Heidi Chronicles: The Next Chapter

This is the ongoing tale of Heidi and friends, raccoons who frequent my backyard wildlife buffet. Right now the forest is full of fluffy, trilling raccoon babies. It seems as though all of the raccoons have babies now. Heidi brings here chubby little fur balls to the buffet most days. The other moms often leave their in the trees along the fence line while they eat.

The prior thread is here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/878799
The 1st thread, the one that started it all is here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/603944

The photo is of Fraidy. She had arrived after all of the food and treats were gone. She is trying to convince me that I must have something for her somewhere and is also trying to climb up onto the table beside me. Fraidy is one of Heidi's kits from 06. Her growth was stunted from the very beginning; she was the runt of a large litter of 5 (that we know of) kits. She isn't much larger than Heidi's 08 kits (who are only a few months old), so that table is a bit high for her (and slick).

Have to get outside and get some more work done. Will be back later to tell you what's been going on lately. In the mean time I'll leave you with one more, slightly crooked pic of Fraidy, this one taken after she convinced me to go back inside and get her some food. I mean, who could resist that little face?

Here she is 'begging' before I got the food for her. I call this one "Oh, come on, I know you must have brought me something. Where is it?"

"Now quit clowning around. I just know you must have a treat in your pocket or something"

Oh Cheryl, she is so darn cute....you want to cuddle her. And trim her nails, or paint them! LOL OK, a bit much.

So hard to believe that little darling has kits to take care of. I wonder how old they are when they start breeding? It seems some of last years kits have babies. They must be like cats/dogs and start at 6 months?

Love these new pictures
Debbie

She is such a tiny precious thing! lol

Your night pics are much better too!

Thanks, Debbie,

Yes, she is adorable and unbelievably sweet as well. You just could not ask for a better disposition than Fraidy's. From what I have read, yes, much like dogs and cats, the females may start breeding as early as 6mo while the males may not reach full maturity until the age of 2. Fraidy is about 2 to 2.5 now. One night recently I saw one kit who I believe was with her over in the brush area. The kit appears to maybe be normal size. He/she seems large in comparison to Fraidy. I am hoping she only has the one kit. That is how it appeared to me.

Last night, BTW, I saw at least 2 kits in the Heidi tree shortly before dark. They were in the 'crotch' formed where a decent sized branch meets the trunk just above the top of the fence and were sort of dangling over the branch by their tummies while trying to grip it with their paws in a manner that seemed to show their lack of experience in navigating branches. Moments later I was shocked to see the as yet unnamed furry red-gold one (that I also once thought to be a male) come down the tree to eat. So now she is a mom, too!

And, yes, they do have some incredible 80's, Elvira-style nails, don't they? I've always marvelled at the way they are able to walk face 1st down a tree or fence post with such apparent ease - never could really understand what was holding them up there. It looked as though they had Velcro on their feet or something. Once I started seeing their paws up close in the photos, I began to understand how those nails could hold onto just about anything.

Another thing I find just as incredible is the way they can touch me with those 'hands' without me even feeling the nails. They seem to have incredible control over their 'hands' unlike my dog whose nails gouge me anytime he tries to stand on my bare leg.

Here is Fraidy again, this time trying to steal my flashlight. This was also from before I went back to get her the food. During her rather determined search for the food she was so sure I had, she also turned my bucket over (twice). It was a large 2 gal bucket, empty except for empty containers and such from earlier in the meal. The 2nd time the pulled the whole thing down on top of her. It was a very light, plastic bucket, so she wasn't hurt. I tried to get the photo of her turning all that stuff over on top of herself, but by the time the shutter closed all I got was a bucket on the ground. They are fast little stinkers.

Cheryl, I also wanted to mention how clear your pictures are now...much better with the new training we have all received! LOL

OH gosh, Elvira, mistress of the dark....you could name one of the new ladies that! LOL My DH had a thing for her...gee, don't know why!

Since the redhead one is a female....Reba comes to mind. LOL I am still amazed Dennis is Denise, and a mom.

I don't know how your going to keep up with all these new babies, and new family members moving in from out of town! The news of the smorgasboard must be traveling among the trees.

Have you ever offered them things like carrots? I know you can buy those bags of little carrots, and ours up here are very sweet. Didn't know if the kits would like something like that or not, and they are farely cheap.

Debbie

Thank you, nanny,

Yes, she is. I am so glad that she is still with us, and I don't know just who to thank for this recent step forward in her behavior that she has begun interacting with me in this manner. I really enjoyed 'playing' with her last night.

As for the pics, I appreciate the compliment, but, honestly, I just shot these on auto. Trying to photograph raccoons in the dark against the stark white table presents a major challenge for me and for the camera. The table is just too bright, so everything else comes out almost black. Also, at times she was a bit too close, but we muddled through.

Here is a shot from after I brought the food out. As you can see she is standing full upright and can barely see over the top of the table. The table, BTW, is just one of those white plastic outdoor end tables, the cheap kind like from the home center, so it isn't very high. I have 2 tables out there right now both on the right side of my bench, this one slightly in front of my bench, the other one slightly behind it. Believe it or not, Dennis was standing upright at the other table eating from another pile of kibble. Dennis was there 1st. When Fraidy arrived, they had a little spat. I told them to 'knock it off', and just like that they calmed down and stood about 2 feet or so apart, each at her own table eating.

Thanks, Debbie,

I can't recall if I tried carrots. In the past, I tried a number of different vegetables both raw and cooked all of which got very poor reviews. I'm inclined to think I did try carrots but can say for sure now. I have some of those tiny carrots in the fridge. I'll give them a try. Who knows, even if the others didn't like them, some of these guys may.

I know I tried broccoli, asparagus, and corn. Heidi did eat some of the cooked asparagus once a long time ago. Of course, there is no way to feed this large group asparagus without going broke. Although Widget will practically eat his weight in broccoli (I order him steamed broccoli and chicken when I get Chinese delivery), the raccoons didn't seem all that fond of it. Much to my surprise, they don't even seem all that excited about corn on the cob. By morning it is always gone, of course, but while I am out there it gets passed over for the cat/dog food and treats.

I went to Walmart last week and picked up a bunch of marshmallows, frosting, and grapes. The frosting was at least 50cents/can cheaper than where I usually shop, the marshmallows were about 1/2 price, and while the grapes were roughly the same as the sale price at my store, they had the red ones at the lower price vs the green ones at my store. I think the raccoons prefer the red ones, but this way I got some of each. While I prefer the quality of fruits at my usual store, I find that the raccoons seem perfectly happy with the ones from wally world, which generally are cheaper.

Reba, hmm. I like that, and she sure needs a name - badly. Reba it is. Thanks.

This is Fraidy again. She's looking over at me. I'm sitting just to the left of the table. I call this one "I love the kibble. Can I get the recipe?"

Here is one of Dennis - I have so much trouble trying to think of his as a girl! I was happy to see him. Basically, after everyone had left and when I was about to leave, Fraidy showed up as seen in the pics above to ask where her food and treats were. She was so sweet, I could not resist, so I went back to the house to get her some cat food and some frosting. When I returned she was gone. I sat down alone, waiting, hoping she would return. I called her a few times. Then, for some odd reason I also called Dennis as I had not seen much of her lately. And just like that Dennis appeared a few minutes later. While Dennis was chowing down, Fraidy came back, so I was able to spend some quality time with the 2 of them without interference from the crowd.

This photo shows the 2 tables together. Fraidy is at the one on the left in this photo. I tried to get both of them in one photo but from that distance I could not get far enough back. Dennis is very funny to watch when she is stuffing her face. More pics of both of them to come.

I'm not at all fond of the new band of 'thugs'. I had some difficulty with them earlier in the week. That plus an incredibly hectic schedule is why I haven't written in a few days. But more on that later when I have the time to discuss it.

Here is one of the new ones with a large frosting can. As you can see, she is also nursing. Isn't everyone?

I have difficulty with this pic. I think it's a cute photo, but she is not a 'cute' or well mannered raccoon, at all. This group is very disruptive. They do not share the values and manners of Heidi's clan. This marauding gang borders on ruthless. When they arrive, everyone else leaves. To be honest, I do not feel entirely safe around them myself, and I can see that Heidi and her bunch don't either.

Still I do think it's a cute shot, so...

another shot

trying to get to the bottom

here is a close up of that same raccoon. As you can see she still has frosting on her face from dealing with the can.

She appears to be the ring leader of that gang. If I had met her 1st, I probably would not like raccoons very much.

Here she is stalking me, trying to figure out how to steal the food.

OH so very CUTE !!!! Cheryl.... great shots.

Love all those images of Fraidy. She's such a special lil lady.

I went out early hoping to avoid the 'mean' gang. Heidi and the kits didn't arrive until almost dark. They were only there for a short time before the bad guys showed up and everyone left. Here is one of the few pics i got of Heidi and a couple of her kits.

Thanks, Terese,

Yes, she really, really is special. I can't begin to articulate how very much I enjoyed my time with her last night. She has such a sweet and adorable personality.

Last night I fed them frosting stuffed in some slightly stale, whole wheat, pitettes (mini pitas) - which just happened to be the perfect raccoon size. Here is one of Heidi's kits with his.

Here is one of Fraidy at my feet. This one give you some perspective on how small she is as compared to my [size 7] croc.

After Fraidy had eaten a considerable quantity of cat food I offered her some frosting. Notice (what would be her index) finger under the bottom of the can helping me to hold it.

a close up on that. note the finger. they are much, much stronger than they look or than one would normally imagine for their size. she was actually pushing the can toward her face with that one finger.

Here is Cissy. After Fraidy and Dennis had eaten their fill, Cissy showed up and decided to give it a try. She was not as enthusiastic about the table arrangement, however.

those are great shots! I see why you are so endeared of Fraidy. She is such a tiny little thing. I am glad you had some one on one time with her and Dennis. I am also concerned about the "mean group". It is a shame they had to come along and spoil it for everyone else. Do stay safe Cheryl! I know you will but I just had to say it.

Judy

Thank you for the pics of precious Fraidy. I always worry about that tiny little girl. I guess I shouldn't considering she must have a lot of strengh and fortitude to have survived given the challenges she has faced. It is nice to see her and be reassured nonetheless.

I hope these more aggressive raccoon do not try to run off the members of our group. Heidi has done very well with her "friends and relatives" to make it a harmonious place for the most part. However, as you said she is getting old for a wild raccoon and these new ones may prove to be quite a challenge to overcome. If they are pretty wild do you think they would flee if you got up and walked around like Heidi's bunch used to? That would be one way to make them feel unwelcome without scaring the regulars who might be watching from the trees. Whatever the case, use caution until you know for sure I would not want something to happen to you or our guys.

Tonight wasn't such a great night in Heidi land. The neighbors across the street had either a party or a lot of company. Having forgotten about that, I went out fairly early with food and treats and camera hoping to spend time with the kits and get some good pics. I EVEN went out and cut the grass at noon despite the fact that we are under an excessive heat warning with heat indexed temps in the 105-110F range so that I wouldn't have to do it late this afternoon and scare the kits away. Unfortunately, the evening was wrecked from the beginning because the sounds a people's voices and such coming from across the street kept the raccoons on edge. Some ran away immediately and other hid in the brush. Most didn't show up until after dark. Bummer, but, oh, well, it happens.

So I really didn't get any great photos tonight. But after the food and festivities (at my house) ran out, I decided to use the remaining time to try out some of what I've learned. Here then (and I have no clue who this is as it is one of the 'others') is a pic I took using what I learned in melody's class. (Hope you are reading, melody.) It lost considerable resolution on conversion from tiff to jpeg. Before the conversion the hairs were so crisp you could count them. This was taken in almost total darkness such that even after sitting out there for an hour or so I could barely make out the dark, hazy image of the raccoon. For this pic I used the S mode with what I assume was shutter speed set at 1/4 (second, i guess). Any lower than that and the camera gave me a yellow warning sign. I set sensitivity (guess that's ISO) to 400. I may have done this wrong. Probably need to review the manual some more to make sure I understand what I'm setting. I was trying for large ISO and small shutter speed for low light. Anyhow, it seemed to work considering (except for the disturbance of the white table) I shot this raccoon under roughly the same conditions as I shot Fraidy and Dennis last night (in auto mode).

Here for comparison are 2 pics of Bast shot back to back. She was in the same location in both pics. It was so dark where she was that I could not see her at all without my flashlight. The 1st pic was shot in auto mode, the way I've been doing almost all of my pics up until now. The 2nd was done in S mode using the setting indicated above. Note that I did not have the luxury or option to focus in either case as again, without my flashlight I couldn't even tell if there WAS a raccoon over there. (I didn't have the flashlight on while taking the pic, only to check to see if she was there prior to shooting the pics.)

So here is auto mode.

And here is S mode using what I've learned so far from melody. I still have lots more to learn, so I imagine that I can do better with time. One thing I notice with this one is the color is much better. This is virtually identical to what Bast looks like in sunlight. The focus is a bit off in this one but as I mentioned I can't focus in the dark. I just have to shoot and hope for the best.

Oh, I don't know if I mentioned this, but neither picture was altered or enhanced, lightened, etc in any way (nor was the one I posted above showing my 1st attempt to apply the lessons). Both were cropped to zoom in on the raccoon but otherwise unchanged.

Thanks, Judy,

Yes, the combination of overcrowding and the presence of this new mean group (mostly the latter, I think) has made it impossible for me to get very close to the kits this year. Bummer.

I'm wary of these vile tempered gate crashers, especially the gang leader, and am doing my best to keep them some distance away from me.

Hi tetleytuna,

You are most welcome. I had a wonderful evening with Fraidy yesterday. I got lots of cute pics of her mostly at the table eating. Glad to have the opportunity to show that she is doing well. Wish I could show you video of her as she has the most adorable personality.

Since I have so many pics of Fraidy at the table making various cute faces, so many that it was hard to pic one - or three - to post here, I considered making one of those slide shows for you to see them all, but am afraid to do so after the incident on webshots recently - at least not before I get them watermarked. The bad people always, always ruin it for everyone else.

I don't know where this goes with those new raccoons nor do I know how to circumvent them. I've been going out before dark lately hoping that our gang will show up for the early feeding, but so far that hasn't worked all that well. I'm giving it some more time to see if ours adjust their schedule as they learn that I am coming out earlier.

These new raccoons are not 'friendly' like Heidi's bunch, but they are quite bold, especially the leader, and are not particularly afraid of me. I'm sure they have learned that I am not so dangerous from watching the others come near me. Tonight Dennis came out for a short while. The mean ones including the leader were there at the time. Dennis hid under my 2 tables, and stuck her nose up through the crack between the tables and my bench to get grapes and mini cupcakes. She wrapped her arm around over the top of the table to grab kibble off of it even though she couldn't see up there - which was cute seeing the arm come around by itself every now and then to get more food. Naturally, that leader 'coon wanted some, too. I didn't want her to fight with Dennis and run Dennis off, so I kept her back by making a 'stir' since I knew Dennis wouldn't be afraid. I tried failing my arms her way, but that had no effect. She came closer as if to see what I had. I ended up using the camera strap, flailing it in the air, to keep her back, and that just barely worked to keep her back a little ways, but did not send her running.

If I stand up, they will run into the brush momentarily but will come back out the minute I sit back down. They are not especially timid.

The Fraidy photos and story are great! Makes sense that her kit/s would be normal size, since her own stunted size is likely the result of insufficient prenatal nutrition while Heidi was carrying such a large litter. Hope you'll get to see more of her kit at some point in time; with her sweet personality, I'm sure she's a great mom.

The newcomers/outsiders sound like a genuine problem, and the fact that most of them are nursing is not good news, either. Guess the combination of their numbers, Heidi's age, and the presence of her kits keeps her from running them off: taking on a pack is not the same as taking on one troublemaker, after all. Still, we can only hope that they won't try and succeed in running off the old favorites: that would be too sad for words, and potentially devastating nutritionally for Heidi at her age. I'd suggest that you try skipping the buffet service for several days, in hopes of discouraging the newcomers; but it seems they live close enough to be very well aware when the buffet is open.

Hi Ruth,

As alluded to earlier, I had an unpleasant experience with them earlier in the week. (More on this later when time allows. No one was hurt, but it left a very bad taste in my mouth so to speak. After getting to know this new group I now have all the more respect for Heidi and her extended family.) After that the buffet was closed for 2 or 3 days. When I reopened - primarily because I found that I really missed the regulars, I went out early to feed them before dark and have done so ever since. Basically, if I can't get out there before dark, I don't go. I may stay until after dark, but I don't start after dark. So far, at least, the new ones don't come out in daylight. I'm hoping that upon learning the new buffet hours, our gang will begin arriving earlier. After my run in with the bad guys, I also reduced the quantity of food back to the amount I had originally set. I'm hoping I can get our gang to arrive early enough to eat all or most of the food before those guys arrive.

Right now what I see happening is that, if I go out early, our gang arrives 1st and begins eating. Then the other gang starts to arrive and soon I notice that they are basically the only ones there. Essentially, once the party crashers show up the party is over. Then the thugs run rampant for a little while. They eat everything they can find and fight constantly even with each other. Then they seem to blow out of town as quickly as they arrived. Interesting thing is the more food they have, the more they seem to fight over it - like there is more to fight about. If there is no food they hang around and wait for food. If there is some food they seem to blow through like a plague of locusts gobbling up whatever is in their path.

This is only the 3rd day since I've resumed feedings and started watching them more closely, so I have only limited data from which to form conclusions. Right now it looks like they gobble everything up then leave and don't return. After they are gone our regulars start to come back to finish their meals and maybe bring their kits out. My hope is to get our group to come earlier, eat most of the food, and leave only a small amount for the others to clean up. As of 3 days ago, I am not giving any treats to members of this other group. I am keeping my treats on the table beside me and keeping a close eye on them. I feed them to our regulars and their kits before the thugs arrive. Then I put the treats away until after the thugs leave, except tonight when Dennis arrived and I gave him some while they were still around. But like I said earlier, he, I mean she, hid under the tables to eat. Dennis always stood in front of me to eat, but not lately because those nasty raccoons will attack her.

After seeing how the new raccoons seem to operate, I may try putting out only a portion of the food and holding the rest back with the treats until after the thugs leave.

It was last night after those 'bad' raccoons had left and I was just sitting there wondering what to do about them that 1st Dennis and then Fraidy showed up. That's how I got to spend time with them. I didn't see Fraidy tonight.

This afternoon I think it was the people sounds from across the street that kept Heidi from bringing the kits to the buffet before dark. They arrived at dusk then left twice due to the noise. The 2nd time they didn't return until after the thugs were gone. When Heidi and her kits were there the 1st time, I tried to give them eggs, cupcakes, and grapes. The kits ate some of the grapes and one mini cupcake before Heidi took them away leaving cupcakes and eggs in her wake. Later, when they finally came back all of the treats were gone and the thugs had long since eaten the eggs I'd given her. Luckily, I did have some cat food that I had been saving for Dennis and Fraidy.

Anyhow, when they came back, Heidi walked around sniffing her [now eaten] eggs then marched over and stood in front of me as though to request more eggs and complain about service at this establishment. I tried to tell her that the treats were all gone. She decided she would like to look through my bucket which was sitting on the ground beside me. I let her do so figuring that way she would know for sure that everything was gone. The bucket contained my bug spray, flashlight, and the empty packages from grapes and cupcakes. I expected her to look inside, sniff around, and walk away. I forgot how Heidi likes to display her unhappiness at not finding the desired foods in her dish (or the bucket). She snatched the bucket, tossed it across the lawn, spilling contents everywhere - and then walked away to go eat cat food with her kits. I took the pic below at the end of her little tantrum. Note that I am sitting in front of the picture and how far my bucket has traveled. (Since Heidi only has these small, harmless tantrums every now and then, mostly when she tosses her dish around, I find them amusing.)

If I make it to winter and those thugs are still around, I'm thinking about suspending feedings for the winter like I did that 1st year (back when Heidi and friends used to leave for the winter) in hopes that maybe the thugs won't return in spring. That probably won't work either, but...I don't know what else to do at this point especially since in winter when it gets dark earlier I won't be able to feed them early enough to avoid the thugs.

I just hope that maybe when the kits are old enough, our gang will be in a better position to fight for their territory and send these bad guys packing. Do you know who these new raccoons remind me of? Diva. They behave like Diva did when she 1st arrived. They fight over everything, constant, non stop bickering. They have lengthy scirmishes and even gang up on rivals - like they did that day with Trouble. This is the 1st I've seen of 2 or more raccoons ganging up to fight one opponent, but that's what these raccoons do. I don't mean working together like Heidi and her kits did in spring when they chased the others out of the yard. I mean 2 or more raccoons physically tearing into the same opponent at the same time. They are a vicious bunch.

Sounds like you're doing everything possible in terms of feeding times and frequency to manage the new, and disruptive, arrivals. Do remember that live trapping and relocation is always an option. I can't encourage you to trap lactating females, since the babies are not to blame for the mothers' behavior, and would be at risk if mom is relocated before they're weaned. You can always release any that are trapped, if they turn out to be mothers; but of course it's much harder to trap any raccoon for the second time since they're so darn smart. The huge campus at your workplace would be a great release site. I'm not pushing for this option, just giving you food for thought as the babies from these newcomers grow enough to approach weaning age.

I had typed a big post yesterday only to send it and have dg burp and gooble it up. grrrrrrrr

Love the pics. Wow they reallt clear now. Fraidy has such a beautiful face. Poor little thing. Looks almost like ya need to put a booster seat out there for her to come to the table. LOL She so tiny and cute, yep, I would want to try adn cuddle her too. She looks like a baby trying to hold it's bottle Ya look like a mom feeding her that container. : )

The thing I thought about besides trapping and relocating was this.

You been raising heidi and her group for years now. You and Heidi are both like the Queens of the group. During all this time you have listened to the coons at all the stages of life. The good calls as well as the fight and growls and grumbles.

What about putting sevral layers of pants on and some bubber boots. Ya cna wear like your own jeans and go to thirft store and get a pair of cheap mens jeans that bigger to put over yours, tall thick socks and some heavy duty boots.

When ya go out with the food, and the mean ones there and and they approach. growl and make the moves that Heidi does to run others off. Maybe a few days of scare tatics racoon style might run them off.

I wuldn't let your body get down low, but you need to show you the domant racoon in your group. heidi and her group are very very smart. They know the soft sounds you use to call their names. I wouldn't be a bit surprised that they would also see you running these mean ones off and stay back until you called them by their names and if th emean ones come in when heidi and the others there, and they see ya running them off with coon growls and advances maybe they also might get the idea.

Also, thought you might bring your waterhose by you. Have it turned on and have a noozle set to jet spray on it. When the meanies come in jet spray the heck out of them, maybe a full body blast will keep them away.

It could be Heidi and the others are not running these guys off, because they know your house is food source and you present all this time no threat to them or to thei rkits. Could be Heidi and the others think yu hav einvited these mean ones in and are afraid of attackign them selves for fear of offending you and losing you feeding them.

Sure is a smame your pelasure is being taken away from you. Not a good feeling when ya got so much time and foodd and money invested in your clan and now ya got these guys inturrpting it.

Also, thought about the fact that over the years, while stil wild, you have trained the clan to your wishes somewhat. They very smart. Maybe you cna train them to come to their dishes and sit and wait for you to pour instead of puttign food out early. Like go to heidi dish and call her and not put her food out tilshe there and the others and if a mean one shows up, carry a stick with ya and only small amounts of food at a time so you cna chase the new ones off with growls and threats of the stick.

The new ones probably are not afraid of you, because they have seen you walking around amoungest them and so you no threat. Sad, but you may just have to get a " racoon mad" on to get rid of them.

Sure hope ya cna get rid of them soon and so ya can go back to enjoying watching your guys. Just had a thought. Maybe it wasn't your clan that ripped that bag out front. Maybe it was this meanies and now they have discovered the backyard.

The pictures are great! Just by experimenting, you are discovering things about your camera. All cameras are different, and have a different set of features and limitations. Each one is a tool, and once you get comfortable using it, things will come easier.

All I can say is keep up the good work, and keep shooting. Just look at the improvements that you have made in the last couple of weeks, you've made some big steps.

As far as shooting in darkness, some cameras have a pre-fire flash, that fires a short burst before the actual picture is taken, so that the autofocus can set. This feature is available on cameras of various price ranges. You might keep this in mind for future purchases.

As far as your dilemma with the bad bunch, what about one of those 'super soaker' water guns? You can shoot those things pretty accurate if you practice. This would keep the scary water hose out of the picture for the good gang, and you can be selective in just who gets squirted. I'd aim for the face personally. If plain water doesn't seem to get the message across, add some vinegar to it. No permanent harm will be done, but it would prove to be very unpleasant.

>>what about one of those 'super soaker' water guns?

I too was thinking 'squirt gun'
though you'd hate to 'piss off' the bad guys ... it would be nice if they got the message of the 'squirt' [go away, you are not wanted] sorta thing.

Ruth,

The trapping and relocating thing did occur to me, but I would hate to go that route unless it's the last straw because it would be difficult to trap the bad ones without inadvertently catching some of the regulars along the way. I wouldn't want to do anything to ruin the wonderful trust relationship we have developed. Just now, however, I was thinking that, given that the raccoons are not afraid of me they may be willing to go into the cage for a special treat with me around. They, including the new ones are already willing to climb under the tables beside me and stick their heads in the plastic cans for extended periods of time - not to mention that one night when Dennis scared the you know what out of me by climbing under my bench which comes down to within a few inches of the ground (I nearly freaked out when, in the darkness, something furry touched my ankle as Dennis squeezed out from under the front of the bench.) It's possible I might be able to take the trap with me, load it after the new ones arrive and ours leave, then put it down on one side of me or behind me and see if they will go inside for a cupcake or other special treat. That way I could keep the good guys away from it. Might not work but nothing lost if it fails.

starlight,

That has happened to me before - loosing a big post. I do so hate it when that happens. I rarely have the heart to type it all again. In my case, it's not usually a DG error so much as an scutler error. It happens sometimes when I forget and try to include a 40M photo with my post. DG will often succeed in downsizing it but will sometimes choke on a huge photo so that the entire post goes in the bit bucket. The other thing I do all too frequently to loose posts, and this is not at all related to DG it just shows up here because I'm more likely to make large posts here, is some [hot]key combination thing in which the text is highlighted and then deleted. I don't do this intentionally, of course. This highlighting of some or all of the text and then deleting it happens so blindingly fast that it often looks as though the text just vanished in an instant, but I have found that the text goes 'highlighted' an instant before the 'poof'. It has something to do with hitting the wrong key or keys when I 'reach' with my little finger (on the right hand I believe) to do caps and/or special characters. I wonder if you may be doing this, as well.

If your stuff goes 'poof' while you are typing, you may be able to get it back, IF you hit the right combination of keys NEXT. You cannot hit a single other key between the instant the stuff vanishes and use of the key combo to restore it, but if you do it right everything will magically reappear. This has worked for me on the rare occasion that I can stop quickly enough to keep from hitting any other keys in between and can recall the correct key combo to do the restore. It's something like ctrl-z or ctrl-x or something like that. Maybe someone out there will tell us the correct keys. I think Terese knows it if she is listening.

I hear you on me being the alpha, but am doubtful that I can make raccoon sounds. Remember back when I was trying to describe trilling for you guys. Nobody had a clue what I was trying to say. LOL. As difficult as it is to describe their vocalizations it would be even more difficult to recreate them using human equipment. They have quite an amazing vocal range. It appears to me as though they make a lot of those sounds in their throats, sort of guttural sounds. I've learned to interpret some of what Heidi and the others are saying but can't begin to repeat it. And that's not to mention the fact that I suffer from pretty much chronic year round allergy/sinus problems to such an extent that if I even try to make a dog-like growling sound to play with my dog, the irritation in my throat will send me in to an immediate coughing fit - much like the one that Heidi has when her allergies are acting up. I've often thought that Heidi doesn't look to scary when she has to stop to cough and wheeze in the middle of a fight - and neither will I.

Oh, and I didn't really get the double clothes thing. If it was to protect me from claws and teeth, I don't think so! I saw a program on Nat Geo in which a guy who takes raccoons out of people's attics was talking. He showed the 'apron' he wears over his neck, shoulders, chest, and upper arms while handling them (along with appropriate gloves and such). It was made of the same Kevlar as the bullet proof vests the soldiers are using. He said he could sometimes STILL feel those teeth and claws through the Kevlar! Nope, no way I'm doing that.

Also, with regard to multiple pairs of clothing, are you kidding? ; )
We under a heat advisory every day now for a couple of weeks with heat indexed temps approaching 110F. The heat advisories run until 7-8PM! I go out there in a thin tank top and even then can often barely stand the thick, hot blanket of air that envelops me as soon as I walk out the door even at night. Nope, I'm not wearing any extra clothes around here until maybe mid January. LOL.
Lately, it is so insanely hot and humid as to make driving the car an absolute nightmare especially at night. If I turn the AC on, I'm nice and cool, but the entire car become almost instantly enveloped in condensation such that I can't see anything out of the windows or the windshields, front or back, and even the mirrors are fogged up to the max. Imagine yourself trying to drive a frosty bear mug. That's what it's like. The air is holding (barely) almost 100% of the water it can hold. The instant the AC drops the temp inside the car even a few degrees, the water condenses on all of the exterior surfaces making visibility impossible. I can use a combination of defroster and wipers to clear the windshields but still can't see out of the sides of the car or in the side mirrors. It is just yucky! I've never seen anything like it. It's like trying to drive under water. Ok, back to raccoons.

I like the hose idea. I have one or more nozzles, just have to find them. That couldn't hurt as a backup.

I just had to chuckle when I read about the booster seat for Fraidy. LOL. She might actually use it. If I put some sort of block of wood or something beside the table, I'll bet she might just climb right up on it just like a kid with a booster seat. I also enjoyed:

[quote]"get a raccoon mad on"[quote]

Oh, I think I did that the night we had our run in earlier in the week. I hit 2 of them as hard as I could with my 3 gal (checked it last night and it's 3 not 2) bucket which at the time had 1 gal of cat food in it along with grapes and other stuff. At the time, I wasn't holding anything back. I meant business -- and at the time, they did hit the road in a hurry. But they were back the next night.

I find that the raccoons do pay attention to how I treat the others and are effected by it. I think perhaps Fraidy learned to interact with me the way she has been doing just recently from watching Dennis. She already trusted me but had never touched me, climbed up on my knee, etc like Dennis does until just recently. Likewise, I think watching Dennis get close to me has helped the kits to feel more comfortable around me since they see that nothing happens to her - except she gets lots of treats. Sometimes this thing of watching the others has the opposite effect. I've tried petting Dennis in front of some of the others so they can see that I don't hurt him. Often, the raccoon that is watching will get huge, terrified eyes and run away even though I'm not touching them and I'm not hurting Dennis. It's like "OMG, now she's starting to TOUCH us. Run for your lives!"

Heidi and the others have a certain amount of trust for me now, but it is not absolute and it varies from raccoon to raccoon and even from one time period to another. Heidi is more trusting when she doesn't have small kits to raise, for instance, and less trusting when we've been apart for a period such as lately when I don't get to see her up close as much due to the over crowding. All of them have their limits. None, well except for Dennis, is as trusting as a dog or cat would be. Most will give me a wide berth if I stand up - but not necessarily leave the area. Whereas when she is running stag, I can walk around Heidi, approach her, etc, when she has small kits she is less tolerant of such things, perhaps because she has to consider their welfare, perhaps because she has to teach them through her actions. Right now with the kits around, if I walk around, she is likely to leave. She doesn't take a lot of risks with the welfare of the kits. Dennis, of course, is another story. She will walk under my feet and trip me, jump up on my bench when I try to sit down so that I have to threaten to sit ON her, and try her best to come in the back door any time it is opened.

Thanks, melody

I know I've only scratched the surface, but I feel so much more empowered - just to know something! I need to get back to class as I have so much more to learn and want to make full use of your very generous offer to help. I've been so busy just lately, but will be back soon. There are tons more features I need to learn about. I'm sure there is much, much more that can be done to improve the photos.

My camera does have the pre-fire flash. I am using that. It's what allows the auto-focus to do its thing in the dark. What I was saying though, and this is difficult to explain, is that I can't do any 'human' focusing. I can't even make use of the thing where you 1/2 way press the button and then see if the image on the LCD looks right before pressing it the rest of the way. It is very, very dark out there. So dark that I have difficulty telling the raccoons apart, so dark that if I drop something I have to feel around in the grass (ick) for it - or use a flashlight. In some areas like the spot where I shot the pics of Bast last night, it is totally, black dark, so dark I can't even tell if there is a raccoon in that spot at all. Were it not for the red light that lets me get the subject in the window and the pre-fire flash to let the auto-focus work, I doubt if I could get pics out there at all.

The process - taking pics in the dark - works like this. Even if I can't see anything at all but blackness, I press a button which sends and IR flash over to the subject. That lets me see the subject momentarily - with my eyes but not on the LCD - and allows me to determine if I'm aiming in the right place. If the red light strikes the object it should be in the center of the picture. (I can't zoom very much because I can't tell at what point I'm cutting the sides, head, etc off the subject.) When the red light strikes the subject, I push the button to take the picture. The camera sets off a series of flashes including the pre-fire flash, makes the necessary adjustments, and then takes the picture. My camera, being older, takes a relatively long time to do all of this; so a newer camera would definitely help me to capture shots that I am now missing while the camera is thinking. After the photo has been taken, it appears on the LCD screen and I can see for the 1st time how it worked, whether I actually got the raccoon in the picture, etc. Until that moment, the LCD is solid black (unlike when taking pics in some degree of light), so until the photo is complete, I have no real idea what it will look like.

I like the blaster idea. I'm pretty sure I have a new one in the garage, just need to get out there and find the thing. I also like the vinegar idea. I read something in the Ranch Rehab threads about using vinegar in a squirt bottle and really liked that idea - even for situations like the one I was having with Dennis a while back when I had to swat her on the head a few times to get the message across to be nice. Dennis has been behaving quite nicely lately, thankfully, but I learned from that situation that even with the friendlies it may sometimes be necessary to let them know I won't tolerate disrespect. If you recall Dennis had gotten way out of hand and had started grabbing things and snatching them out of my hand and such.

Thanks, melody. I'm going to try to get my work done today so I can come to class sometime this evening.

Terese,

ROTF at your gutsy terminology!
If Doing the bad guys will get them to go away, I won't mind at all. I like the blaster thing, too. We had discussed it before and I think of it every time I go out there without out one. The garage is one part of the house I haven't tackled yet for cleanup. It is a disaster of epic proportions. This all happened during my 3 yr convalescense from knee surgery and back injury during which time I had little choice but to pile things up as the pain of moving around, carrying things, walking up and down steps, etc was excruciating even with pain meds. Right now I am sad to say that I cannot even get my Accord in my 2 car garage. Is that bad or what. In fact, I can just barely get the lawn tractor in there. As you might imagine, cleaning up that big a mess in the garage is a winter job around here. It's probably 100+ F in the garage right now. Sometimes when I wanted to work out there in summer I used to leave the interior door open so the AC would help to cool it down, but now with only 1 AC operational I don't even have enough cooling power for the house.

I might just go out there and see if I can locate the gun quickly. I think I might also get a smaller squirt gun to stuff in my pocket since sometimes I may not have enough maneuvering room for a large gun. Heck, if vinegar fail, which I doubt it will, I have some dried Cayenne peppers that [I grew] that accidentally crossed with the Habanera. Those things are too hot to eat. Even a tiny bit makes a whole pot of chili so hot it will peel the skin off your lips. I'll bet if I ground some of those up in the blender, strained it, mixed it with water that would work, and put it in the gun that would work.