Just a Quick Note

The bleeding heart is the first thing up around here. The raccoons are more or less regular in their visits, though I have not seen Chloe for the past ten days. That may mean she is taking care of a new family. Time will tell. Same with Kimmie. The little skunk has returned, but is still extremely shy. I still hope I can get a picture of the little critter.

Waiting for interesting events.

Waiting for the fun stuff. Will the very shy groundhog return?

Will Chloe and Kimmie visit to show off their litter this year? (If indeed they even have any kits to show off).

I’m waiting and watching for any signs. Alex and Jasper are still too young to have litters of their own - but they come by just about every night.

Stinky, (We gotta get another name) - the young skunk is almost used to me moving about. He or she has not once made any threatening move, but is still too shy to let me get a photograph.

Lets just wait and watch together.

In the meantime watch the following video to see a bit of what may be expected.

Chloe in 2008

Note - the E-Mail address in the video is no longer valid.

Chloe this week.

She is well on the way to loosing her winter coat. I wonder if she has had her kits yet, I suspect she has. Chloe, (like most raccoons) - loves eggs, raw or cooked!

Our Regular Patrons (Raccoon Clan)

Who Is Who? (Among our regular Raccoon visitors).

How I define their character;

RESERVED = prefers to keep at least a few feet away from me.
PASSIVE = non-aggressive toward other raccoons. (At least around here).
FRIENDLY = will come right up to me, can be touched. Will take food right from my hand.

Bear Looks like a real, battle scarred old timer. Passive, reserved in nature. Probably male. Unknown age.

Kimmie: Passive in nature, very big female perhaps about 50 pounds. She had five kits early last Spring - all big and quite aggressive with other raccoons, though not with me. But none became particularly friendly, nor do I recall naming any of them.

Chloe Small, female at least four years old. Photograph from last year - with one of her kits, probably Alpha.

Jasper Light (Female) colored fur - reserved but friendly

Growler (Sex unknown) The biggest of Chloes family - reserved
(OK, I’m not completely sure, I think this was Growler late last summer).

Alex (Female) The smallest, but extremely friendly, and inquisitive plus playful!

Scar: Reserved in nature - a medium sized male of unknown age. The scar from a cut on his upper jaw that became infected, but eventually healed naturally.
Friday, March 26, 2010

I must be nuts!

Then along came a small, good looking young skunk! I might add there was no smell about this particular critter. Yes, I tried - very carefully - to make friends with him- or her. Well as soon as I, (very slowly) - opened the door of my garden retreat Stinky would slip around the corner. I put out a very small amount of kibble - and sure enough Stinky would come back for more. It may take some time - but I will get some photos of this very interesting animal. (The name Stinky will have to go - any ideas)?

BTW - the other morning I was awakened to the potent smell of another passing skunk. I would prefer if that one stayed far away. ;) I do have certain limits.

Oh yes, the Robins returned two days ago. Now the predawn hours are filled with the sound of all sorts of birds, including a very noisy red wing blackbird building a nest an the cedar tree next to my retreat. Love those sounds of Spring though.

Regular visit from Alex

Alex was the smallest of Chloe's litter - but is double the size of her mom

Chatter

I guess it’s the second full day of the Spring season. In fact it felt like Spring for the last two weeks. This winter has set all time records for being dry, and warmer than normal in our area. That said, I see it’s actually snowing at the moment. There was no snow left on the ground, and the present temperature is about +3C- so I don’t expect any great accumulation.

The raccoons have been regular nightly visitors here at my retreat.

More later today folks.

Chloe checks in

Though I had not seen Chloe for about a week, she showed up the night before last. I was wondering if she had her kits - but I can’t be sure. She would eat a small amount, then vanish for about fifteen minutes and return to eat some more. She may be checking on her brood. That’s what she did last year though it seems a little early in the season.

Kimmie is recovering

Kimmie - the biggest female raccoon had some sort of misadventure. At first I thought she may have lost her left eye. However it seems now it was only a severe cut below her eye that had become infected. It has almost completely healed up. I have no idea what may have caused the injury, but her appetite remains good. UPDATE - It seems this was not Kimmie, but another raccoon.

Alex is back!

Alex is one of Chloe's daughters. She is one of the most inquisitive and friendly of the wild raccoons. Since she is not quite a year old it's unlikly she will have any kits of her own this year. It's sure nice to see her return - and remember me.

The grass is showing in places.

But we all know the month of March can be deceptive. Will we get another big blizzard? Time will tell, I guess. Anyhow, this is what it looks like today. A cardinal is singing his heart out - starting before the sun even comes up. Many other birds also making a lot of noise. Perhaps the robins will be back before too long. The raccoons are quite active though I can't yet tell if there are any young ones on the way, it's still a little early. I will post some more raccoon photos later today. In the meatime feel free to leave comments or ask questions. I will be happy to answer those I can, or refer you to someone who knows.

Jasper and Chloe

Jasper is Chloe's daughter from last spring. She still shows an interest in playing with things that swing - like the shade cord on the door of the retreat. Chloe displays a good set of teeth while munching on some tidbit. The realtivly warm weather for febuary has encouraged the local raccoons to wake up and head out looking for food. Another raccoon showed up last night, one thats a stranger to me. He or she was so cautious that I was unable to get a photograph. I'm still keeping my figers crossed that Alex will return one of these days.

I won't be too surprised if I spot the first robin sometime soon.