Heidi Chronicles: Par-TAY!!!

This is the ongoing story of Heidi and friends, raccoons who frequent my backyard buffet. Heidi's 08 kits have been coming to the buffet with her for a few days now. Pics and stories to follow.

Previous thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/864860/#new
In the beginning. The thread that started it all: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/603944/


Below is a pic of one of the yearlings enjoying some ice cold watermelon chunks while 4th of July fireworks rain down around him in a endless hail of clatter

Yowza --- look at those TEETH.

looks like who ever it is... really LOVE watermelon.

Fruit of the GODS

Hi Terese,

That is the one with the long, red-gold coat, one of the 2 that I am considering for Rupert possibles. He/she definitely loves watermelon and makes those very same faces every time he eats the stuff.

It must be very difficult to see them as such cute fur balls ... then dont see them for a while .... they grow up quite a bit, and you have to relearn who they are all over again.

But there are the obvious few, like Dennis [except for the fact he may have shown up with someone's kits.... LOL ]
that you spend enough time with -- and you just know who they are.

Here is a pic of one of the 2 mystery kits that came to dinner late last night after almost everyone had gone.

Tonight the neighborhood fireworks started around 5PM. I was torn between wanting to go out and watch vs seeing the kits again. I decided on the latter. I went out just after 7PM. From the moment I got out there until I came in the clatter of fireworks was absolutely endless with all manner of rockets and cannons and firecrackers superimposed on each other. All up and down the street people could be heard laughing, whooping, hollering. I could not imagine that a single raccoon would show up for such an event, but slowly the started to arrive.

Although they looked a bit scared at times and I had to sing the "it's ok" song a lot, everyone showed up (except those new mystery kits). Heidi even brought her kits later in the evening. I was quite amazed and impressed that they were all willing to brave the fireworks. I swear it sounded as though we were having a war in the neighborhood complete with gun shots and canon fire. Rockets and cannons rained down over my yard even, but everyone toughed it out. The kits were a bit dubious - except, of course, for Calvin who came right on over to sit down by the watermelon and start eating.

Tonight in addition to cat food we had watermelon, a few handfuls of grapes, and frosting witches, finger sandwiches made with vanilla frosting on whole grain bread. Some just licked off the frosting. Others ate the whole thing. Still others went around collecting the licked bread that had been cast aside.

Since the mystery mom didn't bring her kits tonight, the mystery continues.

Terese,

Once they are grown I can learn to identify most of them, even those I don't spend time with. The really difficult time is the winter when they go from kids to young adults, say about 6mo to one year. During that time the change dramatically. If I don't see them a lot during that time I will almost certainly get them confused when they return. From birth to 6mo or so they are also seen with their mom and siblings. Later, when they return in spring they have all split up, are arriving as individuals, and have changed beyond recognition. That is tough. If Dennis hadn't interacted with me daily the way he did, for instance, I don't think I would be able to recognize him now. He used to be such a homely looking child and now I think he has grown up to be pretty cute.

As for not being sure if that was Dennis last night, it gets pretty dark out there late at night. By then I have some difficulty seeing the details well enough to tell some of them apart. With the kits there, the mother wasn't acting 'normal', but I think I would have been able to determine if it was Dennis or not if she had stayed long enough, but by the time I started wondering about that - doubting her identity as Cleo - she was on her way out of the yard.

In daylight, like today when I went out around 7, it is easy to tell them apart. I can reliably determine which is which, but still can't match a few of the yearlings up with their baby pics. (It's like when you see a pic of a celebrity or friend from back when they were 5 or 6. Most of the time you wouldn't be able to match that 5yr old with the person you see today.)

Oh, also meant to add that tonight Cleo would not come within 3ft of me even for a frosting sandwich.

WOW -- is it tiny. but cute as a button.

LOUD here tonight too. our village sponsors one of the larger 'displays' that is advertised on the radio stations... so folks come from miles around ... congest our streets, leave all their trash behind... etc. and we have a small town, mind you .... I sit in my BR window and watch the fireworks from there ... you seem to see the same stuff every year ... so i sit in my window for about 30 or so minutes, with NO bugs or lil kids running around screaming.... Good enough for me.

off to bed.... leaving for WI tomorrow for weeks of R&R. [that also stands for, lots of card playing and bingo with senior citizens] oh and let's not forget about Red Hats on the 3rd Friday of the month....

Have a nice trip, Terese!

(I don't know what red hats are, but that's not sounding like my kind of R&R.)

Here is mystery mom with kits

Ditto (sure looks a lot like Dennis to me)

Dennis was at the buffet tonight BTW being his usual self. I held his frosting wiches up really high so I could see his tummy when he reached. I sure didn't see any teats there. Whew!

BTW, as I mentioned before these kits are very young, much younger than Heidi's and probably too young to be out galavanting around with mom - in the humble opinion of someone who 2 years ago could barely spell raccoon and even now may have a male mother of two in her backyard. ;-)

This is all too strange, Cheryl, and mysterious. The new batch of kits is MUCH too young to be on forays up and down fences and through the forest; as you noticed, they still have the downy baby coat, are all out of proportion, and belong in their nest. This is the age I know best from working with the rehabbers: uncoordinated, awkward, and totally adorable. They are also thin, if one can judge from photos; these are all signs of a first-time mom who is totally clueless. But who the mom is?? If you saw Dennis standing up tonight and didn't see lactating glands, I guess that rules him out as a possible female and mother. But the behavior around you sounds so much like Dennis; I find it hard to believe that even hunger could drive a more timid raccoon to not only approach you, but mimic Dennis' exact behaviors around you. Maybe to approach, but not to rub up against you like he does; that fear is just too hard-wired. It all just doesn't compute, no what which identity you assign to whom.

What does make sense is Heidi's panic last night. If she heard/smelled the other kits approaching, I have no doubt she knows whose they are and how young they are. It must have completely freaked her out to have a mother bring much too young kits out, in the middle of fireworks no less. She had to be thinking how stupid and dangerous that is, that her three kits might be in the approaching path, and how would their mother react to that, that she needed to get back to the kits and protect them, etc., etc., etc. At that moment I suspect she was in total stimulus overload, and wouldn't have recognized anyone rationally; but poor Calvin couldn't understand any of that, and it had to scare the heck out of him.

If your gut instinct is that Rupert is the hyena-looking fellow, you're probably right. You pointed out yourself how much they change; if Dennis could go from awkward to adorable, it's certainly possible to go the other way. And given the example little Rupert got from mama Diva, it would be understandable if his behavior sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. He never got socializing from littermates, and his mother was frankly the pits.

Good lord, girl, you have a lot of mouths to feed. Checking out a wholesale club might be very worthwhile...

Sounds like there is a lot going on in your yard Cheryl. The new kits are sooooo small! I do hope all goes well with them and with your help and feedings they grow strong and healthy.

I just can't imagine so many raccoons in one space and the fact that for the most part all get along or at least tolerate each other. It really does seem that they respect the fact it is after all your territory and you allow them to share it with you(and your goodies)!

I don't have a good eye for the diffrences that you can see so I am of no use to you in the mystery of who is who in your raccoon community. I do enjoy reading all the input you and everyone else has and am trying to see the details you all are seeing.

On a personal note I did want to tell you that I saw one of the raccons and her kit at dusk the other night. There may have been others there but it was almost dark and there are alot of trees back there. I saw the bigger one(mostly the mask)she was getting the eggs and mms,washing each one and eating it. I was able to make this out because the food was white and bright. Then I spotted the kit about 3 feet behind her. I tried to get a picture(while hiding behind a tree)but it was all dark so that was a no go. The path I line the bowls of food with was about 5 feet wide and 12 feet long with brush,trees and leaf piles on either side. They have enlarged it to about 8 feet wide now and rearranged the 8 bowls to be spaced further apart. Normally everything is left very neatly out there but last night they must have been real jittery due to the neighbors shooting off all the fireworks for hours as there were 3 bowls overturned. Poor little ones must have had a very bad night.

Ruth,

Even though I really don't know enough about kits to know when they are old enough to 'travel', there was just something about those little guys and their behavior that just made me cringe with concern for their welfare. Last night, as much as I wanted to see them again for a chance to solve the mystery, I was SO hoping the mother wouldn't bring them out amidst all the clamor of the fireworks. Now I'm just hoping they will make it long enough to grow up. (I should add that she is not the one who has lost 2 on the highway; those kits were closer to the size of Heidi's and were furry. With all the forest and marsh behind me, I'm hoping 'my' raccoons don't feel a need to cross the road.)

I didn't think I had actually said that yet - that I'm starting to think the 'hyena' one may actually be Rupert. : )
He doesn't really look like a hyena. It was just something I saw when he was here in daylight. Lately, he's starting to look more and more like HRH, at least in the dark. I've been taking a lot of pics of him and will show them soon. It's the movements, the way he stands and eats and such that keeps making me think 'Rupert'.

As to the numbers, "you don know, you don know". I think it's about to grow some more soon. The wholesale club sounds like a good idea. We have Sams and CostCo. I don't frequent either because, until now at least, in large part because I have issues with paying a fee for the opportunity to shop. My x was an avid fan of CostCo, however, so I accompanied him there a time or 2. Not having a large family, before now, I find the large sizes a bit daunting - like I'd be using some of those things for a decade or more. I like to try new things often which also doesn't work well there. On one of my trips there I bought a box of 1million - well, close - packets of flavored coffee mix only to find that I hated them. I didn't even have much success giving them away to friends, co-workers, strangers, homeless people, anyone, anyone ; think I may still have a few around here somewhere. Want one? Also, while they seem to have some 'regular' items, much of what is there at any given time seems to be 'potluck' and it all seems so disorganized. Ok, this is embarrassing. I could go on and on, but I guess, in truth, I've become a bit too pampered. Don't I sound like a wuss?

But I think CostCo sounds like a very good idea for my current situation. Does anyone out there know if they have good prices on dry cat/dog food and if there is a way to get that info before I invest in a membership? This is how bad I am. At one point I found out that the saving on contacts there was sufficient to cover the annual membership and STILL save me money. I bought the membership and went there ONCE to get my contacts. They said I had to go home and get my prescription 1st. On line and at my Dr office I don't need the prescrip, so I left and never returned. Wasted a whole year's membership. But I'm willing to try again - for the raccoons.

Hi Judy,

It took me a while of being around them to train my eye to see the differences. Now those same nuances seem to scream out at me such that it is hard for me to imagine how I missed them before - except for a few that look like Heidi clones. Those can be difficult to discern. Blondie looks so much like Heidi that I think it might be difficult to tell them apart if it weren't for the discoloration of the fur on her back where she was injured.

Although I do have a lot of raccoon visitors right now, a few things help to keep the peace. (1) They don't all come at the same time. They have 'shifts'. I usually don't have more than 6 or 7 at a time. (2) I've positioned their eating spots around the perimeter of the area with my bench in the middle and Heidi and the pool on one end. Most of them are up against the flowers and brush which provides them a place to take cover when threatened and a way to get to their food (by coming through the brush) without having to pass other diners. (3) Then I have things in the area to help form 'walls' between them. This allows me to put dishes closer together than I might other wise get away with. There is a large (18-20") potted plant and large strawberry jar between 2 of them. Then there's the tractor scoot, an Adirondack chair, a large, cement birdbath, the pool, some rose bushes, etc between the other various feeding stations. This seems to help to give them some privacy even when there is another raccoon on the other side of the item. (4) I have a number of water containers spread out around the area so that everyone can reach one without having to 'trust pass' on a neighbor. (5) They are one big family. All but 3 of them are Heidi's children, and 2 of those are her grands. Rupert is the only one there who is not Heidi's immediate family - so it's a lot like a big family get together - complete with the usual arguments.

So glad to hear that you had a chance to see one of your raccoon moms with her kit. Aren't they just so adorable? And addictive? My guys were all on pins and needles last night with all that noise, but, heck, they turn over the dishes most of the time and drag them off into the brush where I can't find them again. Sometimes I end up feeding them off the ground because I'm tired of chasing down those dishes in the weeds. The more timid ones that get attacked a lot tend to grab the dish and pull it back there in the weeds to eat where they feel safe. Recently, when I was back there cleaning up some of the weeds and such I noticed that they have made a maze of paths back there through the brush. I wonder when you say yours have widened their area if some of them may be pulling their dishes/food back toward the forest, shrubs, or whatever for added cover/safety while eating.

Here is a pic of Cleo. This was taken earlier on the night the mystery mom brought her kits. If Cleo is that mom, it's pretty clear her kits aren't then due to a lack of milk production.

Heidi and the kits from Thursday night before the panic and chaos over kits started.

Edited to change Friday to Thursday (because the holiday has skewed my internal calendar)

This message was edited Jul 5, 2008 11:20 AM

Heidi and kits again (Thursday)

One of Heidi's more timid kits (Thursday). Is he cute, or what? Is it just me? This pic reminds me of one of those "Hang in there, baby" posters.

Here is a good close up of the one that I had (most unfortunately) dubbed the hyena one. As you can see is not ugly by any means nor does he even look like a hyena. (I'm sor-rE. I didn't mean it. Cut me some slack.) It was just an caricature like image I got one day when viewing him in profile.

Actually, his coloring is quite unique. It's similar to Bast's but a little darker - although it doesn't look so in this picture, probably due to the flash. Then again, maybe he was wet the day I saw him and looked darker then. Anyhow, his face and even his size are starting to remind me of HRH.

I'm going to load his pics (and some others) on a site that allows multi-file upload to save time and then post the link here for you to view more. (Later)

I have like a billion pics of him eating in some version of this position. In fact, seeing that he seems to prefer this position is part of what got me started thinking, "could this possibly be little Rupert?" And...isn't the nose a little large?

This pic - when I developed it - dropped the bombshell!

As you can clearly see here, he is a she !!!
Not only that, but he has babies somewhere! Which means we need to start adding more water to the soup. And, since he is the one who does the Steal almost every day with Heidi and sometimes the others, that settles it once and for all, the Steal really isn't just for guys anymore. That's a lot of info for just one pic.

Which begs the question, "How many other pregnant 'ladies' have been hiding out right in front of me?"

This may also explain why 'he' looked 'bad' the day I dubbed him 'hyena'. While nursing, Heidi often looks horrible. You might recall that I've mentioned this in the past as it often caused me to think she was on her last leg. This year she didn't go through the 'rode hard and put up wet', bad hair, ugly stage. I think that may have been due to all of the eggs and such and added to her diet. I gave extra stuff to Blondie, too. Later when I learned of Cleo's condition, I added her to the list for extra nutrition. Unfortunately, this 'guy' was never on the list, so the added demands of motherhood and nursing may have contributed to his looking rough that day.

Another cool pic of him enjoying a cupcake. He really seems to get into his food, huh?

Getting caught up here..whew what going ons there! I was thinking and trying to remember as I was reading who it was that their sex never seemed to have been confirmed. Guess we know now!!

The new kits are very small indeed! Could our Rupert be a momma! And he/she does remind one of a hyena. lol

This is an interesting pic of her. (I need to get used to the new gender.) I don't know if this means anything, but note the sort of bald patch in front. Contrast this to: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=4269396

Cheryl -- i just LOVE that photo of Rupert ... wow we may have to add an "A" at the end to make it female

but -- if you still have the original photo around [the one where he/she is smiling as a kit ] ... i'd LOVE to have it ... I'd love to make at least a 5x7 out of it.

Uggg, trying to get out of the house within the hour... but not doing a good job of it.
[though i did get 2 hrs of gardening done this morning.]

Hi, nanny,

Yes, we are certainly getting blessed now with a bumper crop of little ones. I thought the particular raccoon in the pics above was a boy, something I decided recently after he, I mean she, was grown and based solely on size and behavior. She is rather large and used the Steal a lot. Like I said, I'll have to adjust my thinking on that one. Clearly, girls can do the Steal after all. She is pretty good at it as she has been known to steal Heidi's food many times.

As for Rupert, we were never sure of his gender. I went with the name Rupert regardless, just because it fit him so well. When he was a baby, I actually stated (for the record) that I thought he was probably a girl, that again based solely on behavior - and now we know where I stand on judging gender by behavior. lol. looking at the nursing 'male' in the pic above. From my perspective, he didn't display the fearlessness that I associate with males like Trouble and Dennis (I think) and Calvin (maybe). I'm still working on developing that theory which may also prove to be false.

LOL, nanny, thanks for helping me out on that hyena comment. At least now I'm not standing by myself. ;-)

Below is Calvin the othe day when Heidi left him alone in the yard and in the pool with Blondie and the long haired red one. He is scared so his fur is standing up making him look much bigger than he is.

Terese,

I'm sure I still have the pic. I keep all of the originals and tag the low res version with lr after then name so they are always together and easy to tell apart. You are welcome to a copy. I'll just have to find it. Not sure how high the resolution is on the orig, depends on how far away he was at the time. My camera can take poster size pics, and I take everything at the highest resolution (short of raw), but when taking pics in the dark I can't zoom in and focus because I can't see anything on the LCD or through the view finder. I have to shoot the general area where the subject is and the crop to get what I want, hence depending on how far away the subject is the resultant image looses resolution. That said, many of my cropped images are STILL 3 to 6 Megs in size and require additional down sizing to be uploaded here. So we can hope that is true of the shot in question.

Look at it this way, if this is Rupert(a), that means we will get a whole new crop of little Ruppie's many of which may also have those adorable features. In fact, with each generation raising another, even if the older ones are driven out we may always have a new bunch of them now.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

Here is Calvin climbing up the fence to leave (after all of the chaos on Thur) and Heidi saying, "Calvin, come on! Where have you been? Get up here now!" and him saying, "But, Mo-om, you told me to stay away from you."

If you look to the far left, you can see the dark images of the two tiny kits on the fence. Those are the mystery kits whose arrival that night stirred everybody up.

Here is the mystery mom leaving with her tiny kit struggling to scamper up onto the top of the fence - an her oblivious to his delima. He made it though.

I call this photo "What is this thing?"

As you may recall I picked up a cat condo to see if the kits climb on it once they get more settled in and how well it handles the elements. I'd like to get one of those fancy things about 5ft high with all kinds of levels and play things on it but need to know how it will hold up outside 1st. If it makes one season, I'll be happy.

If you were here when i added the pool, you might recall that when it 1st showed up everyone was nervous about the strange new thing, everyone walked way around it, eyed it with suspicion, and later sneaked up cautiously to check it out. It has been the same with the new thing. When it 1st arrived, Heidi took a new route to make sure she didn't go near it. In the photo below she has finally gotten the nerve to approach it to see if it is safe to have around the kids - who are in the foreground looking on. In the pic she appears to just be sitting by it, but (and this has happened with each one I try to photograph checking out the thing) the flash caused her to back away the instant before the shutter closed. They each go up there and stand upright to sniff the thing. You can tell from their body language that they are scared and unsure of this thing. When they are in such a state, the flash causes them to shy away.

Here is another shot of that same kit that was eating the mini cupcake in the pic I posted recently (prior thread).

Another pic of the raccoon that might be Rupert. Here she is in yet another of those poses she does constantly - while eating a cupcake. (The other raccoon that I thought might be Rupert at one time also does these moves occasionally, but this one lives in that position.)

Congrats on the other new kits! I'm lovin' all the wonderful photos.
The idiot hillbillies around here were setting off illegal fireworks that were as loud as bombs, scattering the wildlife with every explosion! Birds, coons, squirrels, everybody just dashed away from their dinner....grrrrr.

Thanks, KyWoods,

More to come, I'm sure...and more and more and ... I'll soon be living in a shoe, a shoe surrounded by a herd of raccoons.

Sorry to hear about those illegal fireworks. The regular ones are scary enough for the wildlife. Last night it really sounded like a hail of bullets punctuated by periodic shot gun blasts and the occasional canon. (Now, at work one day when I compared a sound to a shotgun blast, one of my smart alack male co-workers asked if I had ever actually heard a shotgun blast, obviously thinking I would have to admit that I had not. How little he knows about me. I grew up in a rural area. My father hunted game. Heck, I own a shotgun, and, I've not only heard it, I've used it - not to kill animals though. Target practice and to kill a rattle snake.) Considering that fireworks are essentially explosives, I can't imagine why anyone needs to celebrate with more powerful explosives than those legally available.

Hopefully, your wildlife came back later in the night after the fireworks finally fell silent. Glad you enjoyed the pics.

Edited to fix my xml. Oops! Didn't mean to shout at you. Just forget sometimes which backslash to use in closing.


This message was edited Jul 5, 2008 10:36 PM

Looks like either the mystery mom figured out her error or Heidi spoke with her offline. Either way, she has not brought them back since. I stayed out late just to see. When the others had left, Fraidy came out. They must have been extra hungry tonight because by the time she arrived they had eaten most of the 8-10 cups of food along with the grapes and 1/2 watermelon. Fraidy was left with a small amount of food at one feeding area, a handful in Heidi's dish, and the kibble hidden here and there in the grass.

She was walking about on the grass in front of me, nibbling kibble. She is so timid, reminds me of a deer as she eats always on pins and needles ready to flee at a moments notice. She also looks incredibly tiny and frail now, haggard, thin. One good thing about me having doubled the food is that now there is usually some left for her. I was tempted to go back and get her more food but figured she would just run away if I got up to go to the house. Anyhow, I had tossed about a cup of kibble around on the lawn for the kits. I figured most of that was still there for her along. That plus the small amounts left in a few of the dishes would probably be enough for her. I used my garden shears to scoop the last of the red portion from the watermelon and toss that to her. After a while, she heard a sound and stood upright to see what it was. For some odd reason, at that moment I shown my flashlight on her and you are not going to believe this, but our little Fraidy also has babies.

I am beginning to think everybody has babies stashed somewhere this year. No wonder HRH is in hiding lately.

LOL, can you imagine the child support if he's the Daddy of all those kits?

Ok, now I've lost count... Our lactating mamas are: Heidi, Cleo (you had me on the edge of my seat, reading the Cleo/Dennis twist! My poor dh kept trying to talk to me, and I kept waving him off until I was done), Fraidy (wow! the poor little thing...), Ruperta (LOL), and Blondie. Are Cissy and Bast also moms, or do we know? Have you seen Juliet for a while? Maybe she's found another place to raise her babies, farther away from Heidi. Just as well, all things considered! LOL

This evening when I went out just before dusk, Heidi was out there waiting along with Dennis (who had been at the back door) and several of the others. Dennis still tries to eat Heidi's food when I put it out, but these days I leave him to Heidi's capable hands. I pour. Dennis sticks his head in the dish and starts eating while Heidi stands there looking at him and grumbling. Then I turn and walk away calling him as I go. Behind me I hear a lot of fighting, and when I look over my shoulder again I see Heidi alone at her dish eating peacefully. We repeat this procedure every day, at least every day that both of them are out there at feeding time.

After I put out the food and sat down, I sat Heidi's kits scurrying across the lawn from the brush area around the veggie patch as they headed to and up the fence and disappeared. Since they did not stay to eat, I gather she had brought them along to play while she was waiting.

Today I had the last 1/2 of a medium sized watermelon, about 10-12in D and about 14inL. It was slightly over ripe. I scooped out the heart and ate that leaving a good 2-3" of edible portion around the outside. I then scooped that remaining portion out, chopped it into manageable chunks, and put it back into the shell. With the newly added air spaces, it filled the shell. I put this in the usual spot in front of me for Heidi and the kits.

Heidi ate a small amount of her food and drank the juice from the melon - after moving a bunch of the melon chunks so she could get to it. Then she turned and left. I figured she would be back with the kits. She loves watermelon, but ever since she started bringing the kits, she doesn't eat any of it until they get to eat what they want 1st. She always leaves the watermelon, eating none until she returns with the kits - and usually even then waiting until they have eaten their fill. Heidi is such a good mom.

She also saves her cat food for them. For the past few days she had started eating at one of the other spots when she 1st comes out apparently to leave her food for the kits. When she returns with them, she eats some of her food. So yesterday, I added a second dish of food to her area. That seems to have encouraged her to eat from her area since there is enough for them - as she did so today.

The problem with this is that watermelon is a highly coveted resource, and as soon as she leaves to go get the kits, the others move in and eat it up. That's why I had moved the melon so close to me. Now even that is not sufficient to keep the others out of it. (I can't afford enough melon for everyone to have their fill and want to save it for the kits. Sometimes I toss a chunk or 2 to the others - but not today)

In no time, the red, long haired one was sneaking up to the melon even though it was about 12in from my foot. I tried to shoo him away, but the minute I turned my back to do something I turned back to find him scarfing it down. So I reached down and moved the melon, putting it between my 2 feet until Heidi could get back with the kits. Still that raccoon kept trying to sneak up to it. I decided to let him if he was willing to come that close. He sneaked up, grabbed a chunk and ran some distance away to eat it. A few minutes later Blondie arrived to see if she could get to the melon. She never comes that close to me for anything, so as I watched her sneak up to the melon, I was delighted. When she reached the melon, she put her hand over the edge gingerly as though to grab a piece as the other one had done and then in a flash she grabbed hold of the side of the melon and took off with it! Before I could react she had dragged it (and it was not light filled as it was with both melon and fluid) a good 5ft away. As I got up to retrieve my melon I had to chuckle at her method. I tossed a few chunks onto the lawn for her and then held on to my melon until Heidi got back.

I also had red, seedless grapes. I had bought these for me (from Publix). They were sweet and ripe , but some were getting a bit too ripe. When I looked at them through the package I could see that they were about to start getting moldy spots and such, so I gave them to the raccoons now while they were still good instead of keeping them for myself and letting most of them go bad waiting. i gave some to Dennis and the others but insisted on keeping back about 1/2 for the kits. Dennis doesn't grab anymore. He will sit and rub my leg and otherwise try to persuade me to give him more, and he will snatch things off the table if I leave them there, so I had to hold the bucket of grapes while I waited. That's still an improvement though as before he would have been trying to take them even with me holding them. He doesn't do that anymore thankfully.

As soon as the kits started down the fence, I put the watermelon back in its usual spot and started tossing grapes to them as the little fellas came across the lawn. I wish you could have seen them. They were so adorable, 3 little fluff balls sitting upright on the lawn popping grapes in their mouths and 1 sitting upright before the melon, holding a chunk of melon in both hands to eat it. Even Heidi ate grapes. I could see that they all really enjoyed the grapes. It was a joy to watch them. While I was tossing grapes to the kits Dennis sat at the back corner of my bench gently kneading the area of my back/waist with his paws to ask politely for one. Every now and then I passed one to him since he was behaving so well.

When the grapes were gone, Heidi walked up to me to ask for more. She was standing about 1 to 1.5ft from my foot. One of the kits, being both curious about me and hungry for more grapes walked slowly past her on his way toward me. With a single syllable, a 'word' I had not heard before but which appeared to mean 'no', Heidi stopped him. Immediately he walked back over to where she was standing, which she apparently figured was close enough. The sound as best I can remember it having heard it only the one time (and she did not have to repeat it to get the desired effect) was a soft, low "uh".

Last night when we had frosting wiches, I had given the frosting can to the kits when it was nearly empty. Tonight one of the kits went back over to the can to see if it had grown more frosting in his absence. After the kits had eaten at least 1/2 of the melon, Heidi went over to eat some, too. Even with her head filling the cavity, one kit kept sticking his hand in and pulling out a chunk to eat. For the rest of the night, Heidi sat there, watermelon in her 'lap', head buried in the sweet fruit, eating.

KyWoods,

No, but I think maybe HRH has imagined it - and started heading North as fast as he can travel!

Marylyn,

I can just picture your dh trying to understand what could possibly be so compelling. Unfortunately, the mystery continues. Every day when I see Dennis I inquire if he's a mommy, but he won't tell me. Not sure about Cissy and Bast. Since I missed the signs with Rupert(a), who knows. Today I looked at Trouble in a whole new way wondering if he will soon arrive with a gang in tow. Bast is so lanky that I would think not, but then I recalled that one pic I posted of her drinking from the birdbath. I had commented at the time that she looked a little 'thick' and pudgy in the pic. OMG, everybody is nursing!