pieces of chicken including several large breast pieces. The night before I had mistakenly left it out. Although it still smelled quite delectable, I dared not eat it but knew that my error would make some creatures evening. But where were all of the critters? Couldn't they smell dinner from far away? And where were the opossums? Snowball loves chicken. But as long as I was out there only the one kit showed up.

Finally, realizing that Heidi wasn't going to make it, I gave the egg to the kit. Figured I'd work on making new friends. He quickly grabbed it, turned it around to find the right spot and bit a section of shell off to begin slurping up the ooey, gooey, goodness inside, at least that seems to be a racoon's impression of a raw egg. Later I tossed him a piece of chicken breast. I figured he would ignore it as the raccoons don't seem all that excited about chicken, an observation which surprises me. But I have noticed distinct differences in the eating preferences of raccoons in different age groups, kits vs yearlings vs older adults, and so it was that the yearling snatched up the large chicken breast (in his mouth not hands) and ran over near the fence to sit down and enjoy his meal. After a little while, he got up, remains of the chicken breast still in his mouth, and headed back over the fence and into the forest. I continued to wait for quite some time thinking surely 'someone' would come to dinner, but none of the others ever showed up. Such a strange, strange night.

Tonight then, I went out, sadly this time without any eggs. HRH and Dennis were 1st to arrive. They came down the fence squabbling and continued to do so more or less until they left. I had 2 cupcakes with me and that seemed to only add fuel to the discord between them. HRH has developed quite a love of sweets, especially cake, and Dennis, who also loves all things frosting, thinks he has 1st dibs on me and anything I'm carrying.

I had been so caught up in dealing with the boys that I failed to notice the raccoon who came down the fence and quietly sat down to eat from Heidi's dish. When I did look up it was with confusion. That part of me that just knows Heidi the way we know other people said it was she, but, of course, that could not be for this raccoon was 1/3 Heidi's size. I mean, there was just no way that one could be the other. They were so different. Then as I was struggling to make sense of this 'new' raccoon, she grumbled at the boys whose argument had apparently gotten to close for her comfort. Oh, I knew that grumbling sound anywhere. That was Heidi!

And that's when I realized that NOW she had given birth to the kits without a doubt. Suddenly, she didn't just look thinner, she looked so much smaller as to seem somehow shorter as well. Yep, this was it. The blessed event had finally occurred.

Heidi was more than a little unhappy at the absence of her usual egg. She walked all around her dish sniffing the ground clearly looking for that egg I sometimes put there. Then she came over to me to sniff around for that egg. Disappointed she went back and pawed at the empty egg shell from egg the yearling had eaten the night before. I was pretty sure she was trying to say to me, "didn't you forget something? There's no egg here. Where is my egg? I've just done some serious work, and I really need that egg tonight more than ever."

I tried to go back to the house to get an egg for her, but by the time I returned she was gone. Many of the others were there by that time. In the forest, I heard a very faint and brief sound which sounded very much like a 'baby' animal crying out. Then I heard a scary, animal sound which I could not identify. I guess that's what made it scary, that and the fact that it was a rather threatening sound. A moment or so later I heard the distinct sound of a small to medium sized dog barking nearby! I looked around in astonishment expecting to see Widget behind me. But that couldn't be! Widget was tucked safely away inside the house. He couldn't get out, but here was the barking again, and now it was clearly emanating from the forest! But there were no dogs in the forest! Suddenly, all of the raccoon scattered. There was that barking sound again, but it wasn't a dog - it was a raccoon!

A few minutes later and quite unceremoniously, the raccoons returned to finish their meals. Heidi didn't come back though, even though I tried repeatedly to call her. About that time the clouds broke loose and it started to rain pretty hard. I knew that was my cue to leave.

Looks like she is enjoying that kibble.

what a story Cheryl. wonder what raccoon made that sound, and why.

Cheryl, Missy is a total hoot and spoiled rotten. LOL

makj, I love your squirrel pictures, she is a piece of work...what a little cutie.

Cheryl, you might want to consider a new thread, this one is "draggin" and I'm on DSL. :) We cross posted. And wow, hopefully we'll be seeing more of Heidi's latest off spring very soon. You are spoiling them rotten, Cheryl. LOL
"Where's my egg, indeed!" LOL

Thanks, Terese,

Just guessing here, but I'm inclined to think it was Heidi. Possibly to warn the others away from her kids? I've learned a few words/sentences of their language but have no idea what the barking signifies except that it sounds like a marginally threatening sound or possibly a warning of some kind, not as serious/negative sounding as the clicking, growling, and such. For some reason, I'm thinking the kits might be fairly close by this time - as they were in 06; or maybe I'm just hoping.

I really, really wanted to put another pic up top but felt that only something relative to the kits/birth would be appropriate this time.

Sorry, doccat,

I know I was running late with the new thread. I had been having difficulty loading the thread myself the last few days but just didn't have time to switch over. It takes a little more effort than it would seem since I have to sift through pics to find something for the header, zoom, crop, lighten if necessary, and downsize, then collect links from 1st, last, and current threads and post them on each other, etc. It's more of a weekend task.

As it is I have to get to bed so I don't miss court tomorrow (jury duty still). This morning I overslept. Slept for an hour with the alarm screaming in my ear. I can do that with ease.

Thank you so much for the new thread!! And the news of the blessed event.

Dontcha wish you could see the little ones? I sure do!

Will check back for more wonderful stories!

Susan
=^..^=

How exciting! Can't wait to see the little ones!
Love the squirrel pics, makj--I wish we had pine cones here. It would be fun to watch them eat those.

Great squirrel photos, makj; she looks like a mom in great condition thanks to all your treats.

Doccat, Missy sounds like a classic wonderful feline princess, and her interactions with the Bostons sound vastly entertaining. You all should thank her for grooming the puppies, you know; that's a big job even with small breed pups!

Great news, Cheryl: sounds like, if all goes well, we might hear about the new family sometime late in May. Very sad news about the two you saw on the road recently. It is the time of year when the coons wander a bit, in search of romance or new territory; and clever as they are, they are no match for traffic.

Dennis is already giving HRH grief? That boy has no sense; he's way too young to even think about challenging the king. Fortunately, I doubt HRH will take a yearling very seriously.

Yeah!!

About how long before the new 08 group will start showing up? Cheryl if this keeps up, you may have to get a 2nd job to feed this crew.........LOL

As I recall, it was about 8 weeks. But sure that Cheryl will be along to confirm that. That seems so long to have too wait! lol

IIRC from last year... the kids were born around the 18th of May [i remember that because it's my kid's birthday] and then they showed up with mom around the first or second week of Aug. There were a few other kids, but not Heidi's.
there was lil Rupert and Juliet's kids first.

so -- that would be around 10 weeks give or take. but -- yes, i have read that it's about the 8 week mark when they venture out of the nest... but maybe Heidi, the great mom she is, keeps them away a bit longer with all the other 'coons around.

I'm sure Ruth will soon add her expertise on the subject.

You are quite welcome, Susan

Sorry that I didn't get it done sooner. I aim for around 150 (posts), but clearly I sometimes fall way short of that mark. Thanks go out to doccat for reminding me! You Folks don't hesitate to sound the alarm when you start to have difficulty loading. Often I just forget, so it helps when people remind me. Other times, like this time, even when I realize it's time to switch over I may be unable to find the time right away, but it still never hurts to remind me just in case.

I would love to see the kits, but I know that 2 months or so will blow by in no time at all. I really look forward to seeing the world through the innocence of those little furry being, watching them play with all the toys and in the pool, introducing them to grapes, peanuts, melon, and, of course, marshmallows and cupcakes.

Thanks, Susan!

>>introducing them to grapes, peanuts, melon, and, of course, marshmallows and cupcakes.

ROFL --

as DH would say Breakfast of Champions in this case..... Buffet of Champions

but i bet the first time they taste that sweetness.... they are like So, this is what we've been missing

Ruth,

The hwy here is an old, very narrow, and curvy road. It is, in fact, frightfully narrow when passing large trucks, and, yes, those trucks do travel this road along with quite a few large tour buses filled with tourists here to see the old South. In the horse and buggy days (slight exaggeration), I suppose the narrow road was more than adequate but it is hardly so today. Due to a land trust aimed at preserving the 18th century appeal of the area, no one can cut one single tree down or back, not even a limb as the huge limbs which stretch across the road to form a canopy overhead dripping Spanish moss down toward the cars below are an important part of the look tourists are here to see. Not only is the road ultra slim, but there is essentially no shoulder as the huge, old oaks and magnolias seem to sprout up right out of the side of the pavement.

With no shoulder, unsuspecting animals are at one moment safely walking or running in the forest and with the very next step are on the highway, a narrow, curvy highway where cars 'blow' around curves and seem to appear from out of nowhere and where even relatively small cars are early close to the edge. As if all this weren't bad enough, naturally, drivers on such a treacherous stretch of highway cannot be bothered to slow down to something approximating the actual speed limit of 45mph. Vehicles coming trough here are coming from a very rural area outside the city and are traveling 60mph and up. Most blow right past the signs which tell them that they are entering the city, are in a historic area, and must slow down to 45. In truth, it is often quite scared just trying to get a CAR into that highway. You look toward the curve, see that nothing is coming, and then pull out (and I'm inclined to take off a bit fast) to see some huge truck barreling toward you at what is clearly a speed well in excess of 45mph. Many of those phantom vehicles (that could not have gotten around that curve so fast were they not speeding) actually have the nerve to run up behind you and blow the horn angrily to indicate their annoyance at being forced to slow down. I've been expecting to get run over there one day myself. Poor animals hardly stand a chance. (BTW, even though that area is dangerous for us trying to pull out with speeding vehicles coming around the curve, we act as a buffer for the elementary school just beyond us. Were it not for us 'interfering with' the traffic and forcing it to slow down, those speeding trucks, buses, and such run right smack up against the school zone no doubt still rushing merrily along.)

Dennis is quite his own unique personality. He messes with everybody. He hasn't shown any signs of maturity yet but I figure he must get the occasional hormonal surge. He's nothing like Trouble - YET - but from time to time he will walk right up to Heidi or Trouble or pretty much any of the others and help himself to their food ignoring the growls and other threats. He'll eat a few bites and then walk off. For this and other reasons I suspect we are in for a REAL treat when he gets to be Trouble's age!

Last night Dennis and HRH weren't so much fighting as arguing. None of the adults, HRH, Heidi, even Trouble ever attacks him even when Dennis steals food. I gather they must be cutting him some slack because of his age - for now.

Very rarely, but sometimes Dennis will get possessive about me (as a treat dispenser). This happened once when there were a number of others around. At such times I can't decide if he's showing off for the others or if he's just making sure he gets the most and best treats. Last night he was acting that way apparently because he wanted ALL of the cupcakes, and I was dividing them between him and HRH. HRH didn't make any attempt to smack Dennis or even growl at him. On the other hand, HRH did not let Dennis keep him from getting his share of the cupcakes. Mostly, HRH walked calmly around the tantrum throwing youngster.

Terese,

Yes, it is always enjoyable to watch the young ones experience yummy new tastes for the 1st time.

Terese is correct (of course) about how things broke down last year. Ruth has already given her estimate - some time in late May. Last year when Heidi finally brought the kits to the buffet for the 1st time I could tell that it really wasn't their 1st time as they were quite accustomed to the pool and clearly knew their way around very well. The only thing they were unsure about was ME. I can still recall those wide eyed looks from kits scrunching up against momma's side as if to say, "Mom, did you see the big, scary human sitting over there? Aren't we supposed to run from the human?" Then as Heidi gently ignored them and continued eating they decided, "oh, well, Mom must know what she's doing" and went on eating and playing.

Last year was only my 2nd year around Heidi's kids, and it was the 1st year for us to have so many others around at the same time. I suspect that when Heidi 1st started bringing the kids out she waited to bring them later after the others had already left. She had been coming out at the regular time alone to eat with the others and apparently then bringing the kids later to scrounge around for what was left over, dig for grubs around the flower pots and play in the pool. This year I'm on to that so I think I'll start looking for her and the kids later at night sometime in late May.

Happy first day of Spring, everybody!

Can't the police keep an eye on your street? That sounds really scary. I hate seeing dead animals, and I also wonder if it could be one of "ours" that come to our feeders. Poor babies.

Hi KyWoods,

I'm not referring to the street I live on, but rather the highway just outside of my community. Within the confines of our community, speed limits are 25mph. There is only one entrance to the community, so no way to cut through here on the way to somewhere else. Most residents respect the speed limit and drive carefully. We have walkers, joggers, biker riders, skaters, skate boarders, kids playing near and sometimes even in the street, and lots of almost tame wild ducks, geese, and even an occasional peacock waddling around in the streets on a regular basis. Residents routinely stop and wait patiently for ducks to cross the street, etc.

For those rare occasions when anyone dares to drive fast or fails to yield to joggers, kids, animals, etc. we have quite a network of neighborhood watch folks who will take down a license # in a minute not to mention resident police officers always on the lookout. I'm not at all worried about the safety of the raccoons should they venture onto the streets within the community.

The problem area is the highway outside of our local community. As the crow flies and the raccoon walks it's not that far away, unfortunately. And, no, we haven't had much luck in getting the police to monitor that problem. Because we humans are afraid of getting run over while trying to get our cars into the road, we've asked for a traffic light (declined) and some police oversight (saw one once).

As I mentioned before the problem is a mixture of vehicles traveling on a road that for many miles is marked for 55-60mph. As they enter the city signs warn them to slow down to 45mph, but most pay no attention. Before they round that curve it looks like they are still on a stretch of open road with no real reason to slow down. Once they come flying around that corner they are right on top of our entrance (which is where I saw 2 of the dead raccoons) on a very narrow 2 lane road facing oncoming traffic without even the benefit of a shoulder so nowhere to go to avoid an accident if something is in the road and they can't stop in time. And like I said above, without a shoulder the poor animals are faced with the risk of stepping from forest to highway in one ill fated step.

I feel like Heidi and HRH being older and wiser and having lived here long enough to know their way around are probably safe as they likely know to stay away from the road. Hopefully, Heidi teaches her kids about the danger of the road. Diva's kids and Juliet's kids are probably on their own to figure it out...or else. Not surprisingly, BTW, that road also takes out its share of deer, opossums, squirrels, ducks, and you name it.

Happy 1st day of spring to you, too. Hope you will soon be able to get out and work in and enjoy your garden.

Love the description of HRH calmly walking around tantrum-throwing Dennis to get his share of cupcakes: great way to handle a tantrum. But as you said, Dennis promises to be a real problem in another year when the hormones really kick in.

Late May is probably the earliest we can hope to hear about the kids: I'm being optimistic and hoping for that. You may be on to an important secret in thinking that Heidi at first brings them after all the others have dined; that would explain why it takes a while for them to join the crowd.

The highway you describe sounds just like the road we're on, Cheryl. We exit our driveway onto a narrow road with no shoulder that is just emerging from a sharp S-curve. The posted speed limit is 25 mph, and the state police training academy is less than a block away; you would think folks would comply. NOT! They come flying around the curve at 50 mph or more. I suppose we shouldn't complain, since the guy across the road (on the convex side of the curve) has cars land on his lawn all the time; we just get scared to death. One night I was practically run over while walking across the street to the mailbox, and we've nearly had our cars rear-ended a million times as we pull out of the drive. It's pretty nerve-wracking; and, as you said, the wildlife don't stand a chance. Common sense is distinctly uncommon among our species....

Cheryl, have you seen Juliette since the coon was hit on the road? I have been paying attention...trying too at least...and haven't heard her mentioned.

Up here in NY, freezing as it is, there are baby coons on the road everywhere. I think they are out very early this year....and it is heartbreaking. Nothing I can do to even save one if I could...illegal to touch them up here, let alone "save" one. No rehabers will take them as the rabies are too high.

You have given me so many laughs these last two weeks with the antics of the crew....I just love it. I hope and pray you are feeling much better.

Also, the squirrel pictures make my heart happy. I go to see a counselor every couple weeks....and took him some of my pictures. Showed him two of my squirrel shots. I told him how the squirrels come to the window and let me know the feeder is empty or "somethings up". I told him "I told you I talk to the squirrels" He said "Yes, but you didn't tell me they talk to you too!" I thought that was funny. They are bright little creatures.

Wondering about marshmellow peeps for the little ones for Easter? LOL

Debbie

Cheryl -- we had a few 'nice' days [upper 40's, but felt warmer, and sunny.] i was actually out raking my new area to be worked on this year, yesterday... figure get it done before the snow storm... Yup, snow on Good Friday.
by looking at the radar [i'm in the fam room with the weather channel on] and it looks like we are the low/southern end of the snow band, but they are saying 4-6 today, 1-3 tonight, and i think there was 1-2 on the ground when i let Bud out at 6.30am .... so we shall see.

was hoping it will melt by Monday... i have a 'walk around' the subdivision with the new landscape company.

now -- on the boob-toob they are showing the floods on the midwest.... how sad... i guess i'll take snow over all that water. Uggg. ... need more coffee.

Congrats on the batch of kits. I keep thinking I hope her backyard gonan be big enough to hold all them regular babies plus all the new ones.

I also think about the added cost now of more cupcakes, peanuts, dogbones. and yougart and eggs. We need to have racocon block party fund raiser for ya.

Amen, starlight, I don't want the woman to have to get a second job to support this crew.........LOL

She gonan need two or three if they got appetites like their mommy.

Can we send ya ababy shower gift for the racoons?

An online raccoon baby shower would be toooooooooo cool!!

LOL.

new toys, additional kiddy pool, help building that jungle gym that never got built last year
additional food dished
few more water basins

bulk food items like cake mixes [a 9x13 pan cake cut into squares... but i doubt Cheryl has tome to bake a cake, EVER.]
case of frosting in a can
organic granola for the King
case of marshmallows
peanuts in the shell
not to mention about a gross of organic brown eggs
a truck full of cat food.

man... the list can go on and on....

This message was edited Mar 21, 2008 7:35 PM

Hi Ruth,

Yeah, HRH and Heidi are both so much more mature and sensible than the youngsters, and both are smart enough to avoid and ignore those silly kids most of the time. HRH has become quite fond of those cupcakes. Tonight after he had eat a good bit of dog food, he came up to me, put his nose right up to my leg, and sniffed me - clearly checking to see if I had anymore cupcakes or other goodies. I had taken out a small amount of animal crackers left over from last summer - the kids had gotten tired of them back then. I also took along some of that crunchy peanut butter to top them. HRH arrived rather late. I slathered [a few inches of] pb on one of the last few cookies and tossed it to him.

I've pretty much convinced that Heidi was bringing the kits for a while before I saw them last summer, either bringing them very early or very late, probably the latter, to avid the crowds. I had noticed some evidence of this for a few weeks before I actually saw the kits. Then when the kits did arrive for what would have seemed like the 1st visit it was just very clear to me from their behavior that they had been here a number of times before. They were just very comfortable, knew their way around, hopped into the pool as though they had been playing there for a while, etc. I distinctly remember being quite certain that it was not their 1st visit.

When I got to the part of your post about the highway issue, the 1st thing I noticed was how in 2 short sentences you captured so nicely what I had stumbled through 2 paragraphs trying to describe. LOL. I thought, yes, that's it. Those are the words I was searching for.

After reading about your situation I feel blessed. The highway is several blocks from my house. At least I only have to 'risk my life' out there to get the car out - but not to get the mail. That would really be scared! Like an old-fashioned game of Frogger. I don't move as fast as I used to, not after the knee surgeries. I'd be flattened for sure. And the poor guy who has air bound car land in his yard, now that would be bad, too. I mean you certainly couldn't safely use that section of the yard - never knowing when the next car would come flying your way.

Naturally, your last sentence regarding common sense and our species gave me a laugh! Hard to disagree.

Air-bound cars in your yard--now THAT's scary! sheesh...

Hi Debbie,

No, I haven't seen Juliet lately. I should add, however, that the larger, adult raccoon that I saw on the road this week was a bit farther down the highway, not right at the entrance to our community like the younger one I saw recently. Not too far away to be one of ours but far enough to increase the likelihood that it wasn't.

Sorry to hear about the young raccoons on your roads up there. I guess up there with the cold and the snow and such they are having to travel more in search of adequate food.

So glad to hear that you have enjoyed the story and especially that it has brought you a few laughs. I am feeling much better. Thank you for asking. Now if I can just stay out of trouble...

That's cute about the Dr and the squirrels. It's all a matter of perspective. If the Dr isn't an animal person he may not realize that they do talk to us. You just have to know how to listen. The cardinals, titmice, and chickadees 'call' to me to let me know when they are out of food or when I sleep late and don't get then food out in a timely manner. While the hummers don't 'speak' loud enough to get my attention, when their food is empty of missing, they will hover in my face when they see me outside. That's there way of telling me, "Hey, you forgot something. I don't have any nectar." Animals really are much smarter than we give them credit for. I'm convinced of that.

Oh, marshmallow peeps, what a wonderful idea! I bought some bright blue ones when I was at the store recently - just because I loved the color. I'm so glad you mentioned that because I hadn't thought about giving them to the raccoons.

KyWoods,

Sure is! You wouldn't want to be over on that side of the yard weeding a flower bed or anything like that - just in case. After about the 2nd car I'd either pack up and move or section off that portion of the yard and keep a wide berth.

Hi Terese,

SO glad to hear that you had a few 'warm' days and a much deserved opportunity to get out and enjoy the garden. (By contrast, something was wrong with the AC at work today and it was like a sauna in there, miserable and hard to concentrate. A couple of the guys even took their shirts off. It was that hot. (That did improve the view, however.) I have a little fan that I keep under my desk. I put it on the desk on high, but it just blew hot air on me. It was too hot to eat lunch, even. We all went home early. It was very nice outside, but horribly stuffy inside, probably around 75 or so. Hard to reconcile how it could be that warm here and in the 40's there - with snow on the way!

I hope that the snow, if it does fall, will be light and will go away quickly. Just a quick aside about snow. I always think of you guys up there when I see the red twig dogwood and yellow willow in my yard. I planted them because early on when I was designing my garden I had read (and seen lovely pics) about how they helped to add winter interest to the garden. But they really don't work here. The scarlet red and bright yellow 'twigs' jutting out of the ground just don't look the same when viewed against a backdrop of dead leaves and dormant grass. In all of the example pics they are shown sticking up out of snow covered landscapes where the contrast of 'cardinal' red against the white snow is quite striking. The red twigs in my yard are a gorgeous, brilliant shade of red, but the brown background doesn't compliment them nearly so well as snow would. So I don't really want to deal with all of the things that come with snow, but sometimes I wish I had some to really 'set off' my red twig dogwood and yellow twig willow, you know, for nice winter interest in the garden.

Oh, yes, my heart really does go out to all of those in Missouri, Arkansas, Ohio and anywhere else where the water is rising. This afternoon on the news they showed a house floating down the river and crashing into a bridge. Last summer when it rained so much here, I was always worried about my house. Just can't imagine what it must be like to see the water getting closer and closer...

ROTF, you guys! I have this vision of me coming home from work one day and not being able to find the front door for all of the deliveries of raccoon food, treats, and toys stacked up in front of the house!

I'm still hoping that the raccoon community will prune itself. This seems to be the 'worst' time of year food wise. The kits from the prior year are all grown, eating like horses, and still hanging around. If my theory is correct, once Heidi's new babies get big enough to start walking around a bit, she will begin to disperse the crowd probably allowing only the pregnant females and their babies to hang around and, of course, papa bear.

I have other news from tonight and last night but my tooth - or rather the space where my tooth used to be - is aggravating me a bit so I'll tell you later. (Noting too bad w/the tooth thing, just a little annoying at this point.) But I did want to tell you this one incredible thing that happened.

As I mentioned tonight I took out the last of an old bag of animal crackers and a bit of crunch peanut butter to spread on them. As I was trying to spread the pb on the cookies, a few of them crumbled and fell at my feet (sitting on my bench at the time). I distributed all of the cookies and pb. I was near the end when Snowball arrived. He was sniffing around over behind the raccoons, so I tossed him one of the last few cookies. He used to run away when I threw stuff at him but has finally learned to check to see if it's edible 1st.

A little while later after all of the cookies were gone, I noticed Snowball looking around for more cookies. Then he came on over to where I was and curled up between my feet to eat the fallen crumbs and bits of cookies there! He stayed there literally between my feet for quite a while rooting around in the grass for bits of cookie. Even sniffed my shoe and ate a cookie that had fallen against the inside of my shoe! Finally, when he was satisfied that all of the cookie bits were gone, he wandered on off to eat kibble elsewhere.

Wow, Snowball has become every bit as comfy around you as the coons have: that's awesome!

I do feel quite bad for the neighbor across the road. His property slopes down steeply from the roadside, and there is virtually no shoulder on his side; at least our side of the road has a drainage ditch. He has lost lots of plantings to cars that missed the curve; I'd give up on planting anywhere near the road, but they're determined folks who persevere. They have a big rustic wagon wheel near the entrance to their drive; it's been demolished and replaced many times after cars flew off the road into it. His latest wheel is supported from behind by a pile of mega-boulders several feet high; as he says, " the next [expletive deleted] who hits it will remember it." We only have to worry about walking across the road to get the mail, and pulling out of the driveway, without being flattened; yes, Cheryl, Frogger is the perfect image, and I'm not all that spry either.

When Heidi's new kits are old enough to join the buffet, I've no doubt that she'll reduce the dining population to a more manageable level. She may have already encouraged Juliet to move on, since Juliet is now a mature breeding female who could be viewed as troublesome competition. But the online baby shower is a cool idea: we could buy up the leftover blue & pink peeps after Easter in honor of the new unseen arrivals. Lol; I can also see your entire house hidden behind raccoon gifts.

Hi Ruth,

My biggest concern is that your neighbors could be out there planting and pruning when the next car goes off the road. That is really scary. They are not only determined but brave.

Snowball really amazed me this time. He didn't even look at me to see if I was 'ok', and I didn't speak to him or anything. He just walked up and made himself comfy there between my feet - and just ignored me altogether.

About those packages...You know how when you buy a house, no matter how hard you try to get it right, you are sure to miss something? Well I don't have a front porch, not really. I have a little 'something', not sure what the proper term is for that particular architectural feature, but it's just big enough so you can stand out of the rain to knock on the door or fumble for your key or whatever. And there is a little space on either side for an urn or for the UPS guy to stack a few boxes. Now, I really wish i had a porch, but I didn't know that when I was shopping for a house.

When I 1st bought the house I was too broke to buy furniture right away so I made do with what I had. It's a pretty large house (which is why I was too broke to buy furniture), so I ended up with a lot of empty space. Later I found a place online where I could get some awesome deals on some pretty nice furniture, solid hardwoods, ornate carving and such at unbelievable prices. I had to put some of the stuff together when it arrived, but most of it came already assembled - and in these HUGE boxes and crates.

So one day I came home from work just before dark and as I pulled into my driveway I realized that I couldn't even see my front door at all. On that day the 4 wooden bar stools with upholstered swivel seats had arrived fully assembled and in well padded boxes (each almost 5ft tall) as had a large fully assembled upholstered chaise lounge. There was no way for the poor delivery guy to get all of that stuff on the 'porch'. The chaise lounge was in a box (padded with 6" foam blocks all the way around) large enough for a large upright side by side refrigerator freezer. Lacking a better option he left that box standing in front of my front door. I had to figure out how to move the heavy boxes before I could FIND my house much less get into my house.

Forgot to mention that at the time I couldn't even get myself into my garage (much less the car) so getting into the house via the garage was not an option, and I was terrified of the copperhead I'd recently seen at the back door so I wasn't about to go around there at dusk. Anyhow the giant fridge-sized box was way too big and heavy, so there was no possibility of squeezing around it. About that time it started to sprinkle rain, so I had to get very motivated very fast. I had to stop and laugh at myself 1st though. I mean, it was a positively ridiculous situation.

So, due to the small size of my non-porch, it's a lot easier to cover the door with packages than one might think, and it has already happened!