Heidi Chronicles: Growing Up

Whew! So glad to hear all is well there!

Just noticed that Hanna is heading up through Virginia, Deleware, DC, and NY, dumping tons of rain along the way.

doccat and Judy, you may be in it's path now. They are talking on news about people being rescued from cars (going underwater) in NC and just outside DC. Hope you are safe.

Debbie, you may be next. Batten down the hatches Everybody on the E coast. And don't drive through the standing water.

Ruth, hope your plants were spared and/or just got some water if you needed it.

starlight, I was just remembering what you said about the grass growing faster after rain. The grass in my front yard (and parts of the back) is a variety that grows at a snails pace regardless, so that's not a problem for me. I really don't like this type of grass very much. I think it is 'wirey' to step on, not soft and lush like some other varieties, and as you can see from the feeding area (where it has been replaced by weeds now), it doesn't stand up well to traffic, but it is popular here because you can cut it ultra short (like an inch or so high and it doesn't mind) and it only needs to be mowed once every 2 weeks.

yes -- i too was listening to the weather channel on how much rain they are/will be getting.

be careful out there.

Wow.. I dont have cable so don't know how other folks are fairing with the storms. Waiting for 6 o clock news to come on. What I think is funny is Hannah went north and a way douth and east and since noon it has been thundering and rainign here like crazy. Needed the rain bad. But think it funny that I soakign wet.

ben wondering who gonan show for dinner tonight. Wonder if they gonan blame ya Cheryl for the rough bit of weather and making them miss play time.

Cheyl we got some very badly needed rain here. We are not in any low area. I am sure there were some flash flooding going on around as there are alot of creeks and rivers. I haven't seen the news(been painting all day)but hope to see it later. I think my grass grew 2 inches in the 15 hours of rain we had. The wind was gusty but only some dead branches came down and some leaves. It is beautiful and cool now!

Judy

We are doing fine, got lots of needed rain. Not much wind, thank goodness. DC got hit a lot worse than we did. Power bounced around a bit, but we spent most of the day watching movies on the DVD. We have satellite and it doesn't like heavy cloud cover.

Glad to hear you're ok, Scutler.......

Yes, so glad you didn't get hit, Cheryl, and hope the rest of you make it through, ok, too!
All my family came through Gustav ok. One piece of siding was torn off one house, but that's the worst of it. When I said New Orleans 'faired well' in the storm, I meant, compared to Katrina! But unfortunately, there were deaths and property damage--just not in biblical proportions!

Glad to hear you guys are all doing well. Thanks for all of your support and good wishes!

KyWoods, that's what I thought you meant. I heard on the news that many there will be without power for weeks. Often the aftermath can be worse than the actual storm, at least for those who survive.

Tonight was a very good night in Heidi Land. We threw one heck of a post TS celebration. They ate 125% of their usual cat food, 2 cans of frosting, 1 and 1/2 of those xtra long loaves of bread, 2 eggs, 1/2 watermelon (less the center part), and 1/4lb peanuts!!! It was nice out, so I stayed late. Many of the raccoons made multiple trips to the buffet.

Best of all, I got a chance to see and interact with Mink, Dennis, and Fraidy. Earlier in the night Mink came up close enough to grab a frosting sandwich and run away with it but was not back to her old, trusting self. I was bummed and could not imagine what I had done to loose her trust. Later when Dennis arrived, Mink was nearby watching as Dennis interacted with me. That did it. Mink came over, sat beside me, and held my hand in hers to steady it as she sat licking the next frosting sandwich from my hand before finally taking it and eating the bread. By the time I broke out the 2nd can of frosting (which I went back for when Fraidy showed up), Mink stood on top of my crossed ankles to lick frosting from the can as I held it. It was great to have her back, and I was thankful to Dennis for demonstrating that I could be trusted!

Dennis, Fraidy, Bast, Mink, and even Trouble all demonstrated repeatedly that they knew their individual names. Each came reliably when called. Bast came up behind me and stood upright with her paw on my hip (back/side). She sniffed my arms and hand to see what I had brought with me. I felt very comfortable. She made no attempt to bite or otherwise harm me. I offered her a frosting sandwich but she turned that down and got back down on all 4's again. I gave her an egg and let her eat from the overturned bucket at my feet. Bast had been there for quite some time eating when Blondie returned with her 2 kits for their 2nd trip to the buffet. One of the kits came over and approached the watermelon in front of me and a little to the right (Bast was in front and to the left.) Bast growled at the kit as it drew close to the melon. The kit stopped, crouched low to the ground, and waited for a minute then tried again to slink closer to the melon. Bast issued a 2nd and more ominous warning. This time the kit backed up a bit. I reached down, picked up Bast's bucket, and moved it around well to my left side before putting it back down again. Bast followed the bucket and immediately went back inside to eat as soon as I put it back down. With the greater distance between them, the kit stepped forward and began eating the melon. Bast did not complain again. Both ate in peace.

I had been interacting with Bast for a while when I became aware of a slight movement under the table beside me on the right. It was Fraidy. She was under there eating whatever had dropped, crumbs and such. I have no idea how long she might have been there as I had been looking to the other side a lot. She was to do the same thing several times during the evening, just magically appear up under the table there, hanging out beside me. Dennis did this as well a time or two. It was a good feeling to see that both of them seemed to feel somewhat safe there under the table by me. Since I don't see them all of the time, especially Fraidy, I made sure that both of them ate their fill of cat food, peanuts, and frosting sandwiches. It was great to see them again.

Heidi and the kits didn't show up until late. Heidi went straight for that melon (You were right, starlight!) and sat there for some time head down in the melon. That had been a particularly sweet melon with excellent texture, and she seemed to appreciate it as much as I had. On the rare occasion that she came up for air, she had that look of ecstacy on her face like an addict getting a long awaited fix. As a fellow watermelon enthusiast, I totally understood. When she had finished the melon, I tossed her a snadwich, the type I make specially for Heidi loaded down with frosting. While she was eating the melon several of her kits came over, some for sandwiches, some for peanuts. They made an arc around me on front, right even as Dennis ate peanuts and catfood on my left front.

When Trouble arrived, he came over and stood upright across the table from me, looking at me to see if I might offer him something. I had to laugh at him. He is so huge now. When the others stand up at the table all you see is their head or in Fraidy's case a nose, but Trouble towers so high when he stands upright it's as though (in human terms) the table comes up to his waist. He looks so comical standing there dwarfing the table. I gave him a couple of sandwiches and then he went on his way scrounging around for leftovers even as the ladies continued to chase him here and there from time to time just to remind him he had not been invited.

I did not see Cruella, but Ursula was there. It was very late when Ursula arrived. Almost immediately, Heidi called to her kits and left, perhaps because she had already eaten and wanted to get the kits out of the way lest an fight break out. Ursula bore a long and very noticeable scar across her side from collar bone to hip.She behaved fine as she always does when Cruella is not around. I let her eat some frosting from the can. Unlike the others, Ursula didn't stick her face in to eat but sat in front of the can looking like Winnie the Pooh as she repeatedly dipped one paw into the can to pickup a handful of the sweet gooy stuff which she then licked off.

Tonight, perhaps because news of the party carried far into the forest, both Puddle and Snowball showed up. I saw Puddle up on the fence waiting to cleanup after the festivities. Snowball came down and was approaching me or the food around me when a spat between raccoons sent him running for cover.

Oh, I'm glad to hear that Puddle and Snowball are still around, but that's a shame the racoons don't like them! That must be so sweet to have the raccoons trust you enough to touch you. And poor Ursula--I'll bet she is a sweet animal, just pushed around by Cruella! I hope she heals fast.

What a great night, Cheryl; surely makes up for the days of dread before the storm. Glad to hear that the two possums are doing well, even if they're not allowed at the buffet while the raccoons are present. Wonder if Cruella is responsible for Ursula's scar? Wouldn't surprise me if that one even fights with her very few friends.

We didn't get even a drop of rain from Hanna. Hope all of you folks will stay safe through Ike; maybe we'll get a bit of rain from that one.

KyWoods,

The raccoons used to let the opossums eat with them. I'm thinking the opossums were run off or pushed to the late shift along with the male raccoons when all those baby raccoons arrived on the scene in spring.

A week or so back the back patio light went out, and I keep forgetting to replace the bulb. I need to do it during the day when I can take the ladder around there, but only think of it at night when I go to turn the light on. As a result, visibility is greatly reduced in the feeding area right now. Earlier tonight when a raccoon came up to the other side of the table, I thought it was Reba. I held a frosting sandwich out to her for a moment planning to toss it on the ground for her when she turned it down as Reba would have done. When she came forward to lick the frosting off the thing while I was holding it, I was surprised and tossed it to the ground in front of her to eat. After she finished it, she stood up across the table from me to ask for another. That's when I saw that it was actually Ursula - who had just licked frosting from my hand. I gave her another sandwich and told her she couldn't eat the things on the table. She ate her sandwich and went on her way. I'm really not seeing problems with Ursula as long as Cruella is not around. Cruella seems to be the leader of the group she came from, so I think when Cruella is around she takes her marching orders from Cruella. Haven't seen Cruella in a few days, but there is always endless fighting whenever she shows up.

The ones like Fraidy, Dennis, Cissy, Bast, and now Mink are priceless to me. Having Dennis and Fraidy hug my bench for safety and being able to reach down and stroke them as they stand there against the bench is simply wonderful. The feel of Basts' paw on my waist/hip as she stood up to check for goodies, was indescribable. My relatively new relationship with Mink is very important as she is the only one of the 08 kits who trusts me enough to climb on my feet and such as though I were just a big raccoon, one of them. Recently when Mink became afraid of me I was pretty bummed and am SO happy that everything is now back to normal.

As for sweet, little Fraidy, she is just precious beyond all description. Until tonight, I hadn't seen her for some time. I was sure she was out there somewhere though. I'm accustomed now to her coming and going that way. Tonight when I stayed out there so late, I figured she was probably around somewhere maybe hiding out waiting for the others to leave. I started calling her softly but persistently hoping she would hear me and come forward. Imagine my surprise when I turned and saw her beside me under the table. I don't know how long she had been there or if she came because I was calling her. I do know that she knows her name, however.

And Mink, well, I love that little thing she does where she reaches up and cups my hand in hers to steady it while she eats.

Ruth,

Glad to hear from you. I was wondering if the storm had caused you problems. On the news they are reporting power outages and some flooding in NC and it is difficult to tell how far back across the state that may exist. There was about 1in of frosting left in the can when the last raccoon left, normally I would have saved that for another day but having seen the opossums waiting around, I left it for them. Snowball likes sweets, too, and I thought the smell of the frosting might have been what he was following when he was coming toward me earlier. Also, as the raccoons eat lots of sandwiches they often start to leave some of the bread behind. This is especially true of Dennis, Mink, and Heidi for whom the bread is just a utensil. Others like Ursula and Trouble and later the opossums are more than happy to find those sweetened bread pieces. When the raccoons and I left there were still some bread squares on the ground and even a little cat food strewn here and there.

The last time I saw both of them there together, I was surprised at how Cruella kept snarling and growling at Ursula and pushing her around. Ursula doesn't have a nasty wound like what Blondie had from the dog earlier in spring just a long scar that appears to be healing already. Because of the ruthless manner in which Cruella fights, even over relatively minor things, I wouldn't be surprised if she did it. With Cruella around even minor arguments quickly turn into all out brawls that last so long I'm looking for something to throw at them to break it up. (That's where that water canon would come in handy.)

I'm trying to think of a way for you to get the rain from Ike without any of us having to loose a roof. I don't think I want anything to do with that storm myself but then we got a good soaking from Hanna.

Zowie! Looks like ya had arealparty going on. Glad to see everybody came back and had a good time and you too. One thing about you being the hostes s is that at leats ya don't have ot goaroudn and pick up paper plates and napkins and over turned glasses or clean up beverage spills and ourderv mess from off the carpet.

I must have missed somethign somewhere cuz I know who Snowball is and glad they still around, but who is Puddle? Somebody must have sneaked past me on the scene.

I wonder if maybe Fraidy does know her name but sneaking in from a different direction so she don't have to interact with the others and is staying quiet under you in hopes of not being discovered knowing that she probably not strong willed or maybe even muscled enough to fight the others.

Poor Ursula, having to put up with all that bullying all the time. Ya know how with some wild animals they will adopt others into their fold. Wonder if these guys will , mainly Heidi adopt and allow her into their circle. Kinda seems like it since she allowed to be eating with them.

Yesterday started out with temps heading for 100F and it was hot. Then all of a suden the skies opened up. Looks like wind from Gustuv met winds from Hanna and we got rain allday and all night. Glad to se eit cuz it was parched here.

About how big do racoons usually get. Is it like in nature that the males bigger usually than the females. Do bad ya can't get little dna from all of them and then you would be able to tell exactly who related to who and who got who.

Too bad it would cost such a fortune. Ya could have them all leave some salvia on a cracker and have it analyzed. Could ya just see the dna people when they would look to discover it not human.

Starlight, Puddle is another possum: with normal possum coloring, not near white like Snowball. Glad to hear you're getting some rain, but hope Ike is not headed your way; that looks like a potentially nasty storm. They're predicting a decent chance of rain here every day from Tuesday through the weekend, thanks to Ike; and we're a long long way from the Gulf. I hate to see hurricanes headed toward the Gulf; you just know someone is going to catch heck when it makes landfall.


Cheryl, how fascinating that Ursula was willing to eat from your hand! She really is a natural follower: follows Cruella into trouble, follows the Heidi family into trusting you. Hopefully she'll switch her loyalty to the peaceful side for good. And it's no surprise that the guys who huddle around you are so special to you: your relationship with them is truly magical.

I enjoy reading about your relationship with the raccoons so much! I love the pix, too! Raccoons are comical critters! Keep up the good work! You could make house pets out of them!

>>You could make house pets out of them!

Oh... the visions of THAT!!

all propped up on the sofa, with Cheryl waiting on them hand and foot with peeps, frosting finger sandwiches, watermelon bowls... the list goes on!! Then you have the matriarch Heidi keeping all the youngsters in line.

what a hoot!!

off and running.... i'll be in and out, but not much for the next week or longer.
our "camping" season is ending in about a month, so i want to spend as much time up there as i can.

Terese

They would probably prefer The Food Network over Animal Planet too.

Last night was another good night, not on the level with the party night but good just the same.

I could only find a bag of green grapes (very sweet ones, I might add) to go with the cat food and watermelon. I also took along a partial jar of Widget's peanut butter yogurt candy. The jar was almost empty, most of its contents having been devoured by the raccoons a few nights earlier.

I was sitting there watching when Mink descended the fence. As soon as her little feet hit the ground, she came running straight toward me – right through the pool. As I watched her making that mad dash for me I scrambled to get the candy and grapes ready for her. It was at that very moment that I was distracted by something 'goosing' me in the posterior and turned to see Dennis at my right back corner (the side with the tables). She stood up to check the table top to see if I had put anything there for her. I hurriedly put some grapes and candies there, followed by a handful of food. By the time I turned back around from dealing with Dennis, Mink was climbing on the instep of my boots. Happy Days!

Mink was a little disappointed to find that I had no frosting. She ate a few grapes and some candies – grudgingly – in between which she pawed and sniffed at the empty frosting can I had left out the night before as if to let me know her true desire. After a little while of Mink coming and going I realized she didn't have a space at the table so to speak as there were no available dishes, so I put a small pile of cat food on the ground by my left food, and she sat there eating peacefully for the rest of the evening with Dennis eating from the overturned bucket right beside her.

Later when Reba arrived with her 3 smaller kits, the food was mostly gone already except for the small amount in the bucket where Dennis was still eating and the pile beside it where Mink was eating along with a few handfuls left on the tabletop. Surprisingly, considering how small her kits are still, when I heard some growling and such coming from her area, I looked up to see Reba sitting on top of the remaining food she had found over in one dark corner and telling her kits in no uncertain terms to 'beat it'. I felt sorry for the little tykes and I saw this as a perfect opportunity to make friends. Reba's little ones were already acquainted with me from afar as I had been tossing them treats and extra food for weeks now but always from a distance. This time I would encourage them to come to me. With a little time and patience, it worked and all 3 of them were standing about 1ft from me eating kibble, grapes, and candy. I'm sure the presence of Dennis in the bucket eating beside me and Mink at my feet helped to convince the kits that it would be ok to come that close. From time to time one would sneak up close to my foot to grab a grape and hurry back to the arc they had made in front of me.

Finally, after they had all left, Ursula showed up to scrounge for left overs. I didn't have much left but gave her a few grapes and the remaining handful of kibble. A bit later when Blondie and her 2 kits returned from the other side of the yard where they had been searching for [I suspect] slugs and snails on the hostas, Ursula politely yielded the right of way to them, allowing the kits to eat from the watermelon beside her. Blondie sat for a while propped against the side of the melon eating. Her posture spoke volumes saying “Whew, long day. A mom's work is never done.” That she was enjoying the watermelon was all too clear from the look on her face. After Blondie and company left (again), Ursula finished off the melon.

Fraidy was a no show.

wow -- sounds like everyone is in harmony. glad you had a good evening.

as the rain begins... again, I'm running out the door... i really wanted to be on the road before the rain hit... it will be an all day affair ... but oh well.

Hahahaha.. I was reading along and thought oh no. Mink done got so excited that she ran right into ya and knocked ya off your seat I thought possibly at first. Sound slike you need to be an octopus with 8 arms going all at once.

Maybe get a sideview mirrow and figure out how to hook it your body so ya cna look in it and see who behind ya all the time.

I know when Cruella was aroudn with her gang they would more or less be run off or let have run of the place. I still amazed after performances from before that they all let Ursula come and be aroudn the kits and it like everybody acts in a way like she is family.

Is it possible that Cruella, and Ursula maybe didn't just wander into yoru backyard, but that they may have been there before. There so many names and so many kits now that I having trouble remembering who who off hand, so if I get this wrong forgive me, don't have time to go back an dlook right now. Supposed to be working on a report but seeing what happened over the weekend was too great a draw. : )

Is it possible that these are kits from one of the coons from last year. I thinking about somebody who wa snot a good mommy last year and more or less ignored her kits. Is it possible that these two are ones that were kinda for the most part abandoned by a new mom , but maybe yet had managed to make it to the buffet once or twice and were so hungry and happened to remember your place.

Maybe I just tryign to pull cherios from the air, but they all seem just so accepting of Ursula especially into the fold, not running her off. Maybe they was one shiding in the dark behind bushes or somethign last year and without a good mom learned to fend for themselves in the wild which could be why Cruella so wild and mean. Just a thought.

tcs. Becareful out there. Take your time and watch out for the other folks. Enjoy your trip! : )

I had to go to a tupperware party for a dear friend, she needed the support, and while she was demonstrating some things....there was a "lazy susan" type tray, I am loosing the exact words.....put veggies all around the outside...and dip in the middle.

Anyway, I said outloud "Cheryl needs that for the babies!" "WHAT?" Oh , I never mind! LOL I could just see the raccoon family sitting around it trying to eat peacefully. I think it had six little "dishes" in a circle....would be good for the smaller ones.

I was not about to fill those women in on our family of raccoons, some think I need locked in a padded room already!

Sounds like you had a great night!

Debbie

ROFL, Debbie! That would be fun to watch them eat from one of those!

Even funny to watch them eating it on a rotating kaddy. heheheheh could ya see them all tryign to circle around to the left and then to the right. snicker..snicker.. : )

Hi, Everyone,

I've been reading and enjoying your comments throughout the day, just haven't had time to respond. I posted the 'evening news' from work today from a Word file I had typed earlier. As we are so busy today, I could take time out to type responses. Now I'm just plain exhausted, lying on my side in bed typing on the laptop and trying to stay awake. I will be back tomorrow to do responses.

Quick news:

Tonight Fraidy was back. Blondie's kits were up around me about 1ft from my feet when Fraidy arrived. They tried to run her off. One even nipped at her backside, but she was determined. She just looked at them like, "Move aside. I need to get through here because that is my spot right there at the human's feet." We had frosting sandwiches again tonight just because I couldn't find anything else in the house for a treat - time for a grocery run. As it was I only had 1/2 loaf of bread and had to use [un]frozen waffles for the rest of the frosting. Still, Fraidy showed up seconds after I had used up the last of the frosting and had even given the can to one of the kits. Sadly, all I had to offer her was a chance to lick the butter knife I'd been using to spread the frosting. She started at the bottom and licked her way to the top of the 'knife' and then quite to my surprise, she licked my hand. That was a 1st for me. I can't recall any of the raccoons licking me. I guess maybe I had some frosting on me although I wasn't aware of such. Her tongue/lick was gentle like a small dog, not abrasive like that of cat can be.

After the last remnants of frosting were gone, Fraidy wandered around me searching the ground. She licked some frosting from the grass here and there. A few minutes later I felt her paws on my back right about the waist area. She had gone around behind me and was standing upright with both front paws resting on my waist. It's rather a neat feeling when they do that. I think they are still very curious about me, and sometimes it's easier for them to check me out from the side that is not looking at them, talking to them, handing them food, and such. When I started laughing she came back around to my side, under the tables. Of course, I could not resist going back inside to get another can of frosting for her. I didn't have any more bread, but she likes the frosting best anyhow.

When I returned only Blondie and her kits were there. I called and called and called to Fraidy and then she stepped out of the brush and came over to me. I opened the can and let her lick frosting from it directly. When she had eaten her fill, I came back inside for the night.

Backing up a bit, Trouble also made an appearance earlier in the evening. He was only 1/2 way down the fence when Cleo made a mad dash at him at top speed. Being the 'bad boy' that he is, I think Trouble almost enjoys the thrill of doing what he isn't 'allowed' to do. He leaped from the fence and hit the ground running with Cleo on his heals. Cleo meant business, and I think Trouble knew it as he made his mad, winding dash through the buffet area with her right behind him, but I also imagine that he might have been laughing to himself as he finally 'lost' her as he rounded that last sharp curve and came to a sudden stop in front of a dish of cat food. Except for taunting the ladies this way by refusing to honor their rules, Trouble has been on his very best behavior lately, and I have begun to enjoy his brief visits, so I couldn't resist calling him over to have a sandwich or two. Sure enough, although he was on the other side of the buffet area, when I called his name he came right over to me to receive his treats. I gave him a few sandwiches. Instead of taking them from my hand as he usually does, he stood there licking the frosting off the bread as I held it and then took the bread from my hand to eat it.

A little while later as Trouble was eating pre-licked bread from the lawn area, Cleo suddenly sprang from the brush and ran up behind him where she bit him on the rump and made that rattlesnake sound. I could see that she actually bit him, just the sharp pinch type bite not the type that draws blood but surely the type that smarts considerably. Trouble sat down immediately (to protect all of the important stuff in that area I imagine) and turned his head around to her. Judging from the body language I believe he said, "If you bite me one more time, it's your ___." At any rate, Cleo backed away and returned to her food, and Trouble went on his way. Shortly after that, having quickly downed a bit of cat food, 3 sandwiches, and a handful of bread squares, he disappeared back into the forest from which he had come.

A few weeks ago - and I forgot to mention this at the time - out of the corner of my eye one night I caught the movement of two raccoons coming back from the area up around the house. At 1st I thought they were fighting as the one raccoon kept hopping in front of the other, grabbing and biting at the other's head. As they drew closer I saw that it was actually Mink mock fighting with her mom Cissy. Cissy was walking toward me while Mink was in front of and facing Cissy, hopping backward as her mom walked forward and repeatedly pouncing on Cissy's head, grabbing it with both hands and pretending to bite at it. Much as I have seen Heidi do at such times, Cissy was ignoring her kit, continuing to walk forward as though there were no raccoon attached to her head, but this did not seem to deter Mink who continued hopping backward and pouncing on her mom's head all the way across the lawn. I suspect that all kits play with their moms, but poor Mink being an only child has no other raccoon with which to practice fighting through play, so she has no choice really but to walk around batting her mom's ears and pouncing on her mom's head, wrestling with her mom to learn the moves she will need later for real fights.

Tonight, in contrast, I watched for a while as Blondie's 2 kits held mock battles.One kit had his head flat on the ground even as the rest of his body was raised as high as possible. The other, facing him, was crouching down on the ground. I guess, in retrospect, you could say they did more mock posturing than mock fighting as they continued this ritual for some time always facing each other and constantly changing from one ominous looking position to another as they made there way around the area. It was such an interesting display to watch that for a time I stopped handing out treats while I watched.

ROFL, wow, what a bunch of clowns they can be! I would have had a hard time keeping from laughing so hard I scared 'em off! Oh, you are so lucky, Cheryl...but you earned that 'luck'. What fun images your story created. Thanks!

Poor Cissy; there really is a down side to having an only child! I can just see the tribe gathered around that Tupperware lazy susan, twirling it to get their favorites; what a riot!

Another bit of trivia from last night. Before I left I toss the last 2 eggo waffles on the ground figuring even if the raccoons didn't want them the opossums surely would. Reba and Blondie both pounced on one at the same time. Blondie backed away while Reba stood there turning the thing over and over - looking for the frosting. Finding none she walked away and left it otherwise untouched. Then it was Blondie's turn to check it out. She, too, lifted the waffle to check for frosting on both sides before walking away leaving it for the cleanup crew. You could just hear them, "but there's no frosting on this thing. what good is it?"

Are they a spoiled bunch or what?

Debbie, as I read your post I was momentarily tempted to go out garage sale shopping in search of one of those things, not the new tupperware one but something similar.

Terese, hope you have a great trip!

I will be back soon, hopefully tonight to respond to yesterday's posts. (Better get to work now!)

Cheryl,

This is similar to the one I saw...what I liked was the tray could be used hooked together, or seperate the compartments and spread out.

This one is at Walmart.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=6527361

Whew! Back now to back up a bit and address your posts.

starlight -- Actually, after a party I do have to run around picking up frosting cans, watermelon rinds, etc - but no spots on the carpet. You probably saw many pics of Puddle but just missed the post where I named him. As Ruth pointed out Puddle is dark, near black or so it seems in the dark, and is larger than Snowball. I think you are exactly right about Fraidy. Actually, none of the raccoons make a sound when interacting with me or when called. They just come over and stand there looking at me, but I think you are right that Fraidy was hiding under the table to avoid getting in a fight. (More on this later.)

It's hard to say for sure where Ursula and Cruella came from, but I am still inclined to think they came from elsewhere. It looks to me like the group may accept Ursula, at least for the rest of the year, if she doesn't make trouble, but while they have been letting her hang around, they don't treat her the same as other members of the group. She usually shows up at the end of the evening which I have come to believe is an indication of lower rank. They push her around a lot. Everyone down to the youngest kit seems to know that both Trouble and Ursula are 'fair game' and it's ok to harass them. It seems like Ursula is trying to get along because she yields the right of way to the others, even the kits.

Glad you got some rain. We are still soggy from that near miss with Hanna. It is hot here, too. Seems like it should surely start to cool down soon but no sign of that yet.

I don't know the actual raccoon size/weight data although I've seen it on line. It varies with location. In general, raccoons in colder climates are larger and heavier than those in hot climates, maybe 20lbs heavier. Adult males are noticeably larger than females. Both HRH and Trouble are larger than the females. Even their frame and bone structure is larger; their head is larger. When the females are a week or so from giving birth they look closer in size to the males - but a little 'fat'.

Ruth,

I had not noticed those signs of Ursula being a follower, but that sure makes sense. She is behaving quite well, seems to be going out of her way to avoid fights and to fit in. Tonight I was totally shocked to see Fraidy, yes Fraidy for sure, go over there, get up behind Ursula and do that rattlesnake thing that seems to be a serious warning to 'get out of here or else'. I've never seen Fraidy behave that way except that lately she has behaved in a similar fashion with Trouble. Much as I took the latter as an indication that it was common knowledge that Trouble was banned from the buffet, Fraidy's most unexpected behavior with Ursula seems to suggest, tthat there is some kind of group understanding that it is ok to harass Ursula. Unlike Trouble Ursula does not appear to be banned. She is permitted to come around and eat late at night but is generally treated like a leaper. Ursula did not allow Fraidy to chase her off but neither did she attack Fraidy or show any sign of aggression in response to Fraidy's challenge.

So glad to hear that you are getting some rain. I though you wanted the remnants of the spent storm to come your way, and I was afraid that would require a more robust version of it to come through here. I'm already tired of hurricanes - just one near miss was all it took. ; )

Thanks so much Audrey!

Glad you are enjoying the story. Just tonight as I was watching the kits wrestle in the 'fake' moonlight I decided it is time to take the camera out again. I like to think of the raccoons as my other pets.

Terese,

You know me well. After work I had to go shopping just to get treats for the babies.

Maybe while I'm at work Widget is already letting them in. Maybe they all lounge around, help themselves to the fridge, and watch TV.

melody,

I have 2 TV's, just regular ones, nothing fancy. Maybe when Widget lets them in, they put one tv on Animal Planet and one on the Food Network - the latter a sure winner for this crowd. The DVR has picture in picture so they can watch one of the 'human' channels in the pip and laugh at us silly bipeds.

starlight,

Mink is still pretty small, too small to knock me over even if she tried. Trying to think what to compare her to. She is much smaller than Widget, smaller than Snowball, considerably smaller even than Fraidy. Except for her tail she would probably fit in a 5lb sugar bag and could probably even stand up in the bag turned on its side.

Even if Cruella and Ursula came from elsewhere, they could still have been raised under adverse conditions which contributed to their behavior problems. ; )
I am now under the impression that Cruella's influence led to Ursula's bad behavior. I think Ruth is right that she is a natural follower. When Cruella is not around, Ursula is totally well behaved and non aggressive.

LOL, Debbie!

At both the image of kits eating from a lazy susan and the idea that some of the ladies think you are nuts. Been There!

Thanks for the link. I don't think I can afford to buy a bunch of those right now. I have to save $1k per mo for a year to pay for my AC's, in addition to what I already paid. Ouch! I may have to eat a lot of beans. Actually, I like beans so that is ok with me. But I have cute pics in my head now. I can't decide between the image of 5 kits sitting around the thing spinning it to get the one they want - and fighting over which way to spin it I'm sure or the image of each kit having his or her own lazy susan filled with cat food, grapes. peanuts, marshmallows, and frosting so they can spin it around eating a little of this and a little of that.

Thank you, KyWoods!

Yes, they really are a bunch of adorable clowns. And, yes, I really am lucky to have such a relationship with them. I hope I never take that for granted.

Whew! Tired. This is a tough week at work.

Even though I was tired when I got off work and really, really didn't want to go, I forced myself to go shopping. I just had to have some treats for Mink and the other kits. I would hate to see Mink running over to me and know I had nothing to give her. Yep, they have me wrapped around their finger. Forgetting for a moment my vow to be frugal, I figured I might as well load up while I was at the store. The stuff will not spoil. So there I was at my usual grocery store piling the cart full of sugary snacks: 3 bags mm's, 4 cans strawberry frosting, 2 loaves bread, box saltines w/o salt (for frosting), 2 boxes graham crackers on 2for1 sale, 2 bags raspberry newtons, 1 bag strawberry newtons, various flavors jello, large jar cherry Koolaid, 5lb bag sugar, large tub of store brand 'cool' whip, strawberry mm creme, 2 boxes little Debbie vanilla frosted cakes, 1 box Little Debbie creme filled raison cookies, 1 box Little Debbie creme filled oatmeal cookies, 1 bag vanilla creme filled cookies, 2 bags vanilla sugar wafers, pack of 12 mini cupcakes, 3 large bags jumbo raw peanuts in shell - and I'm sure I've left something out.

Folks, as I pushed that buggy around throwing all that sugar in it, I was SO embarrassed. I am normally not one to worry about what other people think, especially people i don't even know, but for some reason pushing that ever more burgeoning buggy full of sugar around was just so embarrassing to me today. I just felt like everyone in the store was watching in total amazement as I ran up and down the aisles piling the sugar in 2 and 3 boxes and bags at a time. I could just hear them thinking, "OMG, would you look at that woman! There is no food in the whole cart. It's just overflowing with junk. I needed a raincoat and dark glasses. And then when I got up to the checkout, the lady remembered me (it's a very friendly store). As she began emptying my cart she said, "Wow, someone really has the munchies today, huh?"

Poor me. I took one for the team. I pushed a cart full of sugar around in a yuppie store full of health conscious people all buying veggies, whole grains, and fruit.

But it was worth it...

Cheryl, that image of you in the grocery is too funny; I can just imagine all those health-conscious shoppers wondering what on earth could be causing such a major sugar jones. No doubt worrying about your insulin level, too.

Reminds me of the time, years ago, when we had an outbreak of upper respiratory infection in the shelter cats. With their noses stuffed, they had no appetite, and we needed to keep them eating. One work day, I did a quick grocery run for jars of baby food meat - any flavor, turkey preferred - the smell and taste are so tempting it will often start the sick cats eating again. I literally cleaned out the store's shelves, jar after jar after jar of Gerber's and Heinz baby meats. As I piled the bounty onto the checkout counter, I was totally in work mode, worrying about the sick cats, hoping they'd eat this stuff, wondering what else we could do for them, etc. When the cashier saw all this baby food rolling her way, she asked, "How many do you have?" - and without thinking I replied, "Oh, 38 at the moment, I think." The look on her face was priceless!

Tonight we had cool whip on saltines (unsalted) - hey, it's a an inexpensive vehicle for moving the cool whip around. We also had cat food, of course, along with a few handfuls of peanuts and a bowl of cherry jello. Remembering how much Heidi always loved the hbird nectar, I figured jello would be like nectar but with some protein in it.

OMG the cool whip was the bomb! I was never so popular. I was mobbed! I had to count the heads. I had 13 raccoons, mostly kits huddled around me all waiting for another 'cool whip and cracker' hors devours. To say I could not keep up with demand was an all out understatement. All in all, they were pretty patient and kept squabbling to a bare minimum. I saw lots of confused little faces out there looking at their 'empty plate' and seeing someone else catch a 'cool cracker', and every few minutes or so I saw Jerry standing up at the back of the group with her hands out. LOL. Gotta love that one. She is so cute.

Dennis showed up after everyone else was pretty much gorged on cool whip - well, except for Blondie who with her kits are like those party guests who just will never leave! With Dennis I figured why go through the motions of putting the stuff on the crackers when I know she is only going to lick it off. I put the tub down by my feet and let her eat directly from it. When she was finished, I decided I needed to get back inside, but I really wanted to give Fraidy some.

There was still a considerable crowd out. I knew that Fraidy would be unlikely to show up with such a large group around. She normally shows up when there are 2 or less raccoons left. I imagined that Fraidy was likely out there somewhere watching and waiting for her turn, waiting for everyone else to leave. Knowing that she would be unlikely to show up, I started calling her just the same. I had to go, and I really wanted to give her some 1st. I called and called, and then incredibly, there she was sneaking out of the brush, around the pool. Heidi grumbled at her as she passed through Heidi's turf, but she didn't let that deter her as she came to me. I reached down for the cool whip tub and found it, aaahhhhh, EMPTY. Thankfully, there was a little here and there for her to lick up, but I wasn't about to let that be her only treat, not after she had come out and braved the crowd to heed my call! So just for Fraidy I went back inside for a honey on the bottom yogurt, a Lil Deb vanilla cake, and a pocket full of peanuts. She wasn't able to eat all of that, of course, so I shared some with the others. Fraidy ate the entire yogurt, one cake, and some peanuts.

When Trouble arrived I had one of those epiphanies. You see, I had bought the ladies' argument that since Trouble was a 'dead beat dad' who didn't have anything to do except feed himself, he should not be allowed to eat the food that could be used to feed the moms and babies. Then as I watched him running around the lawn happily scarfing down those unwanted and well licked saltine crackers from which they had licked the cool whip earlier, it occurred to me that surely he was actually the hungry one. Poor fella will eat just about any crumb he can find while they all stick there noses in the air at anything short of their favorites. My fault, I know, but it goes to the argument of who is and is not so hungry. And that's not to mention that he eats the stuff they don't want anyhow.

Actually, lately since the kits are getting bigger and more independent and have been weened they have been tolerating Trouble's visits so long as he arrives late and doesn't stay long, that is except for those few moms whose babies are still rather small. The latter are the ones who chase him now and again.

Tonight there was more mock fighting, first Blondie and one of her kits and then her 2 kits. They went back toward the house away from the group and the eating area where, silhouetted against the faux moonlight, they rolled and tumbled, hopped and pounced, and postured like Tai Chi masters on the grass while I looked on completely spellbound by the ballet playing out before me. It seems these days as though the real action occurs late, after the crowd has thinned a bit.