This is the ongoing story of Heidi and friends, raccoons who frequent my backyard feeder. Heidi is looking pretty 'round' these days, so we suspect she may be about to drop the 09 litter. This will be our 4th litter since the story began in spring of 06.
Prior Thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/946858/
Original thread that started it all: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/603944
The pic below is of Bast at the small birdbath.
Im here.....
Cheryl -- how is your back today?
Yes, hope you are getting some relief from the back pain!
I vote for the Romper Room, being old enough to remember that show...heck, I think I was even on it once!
Yes, I am shamelessly recycling pictures. I've misplaced my sim card.
Interesting events tonight. When I went out, Heidi was waiting in her tree as usual, and, as usual, she jumped down and came to meet me. When I stooped down to put the food in her bowl, she came up to me, then walked in a circle around me sort of cat-like but without the rubbing. Finally, she came back up in front of me. By that time I had finished putting the usual 3 big handfuls in her bowl.
Lately, Heidi likes to eat in this little depression or shallow hole. She the food from her dish into the hole as though the shallow hole were a bowl then stands over it to eat. This time, instead of just walking away, I picked the bowl [that I had just filled for her] up intending to put it closer to the hole. As I did so, she moved toward the bowl at the same time and we collided. I ended up smacking her in the mouth with the bowl. Quick shockingly, she didn't freak out and run away but just looked over the rim of the dish [that had just collided with her face] at me and as soon as I set the dish down, proceeded to dump the food into the hole to eat as usual. Now that was incredible. Wild raccoons are all quite leary of hands, especially hands coming toward them or anything held by hand coming at them. Here I had just whacked her in the mouth with a bowl, and she was totally non-plussed by it.
Heidi ate for a few minutes and then other raccoons started to show up as expected. Each time, I cringed expecting the next visitor to herald the coming of the rowdy gang, but the only raccoons to show up were Heidi's extended family, no Ursual, no 'bad' kits. Everyone enjoyed a peaceful meal. About 1/2 way through her meal, Heidi heard a sound from the forest. Instantly, she and Blondie ran for the forest. Heidi sat up in her tree as though watching something on the forest floor while Blondie disappeared into the forest. The kits, Heidi's and Blondie's, continued to eat as though nothing were going on.
After a few minutes, Heidi and Blondie returned to the diner to finish their meals. The 'gang' never showed up. Near the end of her meal when Heidi appeared to be just eating a few more bits because it was there, something from the forest again prompted her to leave, this time descending into the forest. She did not return while I was there. I suspect that the sudden absence of Ursula and company was no accident or coincidence. I suspect that Heidi and Blondie were involved in 'bouncing' them from the area. I further suspect that when Heidi and Blondie ran to the forest during their meals they were making sure the newly evicted raccoons didn't get in. I have noticed in the past that while members of the 'bad' gang are comfortable fighting anywhere, Heidi prefers to do her dirty work away from the buffet. (She likes to keep her good-girl image up at the buffet. Anyhow it isn't polite or ladylike to fight at the table. A girl must keep up appearances, after all.)
The kits [and I] stayed after Heidi left the 2nd time. When all of the food was gone and the raccoons and I got up to leave for the evening, the 'gang' had still not shown up.
Interesting timing. Perhaps Heidi is cleaning house now in preparation for her new family?
Hi, Terese!
I'm feeling much better right now. Thanks for asking. I took some time to rest my back, and that seems to have worked as I'm doing well right now with only 1/2 pain pill. The other day 2 pain pills hardy made a dent in the pain. I'm still waiting for my referral and am looking forward to getting that injection for my back.
KyWoods,
I'm SO jealous! I dreamed of being on that show.
LOL, I was so young, I don't remember it. I only remember my mother telling me about it after I grew up.
Heidi talks. She does. I am convinced of it. I don't understand her language. It all sounds the same to me, you know, the 'ehm em ehem' stuff. But she talks, and the others appear to understand her. Funny thing is she is the only raccoon that I have heard talking this way.
99.9% of the time raccoons are strangely mute, totally silent, no doubt so as not to give away their wherabouts. They seem to prefer silence. They seem to prefer that I remain silent, too, except when I need to convey important info like whether "it's ok". Silence also makes it easier to detect a threat which might be obscured by unnecessary talking.
As I've said in the past - way, way back - when they do make sounds, the raccoons make perhaps the strangest collection of vocalizations ever, sounds which include everything from exotic bird calls to barking dogs, meowing cats, creaking door hinges, 60's era martians, and an old-fashioned teletype machine just to name a few - if you can possibly fathom all of those disparate sounds coming from a single animal. They also make a clicking sound reminiscent of a rattle snake and, of course, the growl. On rare occasion I've heard a few of the others grumble as Heidi does, but to date only Heidi 'talks'.
I often notice that when her kits arrive at the buffet, Heidi talks to them, just a sentence or so. She appears to be directing them as to where to go, where to eat. Tonight I saw further evidence that this may be the case. As each kit arrived she said a sentence or so, and each kit took up his/her place and began eating except one. That kit was determined to go to Heidi's left, but she was directing everyone to her right. The one kit started out going to the left, heard Heidi tell him to go right, swerved momentarily in the right direction then tried to change and go back to the left at which point Heidi lifted her head from her dish and issued a second and much more harshly spoken sentence. The errant kit stopped in his tracks, immediately turned right, and went over there where Heidi had sent all of the others. And that was that!
I'm telling you, she talks. And the raccoons understand her and listen. I've seen evidence of this a number of times in the past. Call me crazy, but this "Emm ehm ehem..." stuff has all the qualities of a spoken language, a rudimentary one perhaps but a language just the same. If Heidi talks, then raccoons talk. Why the others don't do so around me, I can't say, but she talks and they know what she is saying.
I strongly suspect that there is considerably more 'intelligence' in these sentences than what I am able to detect. To me the sentences/words sound very much the same as you can see from my attempt to write them down here, but I suspect that there is a great deal more information in there than I can hear. For one thing, as we all know, there are sounds above and below the limits of human hearing. These sounds can often be heard by other animals. That may account for some of the missing information in the sentences. Some of it may lie outside of my range of hearing.
Perhaps another source of the missing information, the parts that I can't hear, is a bit of information that has only recently come to light in speech and language research. Have you ever known someone for whom English was a 2nd language. Depending on their native language, there may have been a few sounds they could not seem to pronounce correctly no matter how you tried to tell them the right way and they tried to repeat what they heard you say. Like people who pronounce the 'j' sounds as 'wh', for instance. Scientists recently learned that while babies are born with the ability to distinguish all of the basic sound combos that make up all languages (forgot the word for these sounds), their brains quickly get hard wired for only those sounds which make up the language spoken around and to them. By the time we are, for instance, in high school and taking those language classes, we can no longer even hear subtle nuances of other languages where those nuances of sound do not exist in our own language. This is why people of one nationality are routinely unable to make certain sounds of and pronounce certain words correctly in another language. It isn't that they are having trouble pronouncing the sound, according to science they can't even hear the sound. Apparently, all those subtle nuances of sound that are not part of your native language just get 'rolled into' the closes sound that is part of your language. So you speak the 'j', for instance, and they actually hear the 'wh'. They say the 'wh', and you wonder why they can't get it right, but they cannot even hear what you are saying.
So, if you are following me here, I suspect this phenomenum is yet another reason why all of Heidi's sentences come out like "em ehm ehem em" to me. I strongly believe there is a rich texture of sound in those sentences that I cannot hear, some perhaps because the sounds lie outside my range of hearing, others because they lie outside the set of sounds included in my native language. The sounds that lie outside my hearing range get clipped leaving 'holes' in the sentence. Those sounds that lie outside my native sound set, get 'rolled over' to the closest sound in my set. The result is a language that seems to be limited to just a few simple sounds.
Well, that is my theory anyhow, but I tell you she talks.
Just though that I would add that Widget went for his annual exam this evening. While he was there the Dr gave us some powder for his tushie. It contains, among other things, Neosporin (tetleytuna, you're prescription was right on the money there) and a numbing agent to put out the fire. It also contains something to make it taste sufficiently nasty that he will avoid licking it off.
Fascinating! Maybe you should bring a tape recorder to the diner so you can share her talking with us? lol
Tonight I found Timba. He's been with us all along, and I've even mentioned him by description. As you may recall the period when the kits go from little tykes to adults is a difficult one for me, a time when I have difficulty keeping up with who is who. Timba has slightly longish blonde hair. I had mistaken him for one of Reba's kits since she had that long redish blonde hair. In fact, although I hadn't found time to mention it, I was going to tell you a while back that I was worried that something had happened to Timba. I was only seeing Heidi with the other 3 kits. Tonight in the beginning when it was just Heidi and her 4 kits and those 4 kits were all eating side by side over on the one side where she had sent them, I looked at the furry blonde one and it suddenly dawned on me that this was the 'missing' Timba.
This is the time when I start sorting some of the kits out again.
KyWoods,
I'll need to locate a decent recorder, but I think that would be a good idea. I think it would be a good idea for me to get a recording (or two) of her conversations for my own 'research' while I have the chance to do so. Of course, it would want to share it with all of you. I'd love to get your impressions of her language. It most definitely sounds like language to me, and I have noticed that the others respond to it in very specific ways (i.e., as though they have been given very specific instructions).
The other night when I gave Heidi the blueberry yogurt, she was eating kibble about 20in or so away from the yogurt. All of the kits wanted that yogurt. When the 'outsiders' (the gang) would approach her area, she would growl menacingly and they would turn away. When her own kits came near her she would let them into her zone and even allow them to walk up to the yogurt. Then before they could eat any, she would say a word or two, not growling, not yelling, very calm, and they would walk away and leave the yogurt without touching it. I found that rather amazing. It was quite clear to me at the time that she was communicating with her children, saying something more than just a simple growl.
I will also need to figure out howwhere I can post an audio file for you to access it. I guess if all else fails I can superimpose the sound file over a video and post it on youtube.
Ok, I'm really going to bed any minute now, but i keep remembering things I meant to tell you.
Tonight after Heidi left, Timba walked up to me and sniffed me. I think he wanted a treat. Timba, if you recall, was one that would come to me even when he was a little fella. I guess it's hard for the kits to understand why I'm not bringing them treats anymore. If Heidi really has managed to oust the 'bad' gang maybe I will be able to take out the occasional mm or peanut again soon.
Jerry was there tonight also. At 1st she stood up at the back of the yard near the fence trying to get a treat, but I didn't have anything for her. I talked to her back there and she just kept standing up over and over. I called her, trying to get her to come up near me to eat some kibble since the 'bad' kits weren't around. I figured she didn't know what I was saying, but they sure are smart creatures because after a few minutes she actually came right over beside me in the very spot I had been motioning to.
Without the disruptive influence of Ursula and her gang, I can really enjoy my time with Heidi's well mannered kits.
So glad to hear your pain level is more bearable; hope you're able to get that injection scheduled before the pain goes back to being horrible.
Interesting that Heidi is the only one to talk; maybe it's a prerogative of the team leader? Clearly her language is fairly complex, since she's able to convey very specific instructions and have them instantly understood and followed. It's also clear that this more advanced communication must be learned, since she only uses it with her descendants and limits her communication with outsiders to the universally understood growls and rattlesnake imitations. Again, you're on your own here; researchers have never managed the intimate observations of raccoons in the wild that are now routine for you. As always, the Catch 22 of science is that no one will be able to independently reproduce and verify your findings. Behavior of captive animals is entirely different, and I can't imagine a grant or a setting that would allow years of study to produce the results you've achieved naturally. Yet another reason this is such a unique and remarkable saga!
The fact that Ralph was born in Saudi goes a long way to explain his lack of understanding and phobia of rabies. Cultural attitudes have a huge impact, and in the third world companion animals are not viewed at all as they are here, for the most part. Universal rabies vaccination of dogs and cats is not a given, as it nearly is here, so rabies is not uncommon even among "domestic" animals. Of course the huge fact he was missing is that rabies does not simply cause a very sore throat; it paralyzes the muscles and reflexes that allow swallowing. Hence the "foaming at the mouth," which is actually uncontrollable drooling caused by the inability to swallow. If he wasn't drooling all over himself, he could be quite sure he wasn't rabid....
Glad to hear that Timba is still with you, and especially glad to hear that Heidi and Blondie are working together to oust the hooligans. They probably were just waiting to get you on board with the program; we humans are so very slow.
Hi Ruth,
Tonight I observed one of the kits speak, just maybe 2 quick words quickly answered by Heidi with a single word. Perhaps the others talk in this very brief manner from time to time and I just don't notice in part due to the brevity. Heidi's talking seems to go on for a sentence or two or three - perhaps to give orders (as observed the other night)? Tonight while she was talking I tried to pay more attention and found that I was able to identify a greater range of sounds than what I had previously indicated; however I am at a loss to remember them much less to try to write them down using our alphabet especially as many of the sounds appear to be largely formed in the throat as opposed to our method of modulating a column of air via changing positions of the mough and tongue. Still, it is hard for me to imagine that these sentences formed of distinctly varying vocalizations are anything other than a rudimentary form of speach.
Heidi often speaks a sentence or two to me when I am bringing out her food. I usually imagine that she is saying something along the lines of "It's about time. Where the heck have you been? Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting out here or how hungry I am?" or maybe "Ok, now, remember, no funny stuff. Make sure you keep your hands where I can see them, and I'll do the same."
You know, I thought it odd that the change in the dining area occurred almost to the minute when I changed. I couldn't help but wonder if that had something to do with it. It almost seemed as though by hand feeding treats to the gangsters thus encouraging them to hang out up close around me that I was unintentionally giving them some kind of 'power' as in "teacher's pet" status. The instant I stopped feeding them treats and rearranged things to crowd them together off to one side and give Heidi a very large space, it was as if she became more empowered in the area. I didn't mention this earlier because I cautioned myself to remember that "it's not always about me."
I went back to work today after having taken 2 days off to rest my back because I just could not imagine another hour of sitting in that chair in ever escalating pain. Unfortunately, by 1PM or so and after 2 pain pills, the pain was pretty much unbearable having reached such a creshendo as to render me hyper sensitive even to the minute vibratons caused by the human voice, each word spoken to me seeming to send blood curdling virbrations of horrendous pain through my spine until I just longed to scream "STOP!" Finally, in desperation, I took one of the muscle relaxers, something I only recently obtained and was trying not to take at work for obvious reasons. By 2:30, reacting to the muscle relaxer, I was almost in a coma being only barely able to hold my tired eyes open another second. I left and drove home in a stupor. The irony that I risked another accident while 'sleep' driving was not lost on me. I walked in the house, went straight to my bed, and fell fast asleep. I didn't wake up again until around 8:30PM.
I don't know how long it will be before I can get the shots, but I sure hope it is soon because 'the rules seem to have changed' with respect to my back. Where as I had been able to get by at work with a small quantity of pain meds, that isn't working anymore. which is pretty scarey. (A friend told me today that he has to wait about a month to get his shots, so long that in his case the problem which seems to come and go at 30 day intervals often rectifies itself before he can get in for treatment. Mine, however, has been growing steadily worse now for about 6wks and shows no sign of letting up any time soon.)
I guess, since we don't know when if ever, anyone will be able to repeat my study of the raccoons in the wild, that is all the more reason why I need to get a recording of Heidi's speach to preserve and back up this information while I have the chance to do so.
All was peaceful in the kingdom again tonight, just Heidi and her 3 kits out there - no sign of Jerry. Anticipating that the bad kits might not be there, I took a handful of animal crackers out in my pocket. Heidi's well mannered kits were like a breath of fresh air each coming over to get a cookie only when I held one out to them otherwise staying in their places eating peacefully.
It is cute, BTW, how they need two hands to pick up a cookie and how they sit upright holding it between their two hands taking little bites from it like we might eat a sandwich.
Tonight when I went out Heidi was already on the ground in the buffet area waiting for me. I forgot to call out to her. As I rounded the corner heading to the buffet area I was pleasantly surprised to see her walking calmly towards me in the darkness.
I stooped down to put food in her bowl. After I put the 1st handful of food into the bowl, Heidi, standing only maybe a foot in front of me, reached out with one paw to tip the bowl over so that she could begin eating. Still stooping down their in front of her, I reached over to right the bowl again so that I might continue to fill it all the while gently explaning to her how unlady like it is to turn ones food over that way. As I turned the bowl upright and put several more handfuls into it, Heidi contined to eat the food she had spilled beside it, seemingly unconcerned by the proximity of my hand to her as I worked.
When Heidi left for the evening, the sound of her wheezing emanated from the forest.
Well, yes, I'm sure that access to the special treats you give out by hand gives the recipients some sort of power in the community. Plus the fact that the raccoons have clearly shown over the years that they won't start a fight in your immediate area (at least the "civilized" raccoons). This may be the result of respect or instinctive fear of humans, who knows which? In either case, it's very important to your safety, and thus to be applauded. It seemed clear from your narrative that as soon as you "got the message" and isolated the troublemakers, the regulars went to work to oust them. I found it fascinating that Heidi found a way to nonverbally communicate to you what needed to be done; that is one smart animal, and you have learned to read her well.
A month to wait for the injections sounds untenably long; sure hope you can get help sooner. It couldn't hurt to try a chiropractor in the meantime; any relief would be most welcome, I'm sure. The timing is the pits, having just started a new job. Hang in there!
I doubt that a chiropractor would touch your back without specific instructions (and records) from your Dr. DH wasn't in as bas of shape as you are - "only" one ruptured disk and the Chiro. told him to Bring more infor so that he could consult with the primary Dr. (He also helped him pick a surgeon named Wright who is the #2 in the nation and works out of St. Louis - only 3 hours away!) He counsled him for free on this and it was the best advice he ever could have gotten - get the best surgeon that you possibly can and ways to make his insurance company see that this is the best way to go.
I pray that you can have the same outcome that he has.
Has your new employer been sympathetic to your condition? I sure hope so--it's not like you are hurting on purpose! How awful to have to deal with that and work at the same time.
OMG! You simply will not believe what happened tonight!
It started out like any other normal night. Heidi was waiting for me on the patio. I only know that because I saw her backside as she scurried away when I turned the light on. When I arrived at the buffet she was there waiting for me like usual (prettending she hadn't been waiting up at the patio).
Only the good guys were there, Heidi's kits and Blondie's kits. There are two extra kits out there that have been with us all along. Once I lost track of who was who, I couldn't be sure, but many times as I've watched them I've thought they might be Dennis' kits, I say this mostly because they noticeably smaller than the others. Unlike Fraidy who had a mixed lot of small parts and normal sized parts, these two are small but quite well balanced with all parts being equally small. Several times I started to mention the little guys but didn't just because I really could not be sure, still...
Tonight I took out a pack of mini-cupcakes that I had bought back before I decided to slow down with the treats. They were getting stale, so I took them out. I gave one to Widget before I left, ate one, and then gave one to each kit. The empty (except for a few cupcake papers and some errant sprinkles) plastic container was sitting on the table beside me. Heidi had left by this time. Another raccoon came down from the Heidi tree and started eating from Heidi's dish.
There was something very familiar about this new raccoon who had just arrived, but I could not place her right away. Still, something about her made my heart smile. She seemed familiar in a very pleasant way. After a few minutes, the raccoon stopped eating dog food and started walking toward me. I thought, "ok, I'll just have to tell her that I don't have anymore cupcakes." But something was different about this raccoon. She strode right up to me with total confidence.
When I failed to offer her a cupcake, she walked around the table where the empty container was, and as soon as she stood upright across the table form me I knew who she was and my heart sang. At once I knew and yet could not believe. How could this be? She reached up and grabbed the plastic container pulling it off the table and making enough noise to send all of the others scurrying for the cover of the forest. I knew those ears anywhere. "Dennis! Dennis!", I squealed with delight. "Dennis, is that you?"
As she sat at the back corner of my bench working on opening the plastic container, I reached out to pet her as this would tell for sure - and I still could hardly believe I could be so lucky as to see Dennis again. I touched the back corner of her flank. No reaction. I reached up and stroked her back. She didn't stiffen or run away, just went on eating the sprinkles and cupcake papers she had liberated from the container. OMG! This really was Dennis. She had come back! My heart sang with excitement. Oh, how I had missed her.
I knew if I went inside to get her a treat she would almost certainly be gone when I got back. Unlike the others the sight of me walking to and from the house would not frighten her away, but with no treats and nothing of interest to do out there alone, her ADHD would take her elsewhere before I could return. Still, I had to give it a try. I stood up beside her, speaking to her. She went right on eating sprinkles, completely uneffected by the sight of me standing full upright beside her and even as I looked back from 1/2 way across the yard she was still standing in that same place, still licking up the left over sprinkles.
Unfortunately, by the time I returned with some cookies, she was gone as were all of the raccoons. I waited for a while but to no avail as she did not return but I knew that was very typical of Dennis. Then I remembered how the bad raccoons had kept after Dennis, how they had kept her from coming to the buffet with her kits in late summer and how they had chewed up her ears. I figured it was they who had chased her away. Had she returned now because Heidi had sent the gangster packing? For whatever reason, it was great to see her again. I sure hope she will come back tomorrow.
Oh, that's great, Cheryl; so glad you're getting to spend time with Dennis again! I'm sure she'll be back: perhaps not tomorrow, because she is a bit scattered, after all, but soon... Congratulations; it's great to know all is well with her.
Who knows, with Dennis back now, maybe Fraidy will show up again, too. Wouldn't that be wonderful.
Oh yeah, that would be awesome; she really is the miracle child of the family.
Now that is good news!
Oh Cheryl, I have been away for a few days, but to come back and read about Dennis...well, I got all teared up! That is such wonderful news....and I know how much that did mean to you. And still letting you pet her! Does she look preggars also?
Oh, what a spring you will have. I so hope Ursula and the crew take a hike. You need a high powered hose to turn on them!
You take care of your back
Debbie
KyWoods,
Sorry I didn't answer your question sooner. I actually don't know the answer. Long story as to how that could be. I really don't have any real relationship with my employer and rarely see my customer. Also, I've been trying my very best to hide my 'disabilities'.
Ruth,
Seems you were right as Dennis did not show up the following night nor has she shown up again since that one night, but it was nice to see her and to know that all is well with her. I figure if she sneaked back once she will probably do so again, and I'm still hoping to see Ms Fraidy again, too, one day - and, who knows, maybe even the big guy.
Hi nanny,
Yes, it really is! It was like seeing an old and dear friend again after a long time apart.
Hi Debbie,
Dennis acted just like her old self - as if she had never left. When I touched her and stroked her back she acted as though that were quite normal, and when I stood upright beside her she was completely unafraid.
I didn't notice any sign of pregnancy although I really didn't look for it either, but recall that last year when she spent every day right up there at the bench with me and even as I petted her I never once suspected that she was pregnant until she arrived with those 2 little kits. I'm finding that the young ladies, who typically only have 1 to 2 kits, don't tend to 'show'. Seems like it usually takes 3 or more kits to make that tell-tail bulge under all that fur. But I suspect that she may be pregnant. I think the extra cravings of pregnancy along with the absense of Ursula and the gang may have prompted Dennis to come back to the buffet to look for treats.
Last night (Sunday) Heidi was too funny. She was waiting for me as always, but when I came out of the house I saw something in the shrubs up by the window. Instead of walking straight out to the buffet I stayed up around the house trying to see what was in the shrubs (one of the kits). Heidi must have been very hungry as she came up to the house to get me. We walked back to the buffet together, sort of.
When I stooped down to fill her dish, Heidi walked up and sniffed my bucket, apparently to reassure herself that dinner was to her liking. When I put the 1st handful into her bowl, she immediately tipped it over, gently, not throwing it around as she does when I feed her the discount brands, but just enough to be able to reache the food. Leaving the spilled food there for her to continue eating, I turned the dish upright again so that I could add more food. As soon as I had put the 2nd handful in it, Heidi, who was standing there eating the spilled food reached out and gently tipped the container over once again. Again, I reached out and righted it in order to continue filling it. I added the 3rd handful, and once again Heidi reached out and tipped it over. Don't know what that was all about, but we must have looked like 2 of the stooges...
I had taken out a handful of frosted animal crackers hoping to see Dennis again. After everyone had eaten a goodly portion of their food, I gave one to each of the kits and tossed one to Heidi just in case although I didn't expect her to eat it, but it was 'strawberry' frosted, Heidi's favorite. She picked it up and ate it right away. Moments later she was standing in front of me ask for another. I gave her the last few cookies. Each time she reache up with her paws to take them from my hand. She has gotten much better at this, BTW.
Tonight (Monday), I walked out at the appointed time and called to Heidi as I usually do, "Heidi, Heidi", but there was not response - and I mean this quite literally because Heidi usually speakes to me in her "eeeh ehem uhm" manner. I continued out to the buffet expecting to see her step out of the shadows or jump down from the tree at any minute, but, alas, she was nowhere to be found.
As soon as I sat down the yard quickly filled up with kits as they came streaming out from every tree branch - but no sign of Heidi anywhere. Moreover, the night it seemed was to be filled with surprises for within minutes Cruella showed up and where as the kits all went to their appointed places at the table, Cruella walked directly over to Heidi's dish where she sat down and proceeded to eat. One could almost imagine a kind of delight on her face as she ate Heidi's food their at the 'head' of the table. Heidi never showed up.
Was it mere coincidence that Heidi was missing AND that Cruella seemed sufficiently convinced that she would not show up, convinced enough to show up at the buffet once more? Or was Heidi detained by something that, clear to all present, would keep her busy for a night or two?
While it has been quite nice out lately (short sleeve weather mostly, no coat required even at night), the over night temp went down to 28F this particular evening, so if Heidi's kits did make their appearance tonight, they chose a chilly night.
The first possible explanation for Heidi's absence, of course, is that she's just given birth; and if she has, is not doubt staying with the kits full-time to keep them warm. Barring this, I can't imagine that Cruella would have toughed it out and appeared at the buffet; unless, she had a clear idea, as scent would give her, that Heidi was off producing more heirs apparent. I'm stuck for other possible explanations at the moment: given the cooler weather and her late pregnancy, Heidi should otherwise be very goal-oriented toward getting as much nutrition as she can.
Ultra abbreviated update as I am at work right now.
Heidi didn't show up again last night even though I was there at the appointed time. I really think something is up, probably the arrival of the 09 kits.
One kit has taken to waiting for me most night either on the patio or under the bedroom window. She was there waiting on the patio last night. She is dark in color and smaller than the others. I think she may be one of Dennis' kits. She is fairly comfortable around me and is always very respectful in her behavior with me; however, despite her diminutive size she tends to give the other kits a hard time.
Neither Dennis nor Ursula showed up last night either. Without any adult supervision the youngsters behaved rather badly, although nowhere near as bad as the rowdy crowd. They argued a lot, but did not fight. No ripping out chunks of hair and such as the rowdy group is so inclined to do. The kits behaved just as you might expect for a group of well mannered children who suddenly find themselves unsupervised and start to cut loose a bit.
The kits are all getting very comfortable around me now. I took out a handful of vanilla sandwich cookies, and each of them came to me in turn to receive his or her cookie.
As for me, the pain was almost unbearable yesterday even though I took enough meds to put me in lala land. My appointment with the pain dr is Friday morning, but I'm told for the 1st visit he will just talk to me and decide on a course of action, no shots. Bummer. Yesterday was an absolute nightmare. Today seems a little better so far. I'm taking it one minute at a time these days.
I really enjoy reading about your masked buddies and hope Heidi shows up soon. Have you ever thought about making a book about your raccoons?
We have one raccoon that comes to visit where I work. Last fall I did get a chance to see her kits, but have not seen them around these past cold, cold months. Momma however does come begging, and leaves her calling card of dirty paw prints on the sliding glass door. We are not suppose to feed her butt..................
Annie
P.S. I do hope you are feeling better!
Thank you, Annie!
Actually, I am working on a book version of the Heidi story, although I have been a bit distracted recently with other things. Thank you very much for the compliment. I'm very glad to hear that you are enjoying the story.
From what I have read, in colder areas such as yours the raccoons sort of 'semi-hibernate' in that their metabolism slows down and they eat less and sleep more to get through the winter. That's probably why you don't see them around in winter. Also, I should clarify that by this time of year the kits being almost yearlings are no longer babies but look pretty much the same as the adults.
Thanks again. Oh, and today was a better day for me.
My sister sent a few pics of her managerie.
You might recall that she and her husband 'adopted' and relocated to their land a bunch of wild raccoons from a Charleston neighborhood (where the homeowners were planning to trap and kill them). Perhaps some of those raccoons may be in the photos.
They own around 1000 acres in a rural area near Charleston.
They put out corn for the deer and friends of the deer.
These pics are from her [approx] $100 trail cam. it's battery operated so problems with wires and such and according to her just comes out of the box ready to work. I think I might be able to do that - without working it into my schedule. She is supposed to send me the exact info. I'd like higher resolution, but this beats the one I have (or don't have), so I might start w/one like it just to get my feet wet and upgrade after I know more.
