Of Things to Come...

Future sandwiches?

Cauliflower doing well.

Future yummies!

I have no idea.

Stormy Weather Ahead...

And the kits came rolling out!

Hey gang - Rusty has a treat on - come and get it…..

Relaxed!

I just sit, relax, and eat everything in sight

Learning how….

....to plan his work even while eating..Future renovations?

Goodness me, mommy can we come back tomorrow?

We even have toys to play with as well as food….

Oh my, I’m stuffed…

Look at that smile…This is one happy baby raccoon!

Hold the Onions!

Well look who came back. Now this critter has no smell - yet, and seems to tolerate me and my camera quite well. But I don't want to take any chances... Grinning a big grin. I wonder if there will be any baby skunks this year. I don't think so - I suspect this critter is just a year old.

Big Momma Relaxing!

Oh my! What a busy night. After Chloe came by to show off one of her family, we had a visit from Kimmie (Big Momma) and her gang of five. Big Momma seems to have decided to let us act as baby sitters, (or should that be kit sitters) - while she moved off about twenty feet to just relax.

Sitting pretty!

This shows how gentle most of the youngsters are. This little one stayed snuggled up to milady waiting patiently for her treat

Scritch my ears please.

Of course being busy munching on a tea biscuit helped. ;-)

A Gentle Creature.

This shows how gentle most of the youngsters are. This little one stayed snuggled up to milady waiting patiently for her treat.

Raccoons and Water - go together!

Dunking time! Or perhaps just playing in the water. The dish is 15 inches across - a little bigger than the kit.

I like these treats....

Oh I do love this biscuit. The tea biscuit was only a treat. The main menu was a ‘kibble’ type of dry dog food. Mostly a chicken-rice formula.

One Happy Baby

Chloe's youngster

Chloe came by tonight. At last! I was getting worried about her. Though she only had one kit with her this time - she may show up with more over the next few nights. She looked somewhat thin, but her youngster looks healthy and both had a good appetite.

I have seen Kimmie and her gang, but recent photos I had of them vanished into oblivion when both my main HD and backup drive got trashed. I hope to get some new stuff over the next few nights.

Chloe and kit drop in for treats

One of my favorite weeds

An interesting ‘weed’. To be sure some have an aversion to this plant in their lawns. My Scottish uncle used to call it ‘grave yard vetch’. This common low growing flowering plant has several names the most common of which is Creeping Charley. It will grow in places where little else does, has nice leaves and very small blue flowers. It grows to a maximum height of perhaps six inches - and even has a nice small when cut back with the lawnmower or other trimmer. Of all the so-called weeds, it’s probably one of the nicest.

This is fun!

Two of the kits romping in the water. The water dish is 15 inches in diameter. Mom and the other siblings are just a few feet away.

Hey, Ma - look at me splash!

Kimmie returned last night, but only with two, then four of her five youngsters. The last one was probably at home having been given a time out for some misbehavior.

Mom watches as one youngster checks out the water. This one was sitting on my foot while eating a few minutes before. Mother raccoon never came closer than six feet away from me - but was quite at ease when the youngsters came right up to me looking for - probably a treat.

Whisker to Whisker, Eye to Eye.

Every time I got close they wanted to check out my camera. Too close to focus properly.
These little characters are extremely inquisitive.

Stranger in a Strange Place

Bright Colors

A Very Wild Rose

I have not seen either Chloe or Kimmie and her kits for the last three days. However the ‘newcomers’ have been showing up as regular as clockwork - and getting a little more used to me all the time. I think it’s time to give them names - how about Mutt and Jeff? Mutt being the larger one with the funny face - Jeff the one with the slight nick on his ear.

In the meantime Momma robin has a second family well on the way - and more flowers are blooming as others fade.

One Newcomer Returned Last Night

Young male, very shy!

Well look who came back. One of the very shy newcomers helping himself to some banana. Notice the tiny nick on the base of his left ear. That’s where the photography helps in making an identification. This young fellow is still extremely wary, the slightest movement on my part and he would vanish for a couple of minutes. My guess is this is a ‘teenage’ male who does not dare come anywhere near other female raccoons with their kits. He is probably only a little over a year old.

Big Momma

Surprise at midnight!

In all there were five bundles of fur. I had taken about eight photos when I realized my flash was not working properly. Nearly dead batteries! Using rechargeable batteries is OK, except they suddenly die without warning. I was worried that the raccoon gang would move on while I put in fresh batteries - but they stayed, munching on some kibble, apple, and a few tea biscuits.

The black line you see in some photos is exactly a foot long - to help give an idea of size.

Now - how to tell one kit from another? Certainly oe seems to have lighter colored fur than the other four - and two of them seem to be somewhat more outgoing in nature. Finding names for them will be - interesting.

A change of pace...

Well hello little bird! My neighbor appeared yesterday at the retreat with this little fellow. One of the neighborhood cats brought it to her - completely unhurt. The little critter is almost ready to fly, but is not up to feeding himself. We have no idea where the cat found him. The redwing moms in my backyard totally ignored the little one. Feeding is not a problem as milady had a formula food and experience in feeding baby birds. Our neighbor was also experienced in feeding. I think she willbe bringing the little fellow to a nearby bird rehabbing center within a few days.

Feed me, feed me....

Two Newcomers Visit the Retreat

These two characters first appeared three nights ago. At the slightest movement from me they would run - but return a little later to snack on whatever Chloe had left. Over the next few nights they started to get a little more used to me and last night I was finally able to get some good photographs. I suspect they are both young males - perhaps a little over a year old but not yet mature. One has very distinctive eyebrows - the other a slight nick near the base of his left ear. (That may vanish in time though).

Interesting Fellow

Covered in bloom!

Them bloomin' shrubs..

The snowball is almost finished, but the wigellia (sp)? is out in allit's glory.

Another old friend?

Not a very good photo - but this critter has been here before. Though I'm not yet certain it may be one of Kimmie's kits from last year. The slight clip on his right ear may help. I'm going back over the archives to see if I can get a sure ID. At least this will help identify this one in the future.

Links!

Don't forget to check out the various links. There is even a fantastic movie taken of a mother raccoon (Named Doc) and her five kits. Doc shows up frequently on The Critter Window. (thecritterwindow.com).

In the meantime I'm waiting until Chloe brings her brood to show off at the retreat. I also hope to be able to 'film' their antics before too long. ATB! Rusty

Who am I?

It's one of Chloe's youngsters - from last year. Not Alex, but it might be Jasper (fur color changing), Alpha, or Growler. My best bet is it's Jasper. Big, but very gentle and not at all 'pushy'. She waited patiently while I fought to open a new bag of kibble.

Last One Out - a new adventure!

There were three chicks in the nest - and this is the last one to leave.

On Guard

It’s interesting how different species of bird will cooperate on keeping the baby birds safe by chasing any hunting cat.

Good Morning

Between getting food, persuading chicks to leave the nest, and watching out for local cats - mom has her work cut out for her.

A good friend, but not a pet.

I was bringing the garbage out when I realized I was not alone. Chloe was standing right by my foot looking up at me probably wondering when I would put some kibble out for her supper. Now who could refuse a look like that? I was unable to completely finish a big plate of lasagna, and I thought why not? An extra treat for her - with some kibble added. If you look closely at her whiskers you can see she was enjoying the dish.

A nice change.

Her new fur coat is coming in, soft and thick. Good color too. You can also see she is nursing some kits. It won’t be long before they start moving about with her.

Hmmm - yummy!