Heidi Chronicles: And Baby Makes 5

This is the ongoing story of Heidi and Friends, raccoons (and sometimes an opposum or 4) who dine at my backyard buffet. A few days ago Heidi brought her new kits by for a visit. She wouldn't let them come down out of the tree, but at least we got a chance to look at the little tykes.

Original thread that started it all: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/603944/
Prior thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/849472/

Below is a pic of Heidi's new babies. With the darkness and distance, this was the best I could do.
Edited to add that so far there are 4 kits (hence, with mom, baby makes 5)

This message was edited Jun 4, 2008 12:03 AM

Thank you so much for the new thread! I love to follow along here, and this will make it much easier for me.

Hugs,
Susan
=^..^=

You are very, very welcome, Susan. Never hesitate to remind me when the thread gets slow. Sometime, all too often, in fact, I forget. : )

I had a LOT going on today. Did spend some time out there, but didn't wait around like I did the last few nights hoping to see Heidi bring them back after dark. No sign of the kits even in the tree today. But they will be here soon, I'm sure. Got more pics and video, including pics of some of the 'others' and video of the raccoons doing things you haven't seen [here] before. Will try to get some loaded soon. Have to see the insurance adjuster tomorrow for lunch and pick up my 'new' [used] car after work, so things are pretty hectic right now. And at work we continue to escalate toward our final delivery date coming up soon

Am feeling much better. Minimal back pain right now, and no spider pain. Trying not to injure myself one day at a time. : )

Thanks for the new thread. : )

What kinda new used car they get ya. Hope it runs good and bet you be glad to have wheels again. Glad to hear the pain lessign up some, but you still need to take it easy. Hope everythign goes good with the adjuster and that thinsg run smoothly for you for work. : )

that one on top .... it's so cute... almost like he/she is sideways, just trying to figure it all out.

That is such a cute pic! They look like one of those topsy-turvy planters people make!

Hooray for manageable pain--and the promise of no pain soon! And it will be nice to have a set of wheels again; hope it's nice, but most of all, safe. Are you thinking of baby names yet, or will you wait to get to know their personalities first?

Another grueling day. Widget woke me up for his 3AM walk outside - a recent bad habit. (Anybody need a dog?)

I gave brief consideration to a new car. Although they are nice, I've grown very happy with nice used cars. I only buy Honda. There are 'sexier' cars, but few more reliable cars. When I was younger I bought new cars and picked them out based on such things as appearance, power, and the fun factor. Now I want something reliable that gets good gas mileage since who knows where the price of gas will end up. After years of feeling helpless when dealing with mechanics, 17 years ago I found my current Honda mechanic. He works at the dealership, only works on Hondas, has done so for 30+ years, is incredibly knowledgeable of his trade, and unbelievably honest and conscientious. Before I found him, I would take my car in and say "call me with an estimate before you do any work". Now I can take it in and say "just do what you think needs to be done" (and sometimes come back to find that my bill is $20). So not only do I trust the brand for reliability, but the mechanic alone is worth a mint to me - and he only comes with Honda.

I also hate dealing with car sales people, hate playing all those games, having to sit in the little room while they 'consult the boss'; hate it when I ask for a price and they want me to drive the car 1st and such nonsense. Some 3 cars ago, frustrated with salesmen I asked my trusted mechanic about helping me find an appropriate car. Now, when I need a 'new' car, I call him. He keeps an eye out for one that is right for me, in good condition, etc - trades that come through the dealership, cars individuals are looking to sell, etc. When he finds one, he checks it out to be sure it is healthy, negotiates a really good price, and then brings it to me to test drive. If I like it, I pay the owner or whoever and they give him a small cut for helping to sell the car. Everybody wins, I get a good car for less than 1/2 what the sales people wanted, and no hassles, and I don't even have to spend time running around town test driving cars. He always finds me something cute (even though that's not my prime consideration), reliable, and inexpensive and so far has even picked them in my favorite colors.

Seven years ago I paid $3k for the one I have, a sporty, red 94 Civic that was, at the time, shiny and quite cute for the price despite its advancing age. (Once I get one I keep it as long as it's not giving me problems. I guess I just view a car like an appliance rather than a fashion statement. I'm sure that sounds odd to most people, but it is right for me.) At the time, the blue book value was about 2x that. The current blue book value for it in excellent condition (which it isn't) is just over $3k. I just sold it for $2200, not a bad deal. I drove it 7 years for $800. I had no repairs the 1st 6 years and only a few minor things this past year, like a switch for < $100 installed. At these prices I can easily pay cash for the car and pay no interest, and since I have my mechanic checking them out for me I have the piece of mind that they won't be lemons. I also love that I pay next to nothing for taxes, insurance, and gas.

When I drove new cars I worried about every scratch and door ding, detailed them constantly, refused to let anyone eat in them, etc in my quest to keep the resale value up, even parked at the far corners of parking lots trying to stay as far as possible from the other cars. These days I think of my older cars as disposable. I backed one into a small tree on day, said "oops", and drove away worry free. A year or so after I bought the one I have now, I came out to find that someone backing out of the spot beside me lightly scraped the back fender, and then left without taking responsibility for it. With a new car that would have ruined my day. With my 94 civic, I hardly gave it a 2nd thought - and as you can see, it didn't effect the resale value.

So that's my car plan. Sorry about writing you a book about my thoughts on cars. : )
My 'new' car is a 98 Accord, fully loaded with all of the options, white with black trim and beige interior (no more black cars or black interiors for me as long as I live this close to the sun!). I thought it sounded dull when he called me about it but was pleasantly surprised to find that it's cute and looks almost new. It has low mileage for its age, has only had 1 owner (car fax), and has been maintained at the dealership (so they have all of the records on it) all its life. I'm getting it for $4k. Perfect! (Thank you, God, for sending me this mechanic.)

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Glad everyone liked the pic of the kits. Thanks. I think they are turned every which way because they are on different parts of that group of branches hanging down from the Heidi tree (if you recall the pics from the past of those tiny limbs over the fence).

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As far as the pain, I'm doing quite well now with only the occasional pain pill here and there in addition to NSAIDs. Thanks for all of your prayers and good wishes on my behalf. All that good will seems to be working.

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Lastly, couldn't sleep last night. With only a few hours sleep, worked all day and dealt with the insurance adjuster RE the car. Came how and crashed. Woke up at 9:30PM to realize I still hadn't fed the raccoons. By that time the crowd was huge (8+), everybody was starved, and attitudes were bad - lots of scuffling, etc, with too many raccoons for the available dishes. I gave Heidi the last 1/4 of the watermelon, figuring she would turn it over to the others when she was finished. I was too tired to deal with cutting it up and it was easier to carry that way. I took out a stem of grapes to distribute to the others. When I tried to fill Heidi's dish Dennis was, of course, determined to eat from it. I was too tired to deal with marshmallows and such. I just said "No!" and gave him a sturdy whallop, knocking him out of the way. Amazingly, Heidi who was standing there waiting for her food to be poured (and grumbling at Dennis) didn't even flinch when I smacked him right in front of her. (I guess she understands the need to reprimand Dennis from time to time.)

Heidi loved the watermelon. She spend about 1/2 the night face down in the thing. When she finished the furry, long haired one grabbed it. He/she goes into a Diva-like frenzy around watermelon and is SO funny to watch.

With everybody being so hungry and everybody loving grapes, they mobbed me as soon as I sat down. With so many irritable, hungry raccoons competing for so few grapes I was a bit uncomfortable, so I insisted they keep back a bit giving me some space - including Dennis since competition tends to bring out his bad side. I tossed the grapes around to them, keeping them a min of a few feet away from my bench, using the food box to symbolically push them back when needed. Seeing that there were not enough dishes for everyone and this was making for chaos, I went back for more food and tossed handfuls all about the area so as to make it available to all.

It wasn't the best night at the buffet, but we muddled through.

Oh, and I'm going to hold off on names. I like to give them 'personal' names based in some way on their characteristics. But I am going to pick a few names from the ozone for those still unnamed ones from 07 like Juliet's 2 - as soon as I get through figuring out who is who. Another reason to hold off on names is that it is often almost impossible to keep them sorted out when they are little - except for that little blond fella. No sense giving them names until I can tell them apart.

Well, now that you have my thoughts on the car mess, that's about it for now. ;-)

Wish I could be as thrifty with everything else as I am with the car issue. Maybe in time. But here is another way to view the car thing. The money I don't spend in car payments, taxes, and insurance, not to mention gas, buys a lot of cat food and treats. : )

No sign of those kits lately. I knew Heidi wasn't about to bring them to that circus out there last night. I think she's going to have to get a handle on the chaotic situation out there with all those other raccoons. A time or 2 I've tried going out there after hours to see if I could catch her out there, but no luck as that's pretty hit and miss.

Your car sound sperfect for you and sure wish had a mechanic like yours. I too am thankful, for the people who work on my car. May have to wait weeks for them to get to it, but they only charge me for parts and I give them money for labor which is lots cheaper than the mechanics anyday. Like ya say with older ones, whats a few dings and pings, plus I always hauling plants and dirt and manure and such and functional is much more important.

Wow.. mob scene. Surprised they weren't all peeping in the doors and windows at ya. Sound slike ya got some good control going on though. Wonder when dennis gonan learn to ring the door bell. LOL

I drive a 1996 Geo Metro for most of the reasons you listed above, Cheryl. It works, it's paid for, I'm not worried about the paint peeling off of the hood. 'Course, it's not going to fetch anything near $2200 when I finally sell it! LOL I'll be lucky to get a $100 trade in for it. Hondas are fabulous cars, and your mechanic sounds wonderful!!! What a blessing. :-) Did the meeting with the adjuster go well?

I'm so glad you are feeling better!!!

I'm glad you're being firm with Dennis, too. The "mob scene" sounds quite chaotic.

Cheryl -- so good for you in finding a great, trust worthy mechanic. Gotta be worth his weight in gold. I sleep with mine [well i used to, til we both started snoring] so i always know my cars are in tip top shape.
He's just the type that will not buy used ... does all the work himself, that he possibly can -- new cars and such having gone so 'computerized' are a bit harder to deal with .... and we always buy "American" ... they are not always the best in terms of gas milage ... so we may be turning to 'foreign' [even though most are made in the States anyways these days]

OH HECK -- and I hear ya on black!! When i was turning 30, it was MY time to get something "toy-ish"
[DH and been thru boats, snowmobiles and a 'muscle car' ... and had yet to get the Harley] but this was my turn .... I oh so wanted an old Chevelle ... but couldnt find exactly what i was looking for .... so i purchased a `95 BLACK chevy Camaro Z28 Convertable .... i at least got tan leather interior. Needless to say, i will never buy a black car again. IT is currently a dust magnet, sitting in the back of the garage [we have a 3.5 car tandem] and it only has a bout 23k miles on it.... but worth more to me than Blue Book, so we keep it.

and -- i also got rid of my gas guzzler of a kid hauler, when i no longer had to haul kids around .... that 13mpg was killing me. My next car will have a squirrel cage under the hood, and room enough for me, dh and a dog.

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sounds like a tension filled evening with all those hungry critters and not enough grapes. Bet you can't wait til the ones in your yard are ripe.

Well... busy morning .... Dh, pooch and I are heading up North, where it is NOT cooler ... gonna be hot and rainy, just like here .... but not sure when we are coming back .... so i'll be reading, and probably not posting much unless i go to the club house where the internet is faster.

Enjoy your new wheels!!

Terese

Hey -- have you seen those "Smart" cars ?? DH has been looking at those... i think i actually saw one in town the other day.... cute as a button and just enough room for the 3 of us [that includes Bud]
Don't need a car to fit the kids or MIL.

The Smart cars are VERY cute! We saw one on the highway last week and were admiring it. :-) We're going to need a bigger car before too very long as our bunnies' legs are getting longer and longer. They're going to have a hard time crawling into the back seat of the Metro pretty soon (it's a tiny 2 door hatchback; I bought it before I met DH, so I wasn't thinking about kids fitting in it at the time.) We'll probably get another Mazda because we both like DH's Protege, but I wouldn't mind looking at a Honda, too.

My DH was checking on the Smart Car and it has a year waiting list!

I currently have a Ford Freestyle [has been changed to Taurus X] but i really love mine. Roomy, and all the back seats fold down for Buddy [he's the king of his castle] and i can hold 7 if i need to. mileage is decent ... 20 around town but upper 20's to low 30s highway.

we tend to hang onto cars for about 8 yrs ... and it's an `05, so i'll have it for a while.
the Kids both have Pontiacs, 4 cyl, so they are good mileage too [03 GrandAm and 06 G6] DH, reverting back to a teenager, got one of those new mustangs, at least he got the V6, so the gas consumption is a bit better.

It'll be nice when the kids move out and we can 'retire' and downgrade to only 1 car. May stick the Z28 in Wisc as a second car for up there.

whoops --- sorry to hijack and talk so much about cars....

Marylyn -- What EVER you do, don't let that Geo go for $2k!!! Just last week there was a top news story on cnn.com about the Geo. Due to escalating fuel costs people are buying up old Geos (like early 90's) from junk yards, fixing them up, and selling them for $5k and UP on ebay. Per the article they are going like hot cakes at those prices. Seems you have a gem on your hands and don't know it. Turns out the Geos get almost the same gas mileage as the hybrids but without that $30k or so price tag, so now those old Geos are a hot item and are selling for more than the original sticker prices! Check it out.

nanny -- I saw the Smart Car on news but haven't seen a real one yet. Looks like my kind of car.

Terese -- Whoa, you had me going there for a minute about sleeping with the mechanic. LOL. I was going, "TMI, TMI!" before I realized what you were saying. ROTF. Well, I guess you do get good service and prices for your car repairs then. My last new car was a fire engine red, Trans Am w T-tops. Fun to drive until the warranty ran out. I lived at the gas station, and in the 2yrs I owned it, I had the thing in for repairs more often than my used 94 Civic (in all 7 years). Accelerated hard on day and and a piece fell off the dash. Alternator died when it was about 6mo old and left me sitting at the mall. T-tops leaked constantly despite countless repairs. For style, power, and fun I liked the Trans Am a lot better, but for reliability and service I'll take the Honda any day. The 3 I've had so far have been the Energizer Bunnies of cars. They just keep going and going and going. Eventually the body starts to fall apart, but that engine just keeps on purring like a kitten.

Oh, I don't think you can hijack my thread since I started the subject of cars.

starlight -- sounds like my kind of deal. Oh, and Dennis probably was sitting at the door, and the others may have been peering in at me but I was way to sound asleep to know or care.

Here is the Geo story, Marylyn: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/05/20/geo.metro/

After loking at cars and making our decision my wife, Sue, writes a check for the amount that she is willing to pay. This has worked t.hree times. Fifteen years ago for a Nissan for me. A few years ago for a Honda Civic for herself. A year ago for a Honda CR-V for me. In every case the check was accepted. It had gotten too painful to pull myself up and out of a sedan. The seat in the CR-V is high enough to make life easier for me.

I just wanted to tell you all that thanks to the descriptive threads I can now say I have recognized the baby raccoon crying in the back forty(actually less than an acre). We had those bad storms come through and had lost power...........along with a lot of trees in the neighborhood ....and had gone out to the RV to watch the news. The neighborhood was so quiet and I could hear that "thrilling" sound in the back. I was so excited I grabbed DH and made him listen. It must have been real scary for all the critters...........sure was for the humans!

I just love the video of the kits Cheryl!

My husband has had 3 Hondas and loved them all. I get stuck with the Ford 150 that I can barely park! Mostly it stays parked unless I go shopping!

Judy
!

Marylyn -- That's excellent! As long as gas prices hold steady or increase your car will probably continue to be worth more than you every imagined. If you have any desire to get rid of it, you might want to take advantage of the situation. Now it's like playing the stock market. You need to try to find the high point at which to sell.

George -- That is an excellent idea what you said your wife does. I usually get frustrated with the sales people and end up leaving w/o a car. The last time I tried to buy one before I started getting my mechanic to do it for me, I ended up keeping my old beater for a lot longer than I wanted to just because I kept walking out on sales people at car lots. Then I would just say the heck with it and keep driving the old one for a while before I'd try again and repeat the whole thing.

I was wondering if you were still with us, BTW. Did you see the video of me petting Dennis? We've come a long way, huh? Also wanted to tell you that on Monday I think it was, Trouble came over to eat from Dennis' dish beside me. He was a little apprehensive but soon started to settle down a bit. At the time I just happened to have a stem of gladiolus blooms with me that I had picked in the garden earlier. Suddenly I remembered what you had told me about using the stick, so I reached over and touched his back with the tip of the gladiolus. It was a good 30+in long. He looked up to see what had touched him, but it didn't seem to upset him too much. I kept doing that off and on as he ate. He doesn't come by often lately, probably because I've been feeding in daylight lately. I haven't seen him since that incident.

Judy -- I know just what you mean. I've only fairly recently started to decode a little of their language. Now I find that I am understanding things that I would not have understood before, like the day that Heidi tried to bring the kits into the yard. I might have left before she got them down to the fence line except that when she left (and I started to leave too) I heard her making that "whooop, whooooop" sound. In the past I probably would have ignored that, thinking maybe it was a bird or something, but this time as soon as I heard that I knew she was calling the babies and that meant they were nearby.

Glad that the threads and videos have also helped you to learn some of their language. Have you gone back out there since the storm to see if the baby is still crying? Hopefully the mom came back. I was just concerned if maybe something happened to her.

Today I got out there a little before dusk, but after a very brief period of calm it quickly became the same chaotic mess as last night. This time, however, after putting a small amount in each dish I spread the remainder all around the area to make it available to a larger number of raccoons at once. I also took out a seriously over ripe cantaloupe and 4 very ripe bananas which I tossed around. Unfortunately, neither of these are favorite items of this very spoiled group. Everyone walked around the cantaloupe and bananas to see if I had any treats.

Dennis arrived soon after I got there. I didn't have any treats with me. Still he stood at my feet begging. Each time he stood upright reaching for treats, I said "no". After a few such attempts he gave up and wandered off.

The wafer thin outer shell from Heidi's watermelon of the prior evening was still out there beside her dish. When I poured her food, she took a few bites and then stepped over to look longingly into the empty watermelon shell as if to say "what, no watermelon today?" Unable to resist those big, lovable eyes, I went back to the house to cut the end off of a fresh and previously uncut watermelon for her. While there I grabbed the last large stem of red grapes for the others. I took the watermelon back out to Heidi. As I approached everyone except Dennis and Heidi scattered. As I walked up to her, I held the ripe, red melon out to show Heidi that I was bringing her the requested appetizer. She stood her ground as I set it down beside her dish and walked away.

I sat back down and tossed grapes to everyone (once I sit down they quickly move back into place) in an arc around my bench - but at a safe distance. Frequent arguments erupted over grapes that landed in those 'grey' areas between raccoons. Knowing how he loves grapes, I looked around for Dennis but didn't see him anywhere. There was a bit of fighting going on at the perimeter, where the raccoons encircling me seemed determined to keep someone out. Then just as I was passing out the last handful of grapes I saw this one raccoon down on his stomach, front legs stretched out in front of him, crawling across the grass between battling raccoons - like a German Shepard. As the smallish raccoon made it slowly through the crowd and to my feet I saw that it was Dennis. He had arrived too late to receive even a single grape, but I found his efforts to reach me just too endearing to let him go without a treat. I went back to the house, grabbed another small partial stem of grapes (green this time). When I returned to my bench the others had scattered as most are still afraid when I walk around. I waited for Dennis to sit down and then gave him the small stem of grapes.

Unfortunately, most of the evening was as chaotic as the night before, too many raccoons in too little space, all vying for the best treats. Heidi enjoyed her cat food and watermelon for a while, but eventually when most of the food elsewhere was gone, not one but 2 raccoons sat down near her, one on either side, and it was evident that they intended to try the 'sit, backup and steal' approach to getting her dinner. Twice I went over there to scare the more aggressive one away so that she might continue to enjoy her dinner. Finally, she gave up and left.

There are a number of 'others' out there again, having recently returned after having been chased away by Heidi some weeks back. I am certain that several of them are the [non-Heidi] 07 kits but am having difficulty right now determining just who is who. Lately, there also appear to be a couple of newcomers, adults, possibly male. A few don't look at all familiar, although I suppose they may be the rest of the 06 group making their way 'home'.

As you may recall, there is one very pretty, long haired raccoon out there who for a while I thought might be Fraidy. She didn't really look like Fraidy but her behavior of hugging the fence and the fact that the others kept chasing her away suggested Fraidy, so I thought maybe she had changed in appearance as she grew up. Admittedly, I was never truly happy with that ID. Well, a few nights ago, on a night when I was out there after dark, I found the real Fraidy, or maybe I should say she found me. As soon as she sneaked out of the brush, I instantly knew it was she - the real Fraidy. She hadn't changed a bit. There she was this tiny (but not skinny) thing, smaller than any of the yearlings, with that same closely 'shorn' coat that always reminded me of a short haired dog, and, as always, very demure in behavior.

That night she stayed over near the veggie patch, running away frequently. At the time I had tossed her some grapes, even tossing a few over into the brush when she ran away. Tonight when I was passing out grapes she came up closer to me, about 2 or 3 feet away. I spoke to her and called her by name and soon she was eating grapes near me on one side of my bench much like she used to do. She was so tiny and her hair was as sleek as that of a chihuahua, her paws and features so tiny compared to the others. Her coat was the right color, too. A light to med taupe, not dark like Heidi and many of the others, not golden or red like HRH and those who had inherited his coloring. There was no doubt about it. This was the real Fraidy. She was small and sleek but not thin. No ribs were showing despite her very short, sleek coat. The one thing that surprised me was that she was out with the group, not hugging the fence, and the others were not trying to chase her away.

I did get a few pics of her the other night and will post them as soon as time allows. Right now I have to get outside to clean out my car. I need to drop it off tomorrow and pick up my 'new' one. (I'll post you a pic of the 'new' car when I get it home.) I would have cleaned it out earlier, preferably before dark but today was brutally hot with a heat index of 109F, and it was still steamy enough out there to break a sweat even at dusk.

Fraidy is still with us!! I am so pleased. Had not heard about her in some time and thought surely her luck had run out.

Yayy! I'm so glad Fraidy is back. :-) I've worried about her, too.

So glad to hear that Fraidy is still around and apparently thriving; want her to have a very long and happy life against all the odds!

Your mechanic is worth his weight in gold, and I too would be loyal to any brand that came with someone like him. I'm with you on the car philosophy: it's a vehicle that gets me from point A to point B, not a personal statement. Drive them until they become terminal, and by then it's a bit like parting with an old friend: sometimes annoying, sometimes endearing, but with you for the long haul.

Lol.. Laughing myself silly at the image of Dennis crawling on his belly like a dog. Either he a lover and not a fighter, or he the one that started the trouble in that corner and now is being a chicken and hightailing it out of there before he gets his fur ruffled up. : )

My one brother used to do that. When mom was on the phone he would start fights with the rest of kids and of course we onyl acted up when mom was on the phone and figured she couldn't get to us. My brother always seemed to knwo when she was getting off the phone so he would leave the fight and go sit and snuggle up on the couch next to her and act all lovely and when mom got off th ephone , the rest of us got womped and he got off scott free and usually some of her pepsi to drink. Dennises actions remind me of my brother.

That Dennis he one smart racoon for sure. LOL

Oh so glad Fraidy back too. Soudn slike she has sorta had it rough and had to do lot sof forging on her own. Glad she came near you too.

Sound slike it gettign to the point ya need to tell the neighbors to move out just so you can have their yard for more room for your family.

Is it possible that they all coming now at once cuz heidi bringing the little ones out later at night to the yard and not letting anybody aroudn then sinc eshe dont seem to be chasing the othe rones off?

LOL, starlight,

Your brother sounds pretty savvy! You might be on to something with Dennis. Instigating trouble and then crawling out of the huddle while the others fight sounds about right for him. So far he doesn't seem to be much of a fighter. Lately, he seems to be trying his hand at subterfuge and trickery, and his attempts at that can be quite amusing.

Fraidy was apparently born small. Heidi had 5 kits that year [that we know of]. Seems like Heidi's body was unable to support the growth of all of those fetuses, and Fraidy bore the brunt of it. Note that I didn't start feeding Heidi until after those kits were born. She looks healthy now though, just small.

I think the reason everyone is coming to dinner earlier is because that's when the food is available. I started putting the food out earlier when Heidi started coming by earlier. At 1st only a few raccoons showed up early, and they scarfed down most of the food. Those who arrived later found themselves left out, hence everyone has shifted to an earlier dinner time. In retrospect, if I'd had the time it might have been a good idea in the beginning to just put out enough food for Heidi (and maybe Dennis and Cissy) and then feed the others later. If I tried to do that now, they would all gang up on Heidi, not realizing that there would be more food later for them. On work days, though, I think 2 feedings would have been a bit much for me to manage, especially as I find it almost impossible to leave once I'm out there. (Conversely, I think Heidi brings the kids later because that's when the others aren't around fighting and such.)

Good grief, Cheryl, hope you're not having a lot of pain that has you awake so early (or so late, from my night owl's perspective).

It sounds like too much of a mob scene right now for Heidi to introduce the kits to the buffet. That's inevitable, given the number of diners and their savvy about when food is served. I have great faith in Heidi; when she's ready, she'll ensure that the population is small enough to be manageable when she brings the kits to the table.

Ruth,

Fraidy was back again tonight. She arrived near the end of the feeding. I had gone back to the house to get a little extra food for Dennis and the others who were still there searching the ground for bits here and there. Cissy arrived late, and I tossed her some of the food. When Fraidy got there, Cissy attacked her in what looked like a rather savage manner. Fraidy didn't appear to fight back, but neither did she back away. Instead, when attacked she seemed to hunker down in a protective position and hold her ground. She continued into the attack, hurrying to get to one of the feeding positions, then tucked her head in and turned to expose her side and rear to the attack. When Cissy gave up and walked away to continue eating, I tossed some food over to Fraidy. This caused Cissy to launch yet another attack. Again, Cissy stood her ground, and Cissy once again walked away. After maybe 3 such attacks, Cissy gave up altogether. From that time on Cissy ignored her and Fraidy ate and walked about the area undisturbed. Her method of dealing with aggression, while unusual, seemed to work for her. Feeling that Fraidy needed it most, I gave what food I had left to her.

Your description of cars and how you view them was right on for me. In fact, even though my old Civic had grown a bit ragged around the edges lately and the paint had faded considerably and even though even I had recently grown to think she looked a bit time worn, still I must admit that I felt somehow 'naked' without her this afternoon when I turned her over to her new owner and drove home in my new old car. It was an odd feeling for on the one hand I loved the 'new' one, being happy to return to power steering, automatic transmission, and cruise control (to save me from those moments on the interstate when I forget what I'm doing and look down to see that I'm going some outrageous speed) but one the other hand I had that sort of feeling you get when you reach down to feel for your purse or check your pocket to be sure your keys are still there. Something was missing. I like driving the new one but am still having some minor difficulty realizing the other one is gone - that 'old friend' thing you mentioned. It has, after all, been with me for 7 years now. But then, I'm sure I will adjust. : )

Hi Ruth,

We cross posted. Thanks for thinking of me (re the pain thing). No, I'm doing fine. After work I ran around town running errands, gave the car one last cleaning (vacuumed, checked under the seats, treated a few spots on the carpet, wiped everything down, etc - at 4PM in the sweltering heat while sweating profusely), ran by Dr's Care, went by Lowe's to make that last minute payoff of the 1yr same as cash loan for the lawn beast (and went ahead and loaded up on plants while I was there), etc. When I got home I was pretty tired. Forced myself to go out and feed up, then went right to bed. Woke up a little while ago feeling refreshed and ready to go. Wanted to check in and say 'hi' first.

You know, often I return to my old behavior of worrying about the situation with Heidi and the kits and the others; but when I find myself trying to engineer a solution for her, I recall that how often I've been here in the past and how she doesn't need my help with these things as she always seems to find her own solution, and her solutions are invariably better than anything I might have come up with. So I think you are correct (as always). When the time is right, Heidi will make it happen - and in the mean time no amount of finageling on my part will mover her along any faster.

tetleytuna, Marylyn,

Fraidy looks like she is doing fine. She is very small but otherwise seems healthy. I'm very happy to see that she has found a way to deal with the others so that she can come away from the protection of the fence and into the yard and even eat among them.

She is so small all over - yet she doesn't look like a baby. I just kept wanting to reach down and scoop her up and pet her. Naturally, I know better than to try that, but I sure wanted to.

I think my little Dennis is growing up, and, frankly, at this point he is such a neophyte as to make it quite difficult for me to stifle my laughter. Most days, he isn't really very hungry when he arrives. He's looking for treats, eats a little cat food here and there, and then hangs around much like a young, human male just 'hanging out' and looking for something to do. As previously mentioned, lately he's clearly trying to practice up on and learn to properly execute that 'sit, back up, and steal' maneuver the big boys like HRH and Trouble do so well; but Dennis is just so horribly inept at it that it is quite literally all that I can do to choke back and stifle my laughter.

I've watched HRH and Trouble do this so many times. They walk up as close as they think they can safely get. Then they sit down with their back to the target. They sit for a while, depending on how things seem to be going during which time the look on their face gives them away every time. They just have that "don't look now but I'm going to execute the steal" look all over their face, and everyone including the target knows full well what's up. Then when the time is right, they start to every so slowly scoot backward while still sitting, slowly claiming space as they inch closer and closer to the desired object. When they figure they are close enough, they spin around and take over. (Except the other day when Trouble tried this with Heidi and instead of waiting for him to inch on back to claim her food, she lunged forward and bit him on the rump sending him on his way.)

First of all, Dennis sits down way too far from the target - about a mile away to be exact, so far that it is sometimes difficult to be sure (1) that he is trying to execute the steal and (2) what his target is. So he sits down out in the middle of nowhere, just sits there for a while, long enough to cause me to say "hmm, maybe I was wrong (reference the time HRH sat down to wait for Heidi); raccoons do sometimes sit around in the yard for no reason". Then he'll look back over his shoulder to assess the situation and realize that the mark isn't even showing the requisite signs of stress. It's as though everyone is just ignoring him sitting way over there. Next, instead of scooting backward like the others do, he rolls back on his haunches a little (as though he were doing crunches) and then a little more, and a little more - until he ends up lying on his back like a submissive dog - and still several feet away from the target. (Yeah, that's sure to make the target sweat.) But you can tell from the look on his face that he thinks he's being crafty not submissive. He thinks he's taking over. Then a few minutes go by and he tilts his head back 180 degrees to check out the target again - who is clearly ignoring his amateurish efforts. Finally, (while I'm trying to keep my snickering as low as possible so as not to effect the outcome) realizing that something isn't going quite right as he is lying down too far away to claim the prize (2 or 3 feet at least) and the mark is ignoring him, he rises to his feet and walks over to the mark looking foolish. I mean, if he was just going to walk up and ask for the food he could have skipped all that other stuff. Naturally, the mark chases him promptly away.

To make matters worse and make it all the more difficult for me to stifle the laughter, on his last attempt, he spent so much time sitting and later lying around that Trouble, the mark, had finished the food by the time he finally got there. Then when Dennis finally made his move and Trouble walked away, you could see that Dennis thought he had succeeded only to find when he claimed his prize that there wasn't even one piece of kibble left in the dish. He is so entertaining.

Now in case you are feeling sorry for him, note that he wasn't hungry at all. Much, much earlier in the evening he had walked away from not one but 3 dishes to go wandering in search of entertainment. It's quite clear that he is just practicing his (snicker, snicker) technique. I'm sure he'll get it figured out in time - I hope.

Oh, see, he has figured out how to open his own eggs now. You might recall that for the longest time if I didn't chip the end for him he would give up and walk away before he ever got into the thing. The other day when Heidi ran away before she had the chance to get to her egg, Dennis went over and grabbed it, and he opened it all by himself. He wrapped his mouth around the middle of the egg and squeezed until it exploded all over him. That's my Dennis.

Edited to clean up some of the proof that I'm not a morning person, I mean typos.

This message was edited Jun 7, 2008 10:07 AM

I'm chuckling so much over poor Dennis! Thanks :-)

Thanks, Laura!

Wish you could have been there to enjoy the show. He was just too funny. I'm thinking he's suffering the side effects of that ADHD about now. Last year when Heidi was teaching the egg eating skills and HRH was demonstrating the steal, Dennis probably walked off after the 1st minute or so of instruction thinking he understood it all and wanting to get a jump on exploring the forest and stuff. He is a 1st though. I have just never, ever seen any of the raccoons get that steal thing so messed up.

One time last night while Dennis was sitting off by himself so far away that no one gave him a 2nd thought, another raccoon came along to do the 'steal' - from a normal distance - on the same target. By the time Dennis looked over his shoulder to see assess his efforts, the mark was gone and the 2nd 'stealer' had taken over the target - all while he was sitting over there executing his whacked version of the steal.

For the longest time it seemed as though every raccoon out there except HRH looked almost exactly the same but for subtle differences. Everybody had the Heidi face and similar color pattern. HRH's color is reminiscent of a panther and even his facial pattern and mask are quite different from the others. Heidi's coat, on the other hand, is sort of a tan color overlayed with very dark brown to black. The tan color can be seen down around her stomach and legs and on parts of her face around the dark mask. Her back is now peppered with black over tan, in the light both colors showing through much like salt and pepper hair done with tan instead of grey.

Now, all of a sudden, the buffet area is alive with such an incredible and at time confusing array of colors and patterns as to seem like the raccoon rainbow. Perhaps they were always this different and I am only now seeing the differences as they walk out into the light of day. I don't know. Cissy and Dennis still look quite similiar to Heidi. They do have versions of the Heidi face, except that now when seen in daylight I notice that their coats are darker than Heidi's. They don't have that 'tan and pepper' coloring on their backs with tan skirting near the 'bottom'. Their coats are are a fairly consistent dark brown/black with very faint banding only a subtle shade lighter. They have grey feet and a little grey around the stomach and legs and a mix of gray/tan on their faces. These 2 look very similar and, esp in the dark, quite similar to Heidi. But a quick look at the face is all it takes to sort these 3 out as each has his or her own unique facial features. Cissy, as we have already seen, has those haunting, deep set eyes and a true salt and pepper forehead coloring. Her nose is longer with a straighter profile than that of Dennis and Heidi both of whom have a slightly dish shaped profile with gently upturned nose.

Blondie, if that is who she is - I'm still trying to sort this out - has the Heidi face with Cissy's salt and pepper forehead. She is noticeably larger than her siblings and has a considerably different coloring especially when viewed in daylight where her back appears more dark brown than black but with a rich red middle layer mixed in and showing through. This is even more evident at the site of her back injury where all of the layers of hair have yet to grow in fully allowing one to view a slice of the layers around its perimeter. She, too has the gray feet.

Beyond these 3 siblings, color and pattern chaos reigns as I never dreamed possible. I wonder if the combination of Heidi's and HRH's very different colors and patterns has led to this unexpected explosion of coat designs.

More to come as I am most eager to tell you of the strange array of unique colors I'm seeing in my yard these days, but must get outside to get a few things done before it gets hot enough to boil my blood...

This message was edited Jun 7, 2008 10:57 AM

It's amazing how many color differences there are--before I moved out here, I figured all raccoons looked alike, lol. I don't know mine the way you know yours, but I have noticed color differences.
ROFL at the image of Dennis busting an egg all over himself! Did he lick it off? I love the way you describe "the steal". I am just picturing every little movement and facial expression as I read. What fun creatures they are!

Hi KyWoods,

You know, I can't really recall ever having seen a raccoon lick food off of himself the way a cat or dog might do. For that matter, I don't see them do any real grooming - aside from the rare personal hygiene moment and occasional scratch. Yet they always seem to look quite clean, so I guess they must do some cleanup. They must be shy about doing it in public (LOL at the idea of a shy raccoon, clowns that they are.) But, no, I didn't see Dennis lick it off of himself. He licked it up off of the dirt and shell. My eyes are always roving, stopping for a few minutes here and there before roving again, trying to keep an eye on everything that is going on around me, both to stay aware of my surrondings and so as not to miss what might be going on in another corner of the yard.

To demonstrate the need to keep the eyes moving...
The day after I first saw the kits I took out toys and treats in case they came back. (This is one of those moments I forgot to mention at the time with everything else that was going on.) One of the items I took out was this (tough to describe) little, fabric water ball about the size of a tennis ball but soft and squishy. You've probably seen them and I know I'm doing a terrible job of describing something otherwise relatively common. I think these balls started out as an answer to the water balloon - for throwing at people. I bought some years ago for my other dog. You soak them with water. They hold a lot of water and still float. Then you can toss them at people, etc. Anyhow, this one was part of a shower gift. It had little feet and a face added so that it was a 'turtle'. It was a brilliant lime green color with maybe yellow or something - and you know how the raccoons seem to gravitate to bright colors.

I had floated the little fabric ball turtle in the pool that day along with a few other toys and the ever popular yogurt cup when I came out to set up for the evening (after having scrubbed the pool earlier that day and filled it with clean water). No one seemed to notice the toys for quite a while. Then maybe 1/2 way into the feeding time, I panned the area to see one of the others in the pool. A moment later as I was panning back across, I noticed that he was standing upright in the pool play fighting with the lime green turtle in his mouth. As I scrambled to get the camera into position to capture this adorable moment, he leaped from the pool, turtle still in his mouth, and took off for the forest apparently having decided not to take the risk of loosing this fun toy to anyone else. Not only did I miss the shot, but I have not seen the turtle since. It may be in the grass somewhere over by the fence as they sometimes leave things over there, but as small as it was he may have taken it with him, perhaps to join that raccoon stone henge project they are working on back there. (Note to sender of the turtle, it was well 'loved', so well that it was stolen.) Future archaeologists will be trying to decipher the significance of the lime green turtle and its connection to the collection of bird feeders and rat traps already back there. Or maybe one of the neighbors will go out one day to find the fabric turtle dangling from a tree behind their house (as in that red santa/stocking thing the raccoons used to decorate my tree line for Christmas 07).

Thanks for the compliment on the 'steal' description. I do so wish you could be there to see it. Maybe one day (web or critter cam). I did get some video recently of some 'steal' efforts. I recall at the time thinking it was good to get some footage to show you this thing, but that it wasn't exactly the best footage because it wasn't executed correctly. I think it might have been one of Dennis' attempts, although not one as ludicrous as his efforts last evening. I'll try to get that posted soon as I know it will be instructive to get a chance to see them in action doing these things I'm always struggling to describe - even if they are doing it badly at the time. I also got some footage of 2 raccoon (probably after a poorly executed steal) wrestling over a dish, each using his/her body to try to push the other out of the way, the two stuck almost forever in a type of homeostasis in which they seemed to be pushing with roughly equal force and going nowhere fast. That's the funny thing they do occasionally (but not nearly often enough) where they remind me of 2 little kids trying to sit in and use their tushes to push each other out of the same chair. If you have kids (or were a kid) you must have seen this a time or two.

They are unbelievably intelligent and fascinating creatures! I've had dogs, cats, and horses most of my life and have had substantial interaction with birds, rabbits, and pretty much any other animal I could get close to. I love them all, each for its own special characteristics, and each has its own personality no matter what the nay-sayers will try to tell you, but I think the raccoons may well be the most fascinating to observe.

On a different but [in my head] related note, just last week, BTW, one of the guys at work decided he wanted to view my videos. While doing so, and after seeing the video of me petting Dennis, he asked a question I found rather interesting. He said, "Tell me, do these raccoons ever come up and just show you affection for no reason, say like when you don't have food or treats to offer - like a cat or dog might do. " "No", I answered, "They don't even show affection when given treats. They are, after all, wild animals. I'm not sure if the type of affection we get from cats and dogs makes sense to them." "OH!" he responded as though happy to have found the flaw in this diamond, "So then basically they are just using you for your food. Doesn't that bother you at all - that you give them all of this food and they don't give you any love, I mean?" "No [silly person who is apparently unable to comprehend the love of animals]", I said, "I don't give them food to get love; I give them food to give love."