Heidi Chronicles: Got Milk?

A laprobe is probably more useful. Pretty draped on a chair and warm on the legs/lower body when it's cool outside.

June,

I was talking about when I go outside 9-10PM to feed and observe the raccoons. After about 30min or so outside (when the temp is is the 30s or 40s) my feet and hands start to get painfully cold even though I am wearing boots.and sometimes gloves.

Indoors I'm rarely cold, but I do have throws in all of the seating areas.

Ruth,

I keep forgetting to mention what happened the other night. Jerry came down the fence and stood up. I tossed her a treat. I had already given one to each of the raccoons BTW, so no one was left out, but this was a particularly desirable treat. Everyone was scurrying about trying to figure out how to get another treat when Jerry stood upright and I tossed her one. Instantly, 5 raccoons stood up in various places around the yard, one at the back of the yard, one in the pool, one near me...They each stood up to different degrees and none stood quite so high and straight as Jerry, but I had to laugh as I looked at all those copy cats and recalled your recent words of warning.

Today when I was 'talking' to you, I was actually in class and the teacher was lecturing, but I couldn't stay away any longer. I really missed you guys this week.

This afternoon when class was over it was so nice to realize it is almost over. Even knowing that I still need to study tonight, I still felt so free.

Now I'm having difficulty getting myself to study for the final. Interesting note, however. On Mon and Tues nights I came home and studied right up until I went to bed. On both nights I stayed up as late as possible allowing myself only 5.5hrs to sleep. On Wed night I was just too exhausted to study, couldn't keep my eyes open much less focus, so I just went to bed early w/o studying. Incredibly enough, my grades for Wed (when I didn't study) was right in between my grades for the other 2 days (when I did study). Actually, we covered so much material each day that I only had time to review the material at night and was never even able to review all of it much less actually study. Still, it was interesting to note that I did as well when I just went home and slept as when I reviewed/studied all night.

Just the same, I'm off to review a bit...

ROFL at the other racoons being 'trained' by Jerry! I can just picture them all popping up!
Sounds like you're doing well, Cheryl, hang in there!

Oh, the image of 5 raccoons standing up to receive the next passed treat is priceless! Knew it was coming, just didn't forsee the existing yearlings picking up the trick so soon. Sounds just like a busted football play, with receivers all over the field signalling their quarterback that they're open to receive....

Almost home free from your class. And yeah, it sounds like the food was awesome, which surely helped all survive the misery; at least you were well-fed while miserable.

laughing my head off at them all tryign to copy Jerry, bet the looke d more like gophers all popping up out of hole s that racoons. heheheheh

Good luck on your final today. Have all the confidenc ein the world in you! : )

KyWoods,

Raccoons sure are fast learners. Everything I've learned while observing them contributes it seems to my understanding of why it is so impossible to defeat raccoons who are in our yards in pursuit of food - even if it is our bird seeds they are after. Now it can be difficult to find the real Jerry.

I'm pretty sure I made it, the class that is, assuming I did ok on the final. I was above ground going into the final. I'm just glad it is finally over.

Ruth,

Love the enhanced football metaphor!

Jerry came down and stood up in response to my call of "Jerry, Jerry!". Then after I threw the treat to her and while she was running back up the fence with it, the 5 others around the yard stood up more or less in unison - after the fact. They were especially cute because they looked a bit uncertain, as though they were testing to see if what they thought they had learned actually worked. It didn't. I'm not eager to have 6 wide receivers.

Tonight I called Jerry and two raccoons stood up leaving me with the difficult task of trying to determine the real Jerry. Wasn't there a game show like this once? If this trend continues I will soon be saying, "Will the real Jerry please sit down".

Thankfully, school is over. Normally, I really enjoy school, but I must admit that I really didn't enjoy this one. I didn't like the format, having information fired at me rapidly for 8 consecutive hours with only a few hours to review it and sleep before the test the following morning, only to repeat the whole thing again and again for 5 relentless days. Ughh! Too much. I also didn't like - at all - the method used to present the information. Everything was on slides which the professor read to us at high speed. We were given a bound, hard copy of the presentation material each day to study for the test the next morning. I hate when professors read to me. If you are just going to read it, I can do that myself. Anyhow, I survived - I think. Glad it is over.

starlight,

I didn't even think of ground hogs. At the time all those raccoons standing upright reminded me of that photo Ruth posted. Remember that one? The one with all of the raccoons standing up offering to help us take out the trash?

Thank goodness it's over.

Thankfully, class is over and I think I passed. Thanks for all of the continued support! It was like having a private cheering section. : )

Congrats on surviving the class--how stressful! When do you get your grade?

For some reason, Heidi wasn't there tonight. I really missed her not only because she is one of my favorites but because she is the only one who knows how to control that unrully mob!!! Without her around the kits acted like a class of high school kids with a substitute teacher (me! Ahhh!). So I treated them more or less the way I treated the [middle school] kids I subbed for years ago. When they acted up I stopped handing out treats until everyone 'sat down in their seat' and behaved. I figure if they are smart enough to figure out that Jerry thing, they must be smart enough to figure out that they aren't getting treats unless they behave - all of them.

Dennis has been there most night recently. She waits for me at the back door and walks with me to the buffet area. As I pass my bench on the way to put food in Heidi's dish, I drop a quick handful of kibble in front of my bench and slightly to one side (to allow room for me to sit when I return). This works great. Dennis stops there at the bench to eat the food thus dropped, while Heidi follows me over to her dish, and everyone is happy.

Dennis has become so much like a pet now you wouldn't believe it if you could watch her. Often I have to step over and around her when I return to my bench - because when I drop that handful in a hurry I sometimes put it too close to where my feet should go. Dennis doesn't even move except maybe to swing her butt around out of my way (while still eating) much the way your cat or dog might do in a similar situation. It's just so incredible. Normally, even a raccoon who is comfortable around me would step out of the way and then return after I sat down. I'm not just walking near her after all. My feet/legs end up an inch or so from her body. She likes to eat up against me for protection from the others, so I put her food right by where my feet will ultimately go. Then when I walk back to my bench while she is eating, she is 'trapped' up against the bench while I am walking so close I brush up against her to sit down. Yet, she is totally unconcerned, truly acting just like a pet. It is such an awesome experience.

While she is eating, I can reach down and pet her, stroke her back, neck, and head and she doesn't move or stiffen up or otherwise show any sign of concern. She doesn't like having her ears touched though. She doesn't get angry or afraid. I think it just annoys her because the sensation of things touching her ears normally acts as a warning that things are too close. She doesn't run away or move other than to flick her ear and look up at me as if to say, "please don't do that" and then continue eating.

She's become so tame now that I can pet her all over and practically hug her up against my legs with my hand/arm. I almost think she likes the attention. Tonight while petting her I massaged her neck (form the back/top) between my thumb and fingers - the way we often do with cats. Even that - having me touch her neck that way - did not alarm her.

Tonight I passed out little debbie cakes, one per raccoon. They were those 'cakes' with the marshmallow 'puff' on top of a cookie, the whole thing covered in chocolate (nornally) - except for Easter these were covered in white chocolate or vanilla.

As soon as each one got a cake, she went off to one side to sit and eat it making it much easier to find the ones who didn't have one yet. Eventually, everyone had a cake, and they were all off in one corner or another eating. It was then that I happened to look up and see a raccoon draped across the crotch formed where a low branch met the trunk of the little cherry tree just over the fence. I'm sure the raccoon must have been using her back claws to stabilize herself, but all I could see was the two ends of the raccoon seperated by the small (3-4in D) tree trunk, one half on each side of it. The raccoons front paws were exteneded out infront of her and holding a large, white, poofy disk - the little debbie cake. I watched as the raccoon thus draped over the small limb and hanging in the air in what seemed a rather precarious manner held the cake in the air in front of her repeadedly moving it to her mouth to take another bite. It was just so humourous to see her up there hanging over the branch to eat her cake. I guess it seemed like a safe place to her, at least one where she would not be troubled by the other raccoons who might want a bite.

Hi KyWoods,

I think I overheard the professor saying that he would be emailing us to let us know our grades (before the official info arrives in the mail from the school). I'm not sure when though. I don't really care though. Just awfully glad it is over. yay! I don't really care what my grade is as long as I passed (which requires a B or above) and I feel fairly sure that I did.

I'm pretty sure it is the presence of Dennis that is causing Heidi to act differently, eating cookies and such. The day after the cookie incident discussed previously, I served lil debbie cakes, the type with a white coating around a vanilla frosted cake. Heidi doesn't eat those either, but just to be sure, I broke one in half and tossed 1/2 to her where she was eating her cat food (I switched to cat food while they are pregnant/nursing). She ignored it.

Dennis stood upright at my knee placing her paws on my leg, and I gave her one of the little debbie cakes. Immediately, Heidi's head came up and she stepped away from her dish to come over to me to get a cake - this despite the fact that she had still not eaten the one I had tossed over there to her. I gave Heidi a cake, and she sat down by my knee to eat it.

I really think this new behavior on Heidi's part has something to do with Dennis - and making sure that she (Heidi) keeps her position of prominance with me so as to retain the treats for herself and for her kits when they arrive.

When Heidi walks away to leave for the night, I can now call her back (reliably). When she gets about 1/2 way to the fence, if I call her, she will come back to her dish and eat a little bit more before leaving again. Not sure if she comes back to please me or to see if I have something yummy to offer her, but I do know for sure that she understands that I am calling her back.

Each night before I go out to feed them, I pack my tote bag with whatever treats I will offer them. Amazingly, when I get out there Heidi knows right away, before I take anything out of the bag and even if everything is still tightly wrapped, exactly what is in the tote bag. I know this because sometimes I forget about this or that item that is in the bag, but if the forgotten item is one of Heidi's favorites she will let me know. She has done this several time now. Being human, of course, it took me a while to catch on - and even longer to be convinced that it wasn't a coincidence.

For instance, 3 nights ago I took out grapes. I didn't have enough grapes for everyone, so I just took out a large bunch for Heidi along with other treats for the kits. When I got out there and started handing out the treats, I forgot all about the grapes. Part way through her meal Heidi left her dish to come over to me. She stood there in front of me looking at me as though she wanted something. Heidi doesn't just come over to me for no reason. I don't think Heidi does anything without a purpose. I was confused because I knew she never ate the treat I was offering everyone. Still, I offered her one. She sniffed it and looked a bit agitated as though she wanted something else, but what? She kept trying to tell me for a few more minutes and then went back to her food in frustration, probably muttering "stupid bypeds" under her breath. Later, after she left for the night, I reached into my bag for something and felt the cold, wet grapes. Was that what she wanted? Did she realize I had grapes in there?

The next night, I took out marshmallows. Knowing that Heidi doesn't usually eat mm's I took an unopened bag of peanuts along, too. Again, while I was giving out mm's, Heidi left her food to come over to me. Again, she looked as though she wanted something, and again she seemed a bit frustrated by my inability to understand. I offered her a marshmallow which only seemed to annoy her. Then, recalling the events of the night before, I thought about what might be in the bag that she might want. Peanuts? She likes peanuts. Did she know I had peanuts? I opened the bag of peanuts and gave her some. That was it. She sat down in front of me to eat peanuts. Everything about her body language said that was what she had come for and now she was pleased.

So, I am forgetful. Heidi apparently realizes it, and is now communicating with me to let me know if one of her treats is in the bag. She is reminding me. She is letting me know, "hey, I'd like the grapes or the peanuts or whatever that I know you have in there". It's kind of odd really to have her know what is in the bag w/o looking. Spooky. Do I have no privacy?

Oh, I too hate teachers who spend their classroom time reading you the material you've already been given. Always wonder what they're paying the teacher for; I can actually read all by myself, thanks, or I wouldn't have enrolled. Glad for your sake that it's over, and have no doubt that in time you'll learn you did well.

No, you don't have privacy; the nose knows....always. And Heidi sounds adorable in the way she reminds you, so politely, that you've forgotten something.

Glad to hear you refrained from reinforcing the entire squadron of standing raccoons. This way there be dragons....and endless confusion.

LOL, Ruth,

That is exactly what I was thinking by day 2: "I can read all by myself, thanks". A friend had raved about how great this prof was, so imagine my surprise when he started reading to us. Turns out that for this particular course which is something of an experiment - in how much pain the subjects can take, I think - the prof is required to follow the slides, something about making sure all of the material is covered in the limited time and about maintaining consistency across classes and teachers. Whatever! Glad it is over and I survived.

I was just so shocked to see that Heidi knew what was in my bag before I opened it. We humans have such a limited view of the world, don't we? The peanuts were sealed in a plastic bag inside my tote bag. I figured as long as the bag was sealed nothing, including odor, could get in or out. Now I'm confused about just what the sealed plastic bag really accomplishes since clearly the odor permeates it. And where is the boundary of Heidi's olfactory abilities? Does she know what is in my house? What is in my fridge? So when they are standing at the door waiting for me, are they thinking, "...and don't forget to bring the grapes from the 2nd shelf in the back of the fridge behind the orange juice. oh, and also the eggs!"

This opens a whole new can of worms so to speak. Just how much do the raccoons really know?

Yep, there be dragons for sure. Much as I hated to do it, I did not reward that behavior.

ROFL about them knowing where everything is in the fridge! And that is amazing how Dennis (who became Denise, but it's easier to keep it 'Dennis', lol) started out as a menace, but is now so tame!

Edit: Better watch out, you'll have them all lined up for massages.

This message was edited Mar 9, 2009 9:16 PM

KyWoods,

Dennis really has grown up a lot. She is much calmer now and better behaved. I see very definite signs of maturity. She's great to have around now.

Tonight I gave Dennis a few cookies. I stacked 3 vanilla sandwich cookies on the side of the table while she was eating beside me. I figured that way she could reach up and get them as she wanted them - one at a time the way she normally gets peanuts, kibble, and other treats from the table. Of course, I don't normally stack those items, so when she reached up for the cookies (and note that there were other raccoons nearby who wanted the cookies, too), Dennis took the whole stack of 3 as a unit. Then she went around to eat them up close behind me and away from the kits who were apparently getting too close for comfort.

When I saw her take all 3 cookies off the table at once, I just assumed that she had dropped the other two on her way to the back of my bench. Fearing that the others would find them, I looked all around for them on the grass, but could not find them. Then I looked behind me to see Dennis sitting there eating a cookie, two other cookies tucked up under her body as she ate. Yep, she is learning.

Last night I think I discovered Bast. She came right up to me as if we were old friends and stood upright resting her front paws on the arm of my bench. Bast has very unique coloring, and a high contrast in the coloring on her face. The 'white' is very, very white. She doesn't look as catlike now, not so long and lean, but then again she is older and more mature now and may well be pregnant as well.

I'm pretty sure I've also found Cissy. She often hangs around in front of me waiting for treats. I'm sure I recognize that sweet face, and she still has the same good manners.

Neither Bast nor Cissy show signs of reacting to their names but both are quite comfortable around me much more so than any of the youngsters. Tonight, Bast ran Dennis off and took her spot beside me. Only one of the regulars would be comfortable eating that close to me. Bast wanted cat food and peanuts but did not want the cookie I offered her which also coincides with Bast's prior behavior. While Bast was eating right down beside my leg, I could reach down and hand her a peanut without scaring her away. I tried to pet he back. Last summer Bast would let me touch her somewhat but not like Dennis. Tonight when I tried to stroke her back, she 'shrank' down and away from my touch and then 'slinked' away in a catlike manner, but she didn't freak out and run away. That shows a high degree of comfort. Most of the raccoons would move away from my hand quickly and before I ever got close enough to touch their backs. I'm pretty sure that is Bast.

Oh, even though Bast took Dennis' spot, they didn't fight or even argue, Bast just barged in, and Dennis moved 1st to the other side of me and later to the back only to reclaim her spot a few minutes later when Bast left to look for greener pastures.

As I mentioned the other night, there is also a small raccoon out there who really looks an awful lot like Fraidy to me. She is smaller than the others, yet she doesn't look like a kit. Despite her small size something about her looks older. I watched her a lot tonight as she often eats up close to me, and her mannerisms also remind me very much of Fraidy's. She even comes up close to me with a complete lack of concern. The night when I 1st noticed her she was eating under the table beside me and then at Dennis' spot beside my legs. She even reached her head under my legs to get a peanut. The kits are not that comfortable around me. They will come to me for a treat, but that's as close as they get. The only thing that confuses me about the smallish raccoon is that she doesn't respond when I call her name, and, so far, she doesn't interact with me, but then again as I mentioned above, Bast and Cissy don't seem to respond to their names either.

There are on the order of 15 and up raccoons out there now.

Now I need a good name synonymous with 'imposter'. The other raccoons have, for now, stopped trying to emulate Jerry, and they never did it right anyhow, but there is one little smarty pants out there who just makes me laugh. She has figured it ALL out - which probably means the others will learn it in time. I can still tell her apart from the real Jerry because the face is wrong, but this one has everything else down pat. When I call "Jerry, Jerry" she stands up and she even stands up straight and tall and stays up just like Jerry does while looking at me and waiting for a cookie. Now that is one smart little raccoon. Except for her face, she is a perfect little Jerry impersonator. She has managed to copy all of the things that were specific to Jerry, the things I really thought none of the others would get.

Yet again I have underestimated the masked bandits.

Mimic? Mime? Rich Little? ;-)

Foni

(phony)

Mimic (as per Marylyn)? Bootleg? Mask (because the behavior's right, but the face is different)?

How cool that Bast is back; she was so unique in appearance, and to some degree in behavior, it's great to have her back. And if that is Fraidy you're seeing, it would be truly awesome. I don't remember Fraidy reliably responding to her name back in the day, at least not like Trouble did; am I misremembering?

As for their olfactory sensitivity, I can guarantee they know the entire contents of your bag before you open the door. Plastic bags? Not likely to cover aromas from them. And I'm sure they know a whole lot more about what's in the house, but can't define the limits there. Things in the closed fridge might be safe from their noses, but I wouldn't bet on it. After all, there's a reason wild raccoons keep wandering uninvited into houses. Sometimes it's a bowl of pet food and a dog door, sometimes they slide down a chimney liner and can't climb back up that smooth surface, but there are lots of other "visits" that are harder to explain and I'm sure are motivated by something terribly tasty that they smell. Something so darn good it overcomes, at least for the moment, their fear of humans. And when left inside for any length of time, they invariably open and raid the fridge, which is why I think it may be within their sensory threshold. Not to mention all the closed metal garbage cans they are infamous for dumping and raiding.... Our senses are so very very limited, by comparison, it's hard to imagine the world from their viewpoint.

Today I went for a 2nd set of shots. As far as pain (or the lack thereof) goes, I'm doing really well now as far as standing goes and walking. I have little or no pain at all even when walking all the way from 'the back 40' (outer parking lot) to my new office upstairs at the farthest end of the building - and that's w/o any pain meds. It's almost like a miracle. I used to take a pain pill before I left home in anticipation of the walk and even though I stopped to sit and rest at every possible opportunity on the way including sitting on the stone wall (clearly not intended as seating) I still had severe pain throughout the walk. Now I take no medication and breeze right past that wall and all of my other favorite sitting places on the way and all w/o pain. Unfortunately, I still have pain after sitting for 4 hrs or so. The past few days the pain from sitting has begun to escalate to the point that by mid afternoon yesterday I was in absolute mysery even after taking 2 pain pills. It was all that I could do to keep from crying. I came home feeling quite depressed about the whole matter. So today I had a few more shots the hope being that the cumulative effect will prove beneficial.

But enough of that, just keeping you informed...

Those are all very good names, and I thank you all so much for your suggestions. So far none of them quite 'grabs' me, but sometimes these things take a while to percolate with me. Most of my issues with the names has to do with the 'callability' factor. A two word name is pretty much out unless I can use one of the words by itself to call the raccoon as with Jerry (Rice).

Also, I'm inclined to agree with starlight about the benefit of keeping names to 2 syllables or more (so the 1st syllable gets there attention and the 2nd syllable closes the deal). There are exceptions to this. Last summer Bast seemed to be reacting to her name and Widget answers to his nick name of Dink which started out as Dinky (in reference to his size) and was eventually shorted to Dink. And all of this is not to mention how we southerners have a propensity for adding extra syllables to words anyhow. ; )

I was hoping someone might think of a character from literature, movies, cartoons or the like whose name is synonimous with 'imposter' or 'masquerade'.

Oh, and just in case I say something "wrong" please bare in mind that as I've just returned from getting my shots, I'm legally still 'under the influence' and may not be thinking as clearly as I think I am.

Nothing particularly newsworthy happened last night. Dennis ate beside me for maybe the 1st 15 min or so only to be ousted from her spot once again by Bast when the latter arrived. For much of the night Bast was stayed as close up against my leg as Dennis often does, and since I could only see her back it was hard to be sure which of them was actually there at times. While she was eating I reached down to touch Bast's back repeatedly. Each time she looked up at me while simultaneously slinking away from my touch. She was not so comfortable with being touched, but it did not upset her enough to cause her to leave from the area there beside me. She would just slink downward from my touch and then go right on eating there beside me - so clearly she isn't all that concerned that I might harm her.

The one that I think might be Fraidy also ate up close around my feet cleaning up left overs in areas most of the others were afraid to access like under my legs and around my feet and such. I had a handful of pastel (Easter) candy corn in my pocket which I gave to Dennis and the one I think might be Fraidy (jury still out).

Another cute "Jerry-ism": As I've mentioned before, in order to avoid the masses, Jerry often takes her cookie or cake or whatever back up into the tree to eat it. After a while she will return again and stand up to ask for more. Sometimes lately I've started waiting a few minutes to give her time to eat her treat and then calling her back down for another - and sure enough a minute or so after I call a little face will peak out of the bushes at the top of the fence. Then I hold the treat up to show it to her and say "jerry" and down the fence she comes. It's so cute how I can now call jerry out of the tree. Sometimes I call her and she takes shape on a lower limb of the Heidi tree only to walk down the limb to the top of the fence and then down into the yard for her treat.

Lately, we've had a couple of accidents in which the youngsters fellout of trees often taking some low hanging limb with them. This seems to be happening a lot with the narrow 1in D limbs of the small black cherry tree and with the similarly sized maze of limbs that stretch downward from the Heidi tree to the fence. The raccoons stand on the limbs of the cherry tree all of the time to look into the yard, see if the coast is clear, and then gain access to the fence. The also walk the somewhat 'weeping' limbs of the Heidi tree to get down to the fence. One of those cherry tree limbs broke with HRH some time ago in the 'famous' elevator scene. The other day another raccoon took the emergency elevator down from that tree as 'her' limb gave way beneath her with a mighty 'crack', whoosh, thud. Likewise the Heidi tree limbs cracked ejecting its occupants.

Falling from such limbs never seems to phase the raccoons though. They just get back up and climb the tree again like it "ain't no thing" which corresponds with something I read a while back indicating that raccoons can fall from limbs 40ft up and walk away unharmed. I've not seen that, however, as the limbs in question are maybe 8-12ft up but still sufficient to break a [human] arm or leg.

As to the returning members' ability to remember me after a time away, I also read that in research trials raccoons who had learned complex tasks required to get food could still remember how to do those tasks 3 years later (without needing to figure it out again). That's not to say that 3 yrs is the limit of their memory only the limit of the experiments.

All that I can think of is "Rich Little" remember him? He could impersonate anybody! Did Nixon better than anyone! And you just knew, when you saw him: you were going to laugh!

The count of Monte' Christo, Lon ?Cheney-the man of a thousand faces... That is it for me - the only impersonators my poor little brain can come up with.....

I was late getting out there tonight. Heidi must have given up on me as she wasn't there when I did get there. I had planned to skip tonight altogether, but once I saw Dennis sitting at the patio door, well, I caved. Next I decided to give them cat food only, no treats, but then before I could get out the door I saw the jar of peanut butter kisses dog treats. There aren't Widget's favorites, and he gets them stuck in his 'mustache', so I decided to take them out for the raccoons.

The 'kisses' are sort of like Mary Janes w/o the sugar. The raccoons were not amused. They like sugar. Everytime I tossed one to a waiting set of hands, the raccoon would taste it and toss it aside to get back in line for something else. Soon the ground was littered with 'kisses', and the raccoons were all standing around, litterally, waiting for another treat. It wasn't until later in the meal when they started to realize that this was it, that they finally caved and started eating the kisses - which had its amusing moments as I looked around the area to see this and that raccoon standing upright, head in the air moving to and fro Stevie Wonder style, hands on either side of their mouths apparently trying to dislodge the candy from their teeth and/or the roof of their mouths. Hey, the kisses were marketed for dogs. From my 'experiments' with Widget, however, I think those kisses probably work better for big dogs who can keep the whole thing in their mouths while chewing. For Widget to eat them w/o wearing them, I had to pull one apart into 2 to 3 pieces, not an easy task. The smaller piece fit in his mouth so that he could chew it up w/o making a mess. Seems like the raccoons had the same problem - oh, and one 'kiss' lasted quite a while for a raccoon and took a mightly lot of chewing. ; )

Then at the end when everyone had left except Dennis and Bast, I caved and went inside for a handful of cookies. Yes, I am a softy.

There are, BTW, many downsides of such a large group not the least of which is the pandamonium that rains for the 1st few seconds after someone hears something scary and signals the whole group of 15 to 20 raccoons to make a run for it at once. Think 20 raccoons running for their lives, 5 heading up the nearby weeping willow trunk while the other 15 head for the forest all arriving at the fence at about the same time and trying to climb the 3 posts at once. While they would not think of sharing a post under normal circumstances, at such times they climb 3 abreast and head to tail using all 3 available sides and every inch of the posts at once. The whole show is over in the blink of an eye as fur streaks stream over the fence like water and then they are gone and all is deadly silent. I cringe to think what that must sound like from the neighbor's side of the fence.

ROFL at the image of the peanut butter kisses littering the ground, and all those disappointed, expectant eyes glaring at you!

Ruth,

I've wrestled with this question. Dennis still responds to me just as if she never left, and still remembers and responds to her name. Although all 3 of them seem comfortable up close around me where the 08 kits dear not venture, neither Bast nor Cissy nor the one I think might be Fraidy respond to their names or even to me speaking at all. Of those 3 Bast acts the most like her old self as she comes right up to me even touching me with her nose from time to time (but always doing so in a very well behaved, non aggressive manner). Cissy stands up close in front of me (snapping at any kit who happens to get to close to her spot) waiting for treats which she takes from my hand w/o looking at all fearful or eager to grab and run. The one who reminds me of Fraidy forages about for kibble, staying mostly up close around me and looking very meek.

While all 3 of those mentioned above did at one time react to their names, the one thing that I think distinguishes them from Dennis and Heidi (and possibly Trouble) is the time interval. Whereas those who still remember their names all 'knew' and responded to their names for a long time, typically a year or more, I only started calling the others by their names late in the spring or summer. The latter only learned and began to respond to their names maybe a month or less before they were ousted from the area due to the arrival of all of the kits. If raccoon memory works anything like human memory the shorter duration may have played a role in preventing that information from reaching long term storage. At least, at present, that's my theory.

I think it's fairly normal for us humans to think that we know everything their is to know and every other creature on the planet knows some subset of our knowledge. That's laughable, of course, but, oh, so human. It is amazing to even think of how the world must 'look' (or smell or sound) to the animals. Just to imagine experiencing the world through their senses for one day conjures up a scifi vision of reality (as we know it). It is humbling to realize that to them we are virtually blind, deaf, and lacking in all but the most basic olfactory capability. One wonders if they look at us and think "definitely the short bus".

So when I tell Heidi "it's ok" in response to some sound that has caused her concern, is she thinking "now I'm listening to a deaf creature" ? And when I awaken from an impromptu after work nap and run outside to find a dozen raccoon crowded around under the windows surrounding my bedroom, are they waiting for me there specifically because they can smell my scent just on the other side of the wall? And do they, perhaps perceiving some as yet unidentified 'sleep hormones' I'm unwittingly giving off or breathing out, realize that even as they wait impatiently I am sleeping soundly just an expanse of wall board away? Things to ponder.

LOL, KyWoods,

And if only you could have seen them quickly tossing the 'untreats' to the raccoon next to them like hot potatoes, apparently realizing that having no treat would put them back in the queue for another one faster, all behaving exactly the same, each passing those 'kisses' to a neighbor as quickly as possible - here 'this must be for you'.

I was surprised to see that they didn't want anything to do with the treats: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15005
As you can see, those were not inexpensive treats. I could have bought a lot of marshmallows for that price. Although corn syrup is listed as the 1st ingredient, they are not remotely sweet at all. ( I know this because I tasted one). It was all the more educational for me to see that once the raccoons realized no cookies or cakes or peanuts would be forthcoming, they were eventually seen picking those kisses up off the ground again to eat them - and even arguing over them. Children!

They are quite fond of these BTW, and much like Widget they show a very clear preference for the peanut butter flavor: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=15202

I used to buy yogurt drops for my pet rats, who adored them! They'd grab them out of my hand like they were starving, and run to the corner of their cage and eat them.
Weird, I wonder why they won't ship those to New Mexico...

I sometimes take a few out for Dennis. She reaches up with her little hands and takes them ever so sweetly from my fingers - and scarfs them down really fast.

I do that, too, KyWoods - wonder why product 'xyz' can't be shipped to stateN. It's usually because that state has a law against shipment of the product into their state. For plants it is often because they are invasive in that state. For many other products, esp for California, the item may violate some environmental law or rule banning a particular material that has been found (by that state) to be a carcinogen or something like that. For other products, such as, I believe is the case for, citrus fruit and Florida or California it competes with one of the state's major sources of revenue. I am hard pressed, however, to imagine what problem New Mexico finds with the yogurt drops unless it is that they object to one of the ingredients. There is one ingredient, I think it may be the 'Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex' but won't swear to it, that I found in my research (prior to tasting one) to be a bit controversial. I wanted to taste the corner of one just to see what it tasted like. I read the ingredients to see if it contained anything that might be harmful for humans or which I might not want to ingest. Upon noting that the (non-vitamin) major ingredients were all things that humans normally eat and the vitamins are all types that humans take (except for that oddly named complex), I then wondered why the product had a warning on one side to assert that it is intended for "dogs" only. That, however, was before the big pet food scare of 08, a situation from which I learned a great deal about the difference between human quality and pet quality.

Shorter duration of name repetition is a very likely explanation for the difference you see in name recognition.

Yes, I have no doubt that most other creatures view humans as the short bus: good way of putting it (lol). But your "ok" would still be reassuring since you are of this world that is scary to them. Kind of like you're saying, "It's okay, that's just meaningless short bus noise, not aimed at you guys." Which of course is exactly what you're saying, minus the judgmental adjectives....

Funny story with the sticky, non-sweet treats; sometimes our species lacks good taste, no?

LOL, that reminds me of when I worked at the pet store, and we would taste the dog cookies that looked like humans' cookies. Not bad, actually, except for the garlicky aftertaste! And they had 'chocolate' drops that were really carob. I didn't have time for lunch one day, so I ate those--kinda yummy!

ROTF, Ruth,

I love it! That is such an insightful way of looking at the situation. And it makes a lot of sense and goes a long way towards explaining why "it's ok" works to calm and reassure the raccoons. It works for the youngsters, too, even the ones who aren't all that comfortable around me. I pressume they learned the meaning and response by observing Heidi and their other elders.

I've noticed that Heidi's response to my attempts varies with circumstance but in a very predictable manner. For instance, From the time her babies are born until they reach an age where they can fend for themselves somewhat, Heidi is hyper paranoid and is uninclined to take any chances. I gather that during that time the survival of her babies is her singular focus, and she knows if anything happens to her they may die as a result, so she heads for safety at the 1st hint of danger. Even that time period can be further divided. The 1st week or so after she gives birth she won't listen to me at all when I say "it's ok". Nothing remotely scary is ok then. If she hears a sound or senses the possibility of danger she is gone in a flash, and there is no talking her out of it.

Now, after a bit of time has passed since she gave birth, when she hears a sound coming from the neighbors' yards or from the street out front and sometimes even when the other raccoons get too roudy and start fighting elsewhere in the yard, Heidi will get concerned but unlike the 1st couple of weeks after giving birth, now she is more willing to take a moment to asses the situation. If I am watching her, I can see the look of concern on her face early on before she reaches the flight stage. If the problem is below a certain threshold, I can calm her by saying "it's ok". Her reaction to my words is very clear and obvious. The moment I say it, I can see the stress melt from her body and a calmness come back over her as she drops her head back down to resume eating. On the other hand, if the sound or other scary thing is above a certain threshold she will wait for a few minutes during which I continue to say "It's ok" and she vascillates visibly between the choice of weather to stay or go. Which one she chooses then is a toss up. If the sound persists and/or grows louder she will often get a sudden and very noticable look of terror on her face and then flee. Other times, especially if the sound abates during this decision/reassurance time, she may calm down and stay.

From the time the kits are old enough to come and go on their own until the birth of the next litter, Heidi's agenda changes. During that interval, I can almost always talk her into staying no matter how loud or scary the sound. It is during that interval that she will even look up at me as if for input when she hears a sound. It is also during that time that I can have more of a relationship with her because her focus is no longer solely on the survival of helpless babies. Heidi and I are probably at our absolute closest during the last month or so before the birth of her babies perhaps because at that time she (1) isn't so constrained by obligations to [the safety of] children and at the same time (2) is beginning to feel the need to procure resources for the kits that will soon arrive.

From the very beginning, in my effort to get my language across to Heidi I was careful to avoid the urge to reassure her when the sound or other scary thing was coming from the forest. It seemed to me that if I wanted her to understand (and believe) that "it's ok" means I know that the scary thing is not something you should worry about, then I couldn't use it to for forest things because I have no idea what is going on beyond the fence. I figured every time I said "It's ok" and the perceived threat turned out to be nothing at all, even if Heidi ran away, she would likely take note of this. On the other hand, if I were ever wrong, if ever she or one of the others were harmed or even close as a result of a threat after I said "it's ok" then she would never trust me again, at least not when it came to threats. I knew that I could reliably reassure her that neither the people next door nor the people or dogs out in the street would ever get near her or harm her, but the forest was another matter. It would be just my luck to say "it's ok" and then have a big wooly mamoth (ok, maybe a bobcat) come out of the forest and send ALL of us running for cover. (That's when you would see me climbing the tree.) All of this goes hand in hand with your very astute assessment. I can reassure her about all of the 'short bus' stuff on my side of the fence, but the forest is her zone about which I no nothing.

LOL, not only do humans sometimes lack taste, they aren't always as smart as they would like to believe either. I paid $13 for a big jar of corn syrup, flour, and peanut butter plus some [unnecessary given that they are already in the cat and dog food] vitamins and a potentially harmful substance of questionable benefit. For that price I could have skipped the [undesirable] flour and vitamins and picked up 3 large bags of peanuts, a bottle of syrup, and 3 bags of marshmallows, a much better deal on items the raccoons prefer anyhow. The jar of kisses was gone in one night and only after they realized it was all they would get. The alternative items would have provided highly covetted treats for a minimum of 7 nights. Of course, I did originally buy the kisses for Widget, but if I had taken a moment to read the ingredients I might have realized that he wouldn't want them either. Oh, well, another learning experience.

This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 12:35 PM
Edited (again) to add the reason for the prior edit (I know I always wonder about these things, so I like to let you know). Anyhow, I edited this one because I had setup the quote incorrectly and had to fix it.

This message was edited Mar 12, 2009 12:37 PM

LOL, KyWoods,

Back before the dog food scare of 08 (which will change my behavior going forward) I ate a couple of the peanut butter yogurt drops and also the chocolate ones. Actually, I like them considerably better than human candy as I find the latter to be entirely too sickeningly sweet these days.

On that note, is it just me or are the predominant flavors in just about everything (except fresh vegetables and meat) these days sugar (or the ubiquitous corn syrup) and salt? Ick! Enough already. If you have to give it a flavor with one of these two things as apposed to enhancing a natural flavor, then I don't want it.

Climbing down off my high horse...

I think I mentioned before that my brother and I were in charge of feeding the dogs at our house as kids. We used a dry food that had 4 different types of chunks or pieces. One day he and I sat down and sampled the various bits to determine which we preferred. We ate a handful or two in the process of making the decision. It didn't taste bad, kind of like some kind of bland snack food really. We didn't know what was in it, and since it was dry dog food, it didn't seem icky to us at the time. Anyhow, after a few handfuls we each announced our favorite of the 4 bits. We were probably about 8 and 9 at the time. Kids!