Heidi Chronicles: Almost The End...

starlight - That day when you were crossing your fingers for me, my day really did take a turn for the better. The rest of the day wasn't exactly pleasant but was a far cry less stressful than the morning. Thanks!

KyWood - Hmm. I'm not sure if I'm feeding them enough to earn the all of the cuteness factor. Hope you got the chance to view the videos by now.

Yes, Terese, I think that last part - when you think he has abandoned the rug and then the arm reaches back in and grabs it 'blindly' is what makes it so cute. Oh, and the ad hoc commentary from the homeowners, esp the last comment.

I saw that rug and racoon before. I laughed so hard when I first sa it and enjoy it everytime I see it. : )

and the look on it's face... almost like "JACKPOT!! Look what I found"

they are such curious creatures.

They really are incredibly curious about everything. Love to explore. Dennis is always trying to play with my shoe and my pants leg. Today I played with him a few minutes with a corn husk, just moving it around on the ground the way you play with a cat. He followed it and grabbed at it like a cat would. Then I dangled it in the air and he reached up and grabbed it. I could tell that he wanted to play with me when he kept playing with my shoe. I think sometimes he wants to initiate play but isn't quite sure how. I guess he must remember when I played with him with the toy a time or 2 when he was a kit.

At one point today after he had eaten a bit Dennis went over in the in the garden and started playing with with dangling flowers, just batting them about again like a cat would. After a few minutes he sat down and started playing with the top to my bug spray - which he had apparently taken with him, little thief. Then he just rolled onto his back right there nestled amidst the flowers - including the ones he was trampling - and continued to play with the plastic top, holding it in the air above him as he wrestled with it.

It can be almost exhausting just to watch Dennis some nights. He's like a kid who can't find anything to do. He's over here, over there, constantly looking for something interesting. Today when he left his food and went of playing, I gave his food to Cissy - who had lost her food when she walked away at the wrong moment earlier. After a while, Dennis returned to the spot where his dish used to be and was sniffing around like "what happened to my dinner?" So as much as I hated to do it, I had to take it back from Cissy - well, at least she got to eat from it for a while. Dennis ate for a few minutes and took off again in search of something to do - only to return later to eat some more. He does this over and over. Everybody else eats until they are finished. Not Dennis. He eats a while, explores a while, eats some more, plays a while...and always expects his food to still be there when he returns.

tetlytuna,

It is difficult to resist Dennis, esp since he has such personality. Tonight when everyone had finished eating, Dennis kept hanging around playing. Then he followed me back to the house when I left, so I couldn't resist. I went inside and got him a marshmallow and a circus peanut to top off his dinner.

Thanks to you and Ruth and everyone who agreed with that sentiment, I don't even think about it anymore. I feed them when it fits my schedule. I don't know about Heidi though. She's pretty 'old' and has been wild all her life. I don't think she sees much place in her life for a human such as me - except as a waitress, that is. If she likes me she definitely has an odd way of showing it.

Terese,

I think you are right. Heidi is all business. I guess her strict adherence to business is part of what has made her so successful in the wild. Dennis, on the other hand, sees my yard as his 2nd home. He is very comfortable here - and it's not as though he has any responsibilities, no kids, no mortgage, not even a car payment - so he can afford to kick back, play, and explore.

Ahhh, to be a kit again, eh? lol

Yep, KyWoods - those were the days : )

I guess tonight I learned that my relationship with Dennis is stronger than I thought. I'm really a bit surprised at how things turned out.

The past few days have been rough for me - well, actually the whole week has - but the past 2 days I've had a skull splitting sinus headache to go along with everything else. I get this sometimes when storms come up from the gulf area and blow through here on their way north. Actually, it's over now. The real mind bending pain always occurs before the storms get here. I guess I'm becoming like those people who can forecast the weather by the pain in a particular joint. Anyhow, when I went out today I wasn't feeling all that swell..

As I walked out toward the feeding area holding the canister of food about 4ft or so in the air, I felt something push up on the bottom of it. Huh? I looked down and to the side to see - who else - Dennis standing on his tippy toes to reach for the canister. I told him 'no' several times. He is starting to show signs of understanding what that means - for a minute.

Heidi was there and grumbling loudly upon seeing Dennis so close to the food when she had yet to be served. I reached for my mm and tossed it a good ways back this time since I knew Dennis was now familiar with this 'game'. That bought me time to feed Heidi in peace, but he was back before I could turn around much less pour up the rest of the food. He kept standing upright, reaching as high as he could - which is maybe 4.5ft when fully extended end to end.

I was trying to pour his food. He was acting up, not being mean or anything but just being Dennis. I had told him 'no' a few times already. Then it happened. I hadn't planned it. Certainly didn't think it through by any means, just acted. With the palm of my open hand I 'hit' him on the side just behind the front legs while he was standing upright and reaching for the food and shoved him away. Hit really isn't the right word. I'm just at a loss to find the one I need. My hand didn't make contact with him hard enough to hurt him in any way but at the same time it was not so gentle as to disguise the message which was "cut it out. I don't like that."

I cannot over emphasize that it was not a planned or well thought out decision. I just acted. I guess I've become comfortable enough around Dennis that my normal reaction to such behavior just came out.

He didn't get angry. He didn't run away. He got down and quit behaving badly. I poured his food, and he ate it - for a few minutes, but that's Dennis. When I finished filling dishes and sat down at my bench, he came over to eat from the dish beside me like he usually does. (He had been eating from the 1st dish I poured after Heidi's which was in Juliet's area.) As he ate, he oriented himself so that his side rested against my lower pants leg. I reached down and petted him - in part to see if my earlier action had made him fear me. He stood perfectly still as I petted him, looked up at me and then continuing his dinner. At one point in between eating and playing he even sat down at my feet and rolled back to expose his tummy and take care of some hygiene matters much the way that Fraidy used to do.

Later when he was looking for treats, I told him 'no', and he got down right away - for a minute. Then he walked around behind me - not realizing I could still see him - and reached up toward the back of my shirt. Again, I said 'no' very calmly, and again he got down immediately. After another attempt and another 'no' a few minutes later, he walked away to do something else.

All in all, aside for the earlier stuff and my having shoved him, we really got along quite well tonight, seemingly even better after I put my foot down, so to speak. He showed no sign of residual fear or having held a grudge or anything. Although if I had it to do over again, I might prefer to have behaved differently, I saw no sign that it had adversely effected his comfort level around me in the least.

Many times I have noticed Heidi observing my interactions with Dennis, esp when he is up close to me. I suspect that she is learning from such episodes, seeing that I don't hurt him. Today when I shoved him away, I caught myself and glanced over toward Heidi's dish. I was surprised to see her there eating calmly and peacefully. Often when I show signs of getting upset with any of the others she heads for the fence, so I had expected that the sight of me shoving Dennis would surely upset her, but she seemed quite unconcerned. (Perhaps she understands the need to reprimand Dennis. lol)

That video with the raccoon and the rug is just a riot: thanks for sharing.

Oh, I'm sure Heidi understands the need to discipline Dennis. When he blew off her calls to return to the forest after dinner last year, I'm very sure he heard all about it from her when he finally got home. He's clearly a young fellow who needs to have limits set and enforced, since he seems to have no natural grasp of boundaries.

As for Heidi's feelings toward you. As a very mature raccoon when she started interacting with you, I don't think it's possible for her to ever really like humans, however kind they've been. It is, however, abundantly clear that she trusts you, and in fact trusts you more each year. Witness how much closer her kits are allowed to become with you each year; that speaks volumes on the level of trust you've built with her. You'll never have as close a relationship with Heidi or HRH as you have with their kids; but the relationship you do have with them is truly remarkable for a human with mature raccoons living in the wild. The glass is a lot more than half full....

Thanks, Ruth!

How very eloquent and touching that last paragraph is.

Yeah, I imagine for her it's a bit like us trying to warm up to snakes. We may learn all about how they are an important part of the food chain and appreciate their value in keeping certain (other) pests under control. Some of us may even rationalize and convince ourselves they are our 'friends', but let's face it, deep down we are just a little repulsed by even the harmless ones. We may learn to respect them and even 'trust' the non-poisonous ones, but most of us don't really want to hold them or 'pet' them. I mean, I give mine names and try to keep people from harming them, but I don't really think of them as cuddly.

Glad you enjoyed the video. BTW, HRH actually comes up and eats from Dennis' dish beside me sometimes when he arrives after Dennis has finished. Of course, whereas Dennis often sits with his back to me and even leans against my leg while he eats, HRH stands on the opposite side of the dish so as to be farther away and to keep an eye on me. One day recently he showed up in daylight again but was a little undecided whether to come down the fence. I kept calling him. Finally he came down. There were several available dishes, so I was surprised when he not only came down the fence but also came to eat beside me - but he's no dummy that HRH. He knows where the goodies come from. I think he likes to eat close to me sometimes so he'll be available if I suddenly discover a marshmallow in my pocket or something like that. LOL
And he's such a lovable, teddy bear. I usually try to save him a treat.

It's pretty amazing that HRH would choose to eat beside you, especially when food was available elsewhere. Of course, I think in most species the males are just a bit easier to win over. They have only themselves to worry about, not being burdened with pregnancy and young-upbringing; and having that natural-born male self-confidence, they're sure they can handle most things life could throw at them. I'm mostly kidding, of course...

Good analogy about the snakes, but it goes a step further when humans are the "creepy" species. Even the venomous snakes won't go looking for a chance to kill us; wish that could be said of humans in relation to other species. It takes a whole lot of positive experiences, over a long time, for a wild animal to trust us; and who can blame them?

Now about the VIP's who came to visit us Wednesday, the ones I had lunch AND dinner with that day...

I had known the guy for a while. He seems like a very kind and genuine person. The lady, however, I met for the 1st time that day. She was the higher ranking of the two and, thus, a very, very important person. Let's just say we didn't hit if off well. Lunch began with a few of those awkward moments, and then as if to get the conversation flowing one of the guys brought up Cheryl's raccoons.

Well, She is not at all fond of raccoons it appears - or any other animals I gather. She is originally from PA (but I'm not holding the rest of you responsible) and currently lives in Alexandria, VA. Upon hearing of my little feeder project she turned (as she was seated beside me), looked down her nose at me, and said with an air of superiority "My but you people do seem to have some UNUSUAL hobbies down here, don't you?"

Ex-c-u-s-e ME! Somebody needs to get off that high horse, I think. I told her that this was my own personal interest, not a southern thing. In fact, I went on to point out that some of the folks who frequent this thread live in VA and may even be her neighbors, AND many are starting their own feeder projects now, too. That certainly freaked her out.

She kept insisting that raccoons are vile creatures, mean, and nasty, vicious even. They will attack you in a heart beat. They are very aggressive...and so on and so on. Even when I tried to tell her otherwise, she kept insisting that they are mean, combative things. Don't you just love it when someone who has no experience what so ever with a given subject insists on defining it for you even when they have been told that you do have experience - at least some kind of experience? I told her I pet mine and feed them cupcakes and marshmallows. She got more than a little riled up about this subject. Needless to say, lunch wasn't all that pleasant.

To make her point about how mean they are she told me about one that was in her yard and cornered by her husky - how war like its behavior was. I tried to point out that it was defending its life, so, yes, I guess it would look kind of vicious at a time like that. Then she started telling people how they are the size of the table. We had 2 tables pulled together (for lunch). Each table was sized for 4 adults, just a tad bigger than an adult raccoon - not! She swore the one in her yard was a big as the husky. I laughed and told her Ruth's tale about how people often called in swearing they had a 50lb raccoon in the yard, but the heaviest one weighed in at 18lb (i think). I quoted (well close) Ruth on how fur and fear seem to make them look a lot larger and heavier than they really are. She glared down her nose at me. (I'm probably not going far in this profession.)

I really wasn't looking forward to sitting through dinner with this person but figured the guy needed moral support. He, BTW, asked if I have any photos of them and said in a tone that sounded quite genuine that he would love to see them if I could email him the photos or links. But the lady...can you say Bad Attitude?

Oh, well, it takes all kinds, I guess. The bad ones help you appreciate the good ones.

Ruth,

I see your point. I hadn't even thought about that blotch on our species' record. We cross posted, so the post above is certainly not a response to yours, however, it may help to make your point. ;-)

I was thinking the same thing about the difference between HRH and Heidi, BTW, at least the part about how the males are little more free spirited since they don't have the responsibilities of the females - raising babies and such.

I thought I would explain why I even get annoyed with Dennis when he gets all 'grabby' about the food the way he did the other night. I know he doesn't intend to harm me. He just wants the food - NOW. He can't seem to wait until I pour it. That's just this way of "asking" for what he wants. The problem is that I need to make sure that I am not scratched or bitten. Most of the time Dennis is very gentle and is careful to keep his claws to himself, but when he gets all excited about the food sometimes he forgets. Keeping him from scratching me is for his protection as well as my own since the people in charge of these matters at the state level will surely want his head (for real) if I have to go for post exposure shots. Since I am the one who knows and understands the dangers, it is my responsibility to keep us safe; so I need to impose some kind of order. I need for Dennis to understand that he can't be snatching at food when I'm walking or pouring it or whatever. I also need to establish this kind of control over my space before he becomes a mature male. And Dennis can be a little hard-headed at times.

I can't over emphasis that I didn't hurt him, didn't even come close. I guess I did feel like a big 'meanie' afterward, but it was necessary, like disciplining kids. Just didn't want people to think "Oh, no, now she's starting to be physically abusive and violent".

OH Cheryl -- I"m sure we all understood why you did it, and that you would never intend to hurt any of them.... and YES you do need those 'boundaries' -- especially with Dennis, since he thinks he's your new pet. It does seem he is getting to understand "NO". Now if you can just teach him, "sit" and "stay".

ROTF, Terese - Dennis has a 35sec attention span! If it were possible to teach him to sit, he would look like a 'jack-in-the-box' and I would sound like a broken record: 'sit sit sit sit sit...' 'Stay', on the other hand, would be virtually useless. I'm not sure the point of a 35sec 'stay'. Widget is bad enough when it comes to forgetting these things. I actually have said "Sit!" to Dennis a time or two in the heat of 'battle' when I forget he's not Widget.

I wonder what is going to happen next year - when he's an adolescent male [2yrs of age] and it's time for him to leave the nest - so to speak. He's gonna fight that tooth and nail. If he gets banished from the yard - now he's really gonna be hanging out in the tree outside your BR window [knocking] asking for treats.

Sorry your evening didn't go so well. Them kinda people frost my cookies sometimes. I call them tiny minded people. Hope ya don't have to see her to much. I would have been rolling my eyes and probably sticking my tongue out behind her back. Childish thoughts, yep, but it makes ya feel good sometimes.

Nobody thinks ya was being intentionally mean. I glad ya did it, cuz you do have to show him your more than a treat machine and you have to show your dominance over him or he gonan be one uncorigable teen and then you might have problems with gettign scratched and stuff.

You might as well start trainign him right. Someday he gonan find himself a lady friend and he needs to know she the boss. He goes back over by Heidi and the others when they chase him away, he gonan come right back when you do the same.

Any sign that the kits are being snuck in the yard late at night. If the food all gone when evrybody leaves, would she not bring the kits earlier? Forget how it happened last year. Got sometimers here.

Since I sittign here eating a bag, I wonder have you tried cheez its yet?

I think any of us that have had children understand exactly your actions towards Dennis!
Starlight is right, with him so comfortable around you, you need to set the boundries for him and enforce them.

If you were abusive, Dennis wouldn't have come up and leaned on you while he ate after that. We know you didn't hurt him. He's a li'l booger, isn't he? lol

Terese,

That should be interesting for sure. I know if he is forced to leave I sure will miss him as we have become quite close. Who knows, since HRH seems to be tolerating Trouble, maybe he will also tolerate Dennis. Of course, that brings us back to the problem of overcrowding...

Actually, I don't have a tree outside my BR window. Wish I did. Dennis sits in a Privet hedge there. It's around 4ft high. If he's chased away, I don't think he'll be able to get to the foundation plantings at the back of the house. Guess he'll either have to relocate to the front yard or send his treat requests by mail or pigeon. (Can you just see Mr T delivering a note that Dennis needs emergency rations as his treat stash is almost depleted?)

Is Mr T still around raising havoc? Or has he matured now that he has raised a family?

KyWoods,

Yes, he sure is! Yesterday I went out with a pocket full of dog candies and 2 marshmallows. I tossed one mm to Dennis while I fed Heidi. I wanted to give the other to Cissy but Dennis was having a fit to have it. He wanted all of the goodies. Didn't want Cissy to have any. I tossed her a few of the dog candies. He went over there and chased her away. He scarfed the candy and m's down so fast that he got sick again for a minute or two. I've decided that's what makes him ill. He is so determined to have all of the treats that he swallows them whole. What's that other thing you call him? Lil stinker. Yep, he sure is.

I am also reminded of the words of the raccoon (can't recall his name) at that sight Karen (remember her?) recommended so long ago. This was a pet raccoon who had his own web site with info and a Q&A page. One of the Q's was about physical discipline. I found the A rather memorable as he (the raccoon) said something to the effect that you should be careful with the use of physical discipline as I might mistake it for an unprovoked attack and respond accordingly. To that end, attempting to hurt a wild raccoon in bare-handed combat might be a bit like trying to hurt a pit bull.

tetleytuna,

In spring of this year while I was out tending the garden a tufted titmouse once again landed on my head and wondered about up there pulling hair for a while until I started to walk. I'm not sure if it was T or some of his progeny. The bird looked somehow younger than I remembered for T but certainly seemed comfortable around me and well versed in the art of plucking nesting materials. After that day and for a week or so I took hair from my brush, balled it up, made a few cuts across it with scissors so as to keep it safe for babies and left it on the patio. I haven't seen him since.

starlight,

Luckily, they rarely visit. I like the guy, but his last visit was over 1.5yrs ago. If she comes that often I guess I can cope. He was planning a visit late last July, but when he called me to tell me his plans I advised that he might want to think about postponing that for a month or two. After I described the weather at that time of year he cancelled his flight. She is, however, thinking seriously about buying a house here when she retires, for winters only. She and her husband visited Charleston in January of last year and were elated to find that it was a lovely sunny day near 70F and that he was even able to play golf, something she says he can't do a lot of in winter in PA. (If she moves here I'm going to tell all of the raccoons to go over there and make scary faces.)

I would never have brought up the topic of raccoons over lunch with Vips, and it's most ironic that the guys did considering they hate to hear raccoon stories. I think they were all responding to the stressful silence and awkward conversation with near strangers. Guess the one guy brought up the topic figuring it would at least generate conversation. Then the other guy jumped on that band wagon, probably relieved to have something to talk about. That got the woman started making horrible comments, and I couldn't help myself. I had to at least try to straighten out the misinformation. That's one of my character flaws.

LOL at your idea of making faces behind her back. I like that one. Didn't think of it at the time though. Needed you guys there for support.

Heidi is very, very particular about the situations into which she will take her babies. Some of the younger moms can be seen with kits tagging along just about anywhere mom wants to go but not Heidi. She won't bring them to the buffet until she feels comfortable that she has the situation and crowd under control, and even then she will pack them up and take them home in a heart beat if things get the least bit rowdy. Right now the afternoon crowd is growing as the others learn that they have to get there before the food is all gone. The ones she evicted: Rupert and Juliet's kids seem to be trying to come back. Heidi is mounting a fierce defense of her turf right now and is determined to keep the evicted ones out of the yard. (got a little footage of this. will post soon) I can tell that she is clearly making plans for the arrival of the kits but the timing is known only to her.

A week or so back I was fairly sure they were in the tree for a day or two there but have not seen evidence of that since then. Last year before I saw the kits I noticed evidence of their presence in the form of excavation around and in the 'sandbox'. I've not seen any such evidence so far this year.

They will be here and I suspect it will be soon but when is anybody's guess.

Thanks, nanny,

Dealing with Dennis is a bit like walking a tight rope sometimes as I balance on a narrow edge between doing something to loose their trust and letting them get out of hand. In some ways Dennis may be heralding things to come. As the others become more and more comfortable around me they, too, may want to get more assertive; so it's best that I learn now how to handle this delicate situation.

LOL, telling them to make scary faces at that woman if she moves to the neighborhood! You could offer to let her stay at your place until she finds a house, and she can watch from the window as you interact with the gang--you'd have a convert for sure!
Yeah, she'd make a lovely houseguest, huh? LOL

KyWoods,

Although the evening meal went much better, mostly because we didn't talk about raccoons or animals of any kind, I am doubtful that I'd want to see that much of her (house guest). ;-)

As for being converted, I really didn't get the impression that she's all that fond of animals. (Just glad to see her airplane ascend into the clouds Thurs morning on my way to work.)

Before I begin I'd like to preface tonight's comments by wishing all of the mothers out there a very Happy Mother's Day tomorrow!

Now on with our story...

Sometimes I could swear the gang is pulling in WiFi from somewhere in the neighborhood and reading this story. Today I went out early - 6pm ish - as I was planning to go out for a bit. No one was there yet, so I used the time to clean the pool and change and fill all of the water sources. I gather that after spending a few days sitting around for hours waiting for me, Heidi had adjusted her schedule a bit. I called her a time or two in a very low voice so as not to alert the neighbors. Then I tried something new. I tried rapping my finger nail on the dog food box a number of times in rapid succession. It was a simple sound, one that would be meaningless to the neighbors if they even heard it, but I felt it would 'carry' farther into the forest than my voice, and with Heidi's extraordinary ability to read and discern sounds I hoped she would recognize it and come to investigate. Within minutes she was standing on the tree limb looking at me. Coincidence?

Since I was earlier today, none of the others were there yet, leaving Heidi to dine in peace for a change. I had taken 2 eggs along today, putting one by Heidi's dish and the other (pre chipped) by Dennis' dish, recognizing that it might well be eaten by whoever showed up 1st be it Cissy, HRH, or Dennis. As usual Heidi ate her cat food 1st, slowly and methodically. I hadn't planned to stay but I can rarely leave once I get out there and they show up.

When Heidi had finally finished the last bit of kibble in her dish - and it was interesting to note that she did, in fact, go to the trouble of picking up every single piece even though there were numerous other dishes from which she might have eaten once hers became that low - but when she had eaten that last piece believe it or not she came over to eat from Dennis' dish beside me! I was totally astonished! At the time I was even leaning over towards that empty chair that I use for a table, the one Dennis gets in. I had my arm on the arm of that chair even though I was actually sitting on the little bench (it's a 20" bench). Dennis' dish was at the food of my bench and the leg of that chair, so leaning over that way and with my arm on the arm of that chair put me even closer to her than I would otherwise have been, but I remained in that position fearing that any movement might spook her. With my arm resting on the arm of the chair, my hand was draped off the end of it and just over her head. Amazing.

When she came up to the dish to eat I looked away into the forest fearing that I might scare her if I made eye contact at such close proximity, but somehow my failure to acknowledge her seemed to throw her off more. She backed away from the dish and started heading back to her place. I looked at her and spoke, "It's ok". She stopped and turned back to look at me. Then I called her name, and she returned to the dish where she stood and ate for a while. This time I looked at her as I normally do when she eats.

BTW, I am certain that Heidi knows her name, not necessarily that it is her name but that it is specific to her and that it is a call for her to come. She responds to it not only when she is waiting on the fence or in the tree or something like that where you might think she would respond to almost any word but also when she is leaving, for instance. When she has decided to leave the yard and return to her kits, I sometimes call her as she is walking away. She will almost always stop and look back at me for a moment. Sometimes she will even return and eat a little more when summoned in this manner (for what reason I don't know); other times she will look back for a minute or so and then decide to go ahead and leave anyhow, but she almost always acknowledges the call. Even if I call her when she is 1/2 way up the fence, she will stop and turn her head to look at me before continuing on.

She did eat her egg tonight after she had eaten all of the cat food she wanted. Then I rolled Dennis' egg over to her (she was back at her spot by this time), and she ate it, too, before leaving. As for her decision to come over and eat beside me when there were 4 other dishes of untouched food from which she might have eaten once hers ran out, I cannot explain it. She does seem to display more curiosity about me and initiate more interaction with me each year just before her kits arrive on the scene. I have to wonder if it has something to do with staying in my good graces to secure treats and such for her kits. I don't think she is really all that comfortable being so close to me, but she sees Dennis and even HRH do it. I don't harm them, and they get treats. Heidi doesn't want the treats, but I suspect that if there are going to be treats she would prefer to secure them for her kits than have one of the others take them - not being selfish, just taking care of her babies.

Perhaps another explanation may relate to the fact that she doesn't want Dennis or HRH or any of the others to be in that space in front of my chair, a space she has claimed for her kits. She seems to understand fully that if she doesn't want others in her area she has to deprive them of food in her area. Yesterday some of the ones she had evicted previously were trying to come into the yard to eat. She was determined to keep them out. I made the boneheaded mistake of throwing a handful of cat food back there by the fence thinking the one that was trying to come down the fence could eat back there without bothering her. No way! Not only did she chase that poor yearling all the way across the yard and kick his butt (I felt so bad for getting him in trouble) but she also made a point to walk around back there and pick up every spec of the food I had scattered before returning to her dish. I was surprised and impressed that she understood the ramifications of leaving that food there.

Se is one very smart lady, and a great mom. OH speaking of that... you will have to give her something very special tomorrow, being Mother's Day.

Guess it can't be cake ... cuz all the others would want that.... what do you give a "women" who love cat food and organic eggs??

Well, I guess I'll have to go out and get her some of those brown, EB, cage free eggs, the ones she likes so much, and maybe a bag of peanuts and a small bag of some really good kitten food. Those are her favorites. Good idea, Terese. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the idea. I was planning a trip to the grocery store in the early morning anyhow.

I could get her kids to come visit her but they are all there driving her crazy already. LOL

What a small world it is. Alexandria, VA is where I worked in animal control; your b...chy VIP is probably one of the folks who called me about a 50 pound raccoon. Like you, I always tried to educate them; but some minds are so closed they make bank security look sloppy.

I had no doubt everyone would understand that you weren't abusing Dennis by pushing him away. And your point is well taken and absolutely correct: if you were accidentally injured by any of them, it could be fatal to all of them.

Very interesting about the calling. Don't know if you have a tape recorder or not, but someime ya just might turn it on and put it in your pocket, not one with eggs in , please, hehehehehe and let it run and try not to think of it and record yoru voice as you call each one. I beat if you listened to yoru voice on playback, you would find small inflectiosn in the way you talk to each one and call their names and they probably have those sounds and their names down pat.

I wonder with her coming aroudn you too, I wonder if she is worryign about her kits and having plenty of food for them with so many other sin the yard and not only tryign to secure treats for the kits, but to use use as some sort of protection.

I glad she around you and trustign you so much, but a bit worried too. dennis a big kid and you like a ood buddy, suragate mom and treat despensor, but heidi veyr much a wild creature and she has shown how agressive she can be. She is one I think that you gonan really have to watch if she brings kits by you and she there. With so much activity that gonna be goign in yard and her runnign others off, if you put food maybe to close to the kits or something, wonde rif in her tryign to defend mode from others she would accidently try to defend from you too and mistakenly tag you. I hope not, but somethign ya might need to consider. She gonan be veyr bust with all the kits and others. She probabyl spend so much time chasing hope she gets a chance to eat too.

Saw a bunch of folks crawdad fishing along the side of the road in a creek stream the other day and thought about the pooland kits and a new batch of youngens to try and teahc how to fish for shrimp and crawdads.

Happy Mother's Day to you too . You a mommy of a whole lot of kids. ; ) Hope they bring ya joy and smiles today!

Good idea about the tape recorder, starlight--lol, not in the pocket with eggs. Eeew! If you could post the sound track, we could hear the vocalizations, clicking, etc. noises they make. How do people post wmv. files, anyway?

I don't think I have a tape recorder. Trying to think if I have anything besides the camera that has audio recording capability even though not a tape recorder per se. Even if I had a traditional tape recorder, I don't think I would have a means to digitize and convert to a wav file or mp3 or whatever. And I don't know of a site that hosts audio files.

starlight, after you mentioned this recently I did turn the camera on after it was to dark to get video but while the raccoons were arguing, well more like scrapping and fighting. I was planning to put the file on YouTube so that you could hear it if you like. I was a bit disappointed when I played it back. The sound quality isn't as good as I had hoped. I have several videos, including some with the raccoons depicted visually, in which the raccoons are making some of their characteristic sounds, but even when they are right next to me the sound is barely audible. On one of the videos that you have probably already seen, when Dennis chases Cissy away from me and the mm's he is making that snorting, grunting sound but when played back it is almost impossible to discern. I have one or more with Heidi making that "Huuuuu" sound she makes to tell everybody to 'watch it!' but again the sound is almost non-existent when played back even though it is quite clear when she says it!

In addition to the fact that I've not been happy with the results of the audio so far, once you mentioned that you couldn't view videos I figured there was no need to post an essentially blank video for people to listen to. Lastly, and this is more of an issue with the camera than it might be with a device designed specifically to record audio, it is difficult to know when the raccoons will be making sounds. 90+ % of the time they are silent, making sounds mostly when they argue, and even then they have such a wide range of vocalizations that it's difficult to know when you might get a particular one. The blank video I recorded with them fighting just basically sounds like a continuous cat fight. It doesn't include any of the clicking sounds. That seems to have a very specific use. I haven't heard them doing that lately except the other night when HRH was doing it but he was up on the fence and so far away that I could barely hear the clicks; so I doubt they would show up on a recording from that distance.

If anyone would be interested in watching/hearing the 'fighting' I recorded, LMK and I'll post it, but remember it's recorded on a video file so it will require hi-speed I think even though the video portion is just black.

Today I went out at 6:30PM but Heidi was quite late. She didn't arrive until more like 7:3PM. Maybe the kids and HRH took her out on the 'forest' for Mother's Day.This morning, well more like noon because I had to wait for those storms to pass through, I went out for groceries. I got the EB brown eggs, peanuts, and a 4lb bag of IAMs kitten food. When Heidi didn't show up at 6:30, I filled her dish to the top (since she's been eating a lot lately) with the kitten food, put an egg on one corner and a pile of peanuts in shell beside the dish. I gave everyone kitten food to avoid a war. Then I left to do housework. Later when I looked through the window and saw her out there, I went back out. She and Dennis were there. They really seemed to like that IAM's kitten food. 1st ingredient chicken, 2nd ingredient chicken by product meal, followed by corn meal and grits. Also included: dried egg, egg shell, fish oil and beet pulp, not sure the purpose of that last one but figure it should be sweet and it's a veggie and we know veggies are good for them.

When I was in the store and reaching for the eggs, the only brown eggs I saw were 2 other brands. I started to get one of those but, LOL, remembering our joke about how Heidi turns the egg around to look for the 'EB' I looked around some more and found the EB brown eggs, the cage free ones she likes. : )
Today I went to a different Publix, a new one closer to my home. The layout was different, however, so I had some difficulty finding my staples. I had to laugh at myself when I was buying the yogurt. I found my favorites but there I was standing there searching diligently amidst all of the brands and flavors thinking, "Oh, NO, where is Dennis' favorite?!" Thankfully, I ultimately found it. Whew.

We have digitalized several of our audio tapes. You need a tape deck with a line out jack, though, and not all of them have one. We use that same video editing software (Sony Vegas) to render the music into mp3s. It takes a while because you have to manually separate tracks, but it works quite well. :-)

That said, our digital camera doesn't do a very good job at recording sounds either. So probably all of the above info was mostly superfluous. LOL

LOL at looking for Dennis' favorite yogurt and Heidi's favorite eggs. I wonder if the beet pulp is for coloring... We actually have half of a big bag of IAMS kitten food... Our kitties turned their noses up at it, so now they are getting Purina Cat Chow. I should send you the partial bag!

The beet pulp serves two purposes: provides fiber (this is probably a side benefit), and thickens the mix so it will hold together when it goes through the extruder that gives it the kibble shape. Not something that raccoons (or certainly kittens) would eat in the wild, but it serves the manufacturer's purposes.