I found some hidden gems!

Thanks to updated computers and software and technology in general....I got these hidden gems off my old cell phone that broke ages ago! Thanks to blue tooth technology I was able to get some of the videos that were stored in it! So lucky you guys....you get to see what it's like when I happen to run into an old friend......and her adorable new family!

It ain't professional by any means, just crappy cell phone quality.....but enjoyable all the same! This is Red with her darling family last June 2010 when I ran into them checking the main feeding station.

Then of course there was Little Monkey, one of the reds released here that year that decided to make me his little play gym. I would show up and and he would immediately start demanding some kind of treat, then proceed to strip search me if there were none produced forthwith!

Sometimes he brought one of his siblings and god forbid I put the raccoon formula and food down for a minute......they would just start helping themselves! After all, I was there to cater to them, was I not?!

Never a dull moment when heading out to take care of the rehabs!!

Leave it to Red!

All in all, a pretty great ending to a crappy couple of days thanks to Red! I was out filling the feeders and as I stepped up to reach one on top of a platform, I was surprised to find myself nose to nose with an equally surprised raccoon! We both jumped and fell backwards...it was comical! When I started talking and the coonie responded in kind churring back at me I was thrilled to realize it was Red! I haven't seen her since last fall! She was very happy to see mom again and as per our usual routine last year, she proceeded to follow me while I filled the other feeders to make sure I was doing it right! Perfect timing for a perfect visit! She must have known I needed it!

C'mer and give me a hug mom! (Yes-she did proceed to climb up my leg into my arms! It would have been a good time to be wearing jeans...Ouch! LOL)

I went and got her one of her favorite treats and we hung out for a while. She's definitely a mom and she looks great!
Lexi also joined us. A little more skittish...she didn't want much attention, but she stuck around and checked out the treats I had (not to her liking I might add)....also definitely a mom!

Pretty soon some of the other mom's started sifting in....some too shy with me around so I got outta there to allow them a chance to eat in peace before everyone else came in.

And notice the sun? Here it is in full color people....Yes, raccoons do come out in the daytime, and no it doesn't mean they are sick! In the course of half an hour I had 3 out there....all very healthy and all just moms looking to eat quickly and get back to the kids!

Red still loves her mama!!

It's freezing and windy out again! But I stopped over Mary's last night anyway to see if anyone was about. Unlike myself, the coonies were not crazy enough to bother! One lone raccoon did show up at one of the feeders while I was out there calling, but wouldn't let me get too close and I couldn't tell who it was...

When I got home I debated....do I venture out into my own woods in this frigid wind?? I came VERY close to saying no....then said screw it and went out. I am SO glad I did!

Other than a few pair of eyes in some trees, there was one lone coon at the main feeding station....and she was very impatient for me to get my butt over to her! It was Red!, and she was very happy to see me - in her usual jump into my arms sort of way!

I was very happy to have the chance to visit one of my favorite girls again...and it's a wonderful feeling to know she still remembers (and loves!) her mom!

Red still loves mom & Diner at JoAnn's

Managed to stay awake long enough to actually head out back and visit. Daisy and Foxy were hanging out together. Ringer came in with her 4, and Red was THRILLED to see mom again!

Walked over to me and took some treats from my hand, then worked her way into my lap, then just hopped into my arms. So I spent some time walking around down there with Red lounging in my arms enjoying scratches all over! She was happy as a pig in you-know-what! She looks beautiful!! Nice full healthy coat and packing on the body weight already for the fall. Absolutely gorgeous! Big difference from her scrawny, ratty looking self a few months ago when she was in for her foot injury!

Myself, Laurie and Mary had a great dinner at JoAnn's the other night!! It was awesome JoAnn! Thanks for all the goodies. Got a chance to check up on Quinny too while I was there. He's doing great and so thrilled to have Rollo to play with! Also a chance to check up on the kids everyone else is taking care of!

This is one of Mary's little charges.


Also one of Mary's...this guy is about the same age as the group of opossum's we got a while ago.....

....and these are those very opossums grown much bigger now. They are back at Mary's now and will be reunited with their siblings soon! Here are the messy buggers just after an evening romp through their dinner!

This is JoAnn's Luna. She's had her since she was a pinky and she's doing great!

Finally my little Quinny and Rollo! They are living the good life at JoAnn's right now. Quinny has the lighter face.

Kits everywhere!

I just paid a quick visit out to the feeding station and there were mom's and kits everywhere! The first to greet me were Silly and Lexi! I havn't seen Lexi in a while and she appears to be a mom now too. There were at least 8 kits in the tree and top platform. Ringer came in next, followed by Belle with Bella and Macy. Popeye even showed up! He was in a playful, silly mood and wisely avoiding all the girls! Red popped in next with a great big hello.

There were so many kits and mom's shuffling around I couldn't keep track of how many and who belonged to who. Hopefully the coondo camera caught some good pics and I'll post them when I download them.

Screech is doing fine....he wants out but he's a little too gimpy for me to feel comfortable letting him go just yet. I sprayed some antibiotic spray on his wound to help speed the healling along.

The giant swarm of mosquitoes finally got the better of me and I had to come in!

The gang gets released!

It's official now...Foxy, Popeye, Daisy, Buddy, Whitey and Screech are free raccoons! And they are enjoying it thoroughly as you can see in just a few of the pics I got of their antics.

I can't even begin to describe how silly they were running around like maniacs. Buddy enjoyed splashing around in the pond and Popeye starting causing trouble with the other resident coons as they started showing up. He's already got a got some minor battle scars!

Red and Feisty showed up for a brief visit and in the middle of it all, Laurie and I had to head out to rescue a momma opossum and her babies curled up on the side of a road. We picked her up and there were babies everywhere! She is doing great now. Mary has her in a nice safe, cozy cage. She is thin and tired...but has already rested and eaten a good meal and should do well in her care while she raises her babies in safety.

The new kid & a few of the old!

Well here he is! This is Tosser. Someone tossed him out of a car window. A woman was kind enough to pick up the little guy and take him to a vet, eventually ending up in my hands. Aside from a little bump on his head, he is in great shape and eating like a pig.

As you can see, he is a very blond boy also! Couldn't call him Blondie though, already had a Blondie! He was Belle's and Ringer's brother as a matter of fact. There will never be another Blondie.

OK lady! I know I'm very cute, but that's enough with the pictures!! Could ya feed me now!!

Silly was out last night. She's definitely a mom! Her nipples are HUGE! Came for a quick visit and a little play with me then on her way she went.

Paleface was out there the same time. She snuck up on me, gave me a gentle tug on my coat as if to say "Here I am, May I have a treat please!" She looks great.

Red wasn't out when I was out there, but she made sure to say Hi and smile for the camera to let me know she is fine!

Ringer is still making her usual daily visits also. Belle and the babies are doing great. Had some sightings of Feisty and Smokey on the coon cam too. Haven't seen Dandy at all. But I'm pretty sure she was pregnant when I released her again, so if she has kits somewhere I wouldn't expect to see her for a while.

The overwinters are READY TO GO! We're just waiting on Popeye to be all set so we can send them all out together. Soon!!!!

Red, Lexi, Sarge, Dandy & fun in the rain.

I cannot be positive due to the quality of the pics, but I'm pretty sure this was Dandy on the right last night. The face is a little pug-like. She's obviously doing well since her surgery and hanging with the old gang again! Thank goodness!

All the rain we got in the early morning hours didn't put a damper on things for the gang. They are totally unfazed by it as they lounge and eat! I wish they would all come out earlier though! Most of them show up in the wee hours of the morning from like 2am on. It doesn't make it easy for me to run into them at all!



Ran into Red last night also. She's up to her old crazy ways! She was running around like a maniac last night wanting to play with me. The foot is obviously not slowing her down at all any more!

Lexi dropped in for a visit too! I haven't seen her in a while....she looks great! She's a little timid and would run to me, then dart off when she heard all the racket Red was making jumping around. I got a quick hello, she got a quick scratch under the chin and off she went to get away from the ruckus.



Shortly after Lexi left Sarge showed up. It looks like at some point he had gotten a nasty wound on his right ankle and heel. Looks like someone may have gotten the better of him in a scuffle. The leg was still a little swollen, but the wounds were already healing and granulating in. It looked good and is healing very well, plus he is using the leg with no problem. His appetite and condition are great so I let him be. I think he probably had a good sized abscess at one point that went through it's usual progression and all is now on the mend. I am always amazed at their tolerance to pain and their natural abilities to heal really well without our interference when need be.

Baby Bella is up to 175 grams and doing great. I am expecting her eyes to start to open within the coming week and then she'll start to really grow fast!

Growing like a weed!

Baby Bella is growing fast! She's up to 158 grams and cute as ever! I can't wait until her eyes open. She's got such long fur for a little girl too....she's quite fluffy.

I ended up releasing Red last night. Her foot was so much better and she was able to run around like a maniac trying to play with me when I went in to see her. Since we are going to have such nice weather it was a good time for it. I'm sure I'll be running in to her again!

Belle was hanging out early last evening in the tree above her den box. Taking a much needed break from her kids I imagine since the weather was mild! She watched Laurie and I in the pen with the overwinters for a few minutes before climbing back down into her den box.

Dandy & Red

Well here she is....13 days after surgery and Dandy is looking good! She is anxious to go, pacing all night in her pen. She'll be getting her check up this week and as long and the Dr. thinks she's ready she will get to go home finally!

Good morning mom! You got my egg with ya!

Look at that cute little scrunched up face! She's looking rough, but I don't think she cares about that.

See how well my mouth works! Tongue still stretches to get all the right spots and the teeth are still sharp and pretty! I can yawn big and wide without any pain too!

Yummy!! Thanks for the egg mom!

Of course now that Dandy seems to be getting ready to go, I find Red in a predicament! Was out late last night feeding the overwinters and when I checked the feeding station no one was there at first. As I started to leave a lot of chattering stopped me. Red was on the top platform trying to get my attention, but wouldn't come down...although she was acting like she wanted to really badly! So I climb up to her and of course, she's not using one of her back legs. She couldn't get down.

So I head up to the house to get a carrier to grab her. She ended up making it down because on my way back to the feeding station she met me half way, chattering up a storm and gimping right up to me and into the carrier.

So I have her settled in a pen now. She did start using the leg and she let me get a better look at it. Her right ankle is swollen and painful, but she is bearing weight on it now so I don't think it is broken. Possibly either an abscess or swelling from a bad sprain or trauma to the ankle. I am not overly worried about it, but being Sunday I have no way of getting it checked. I'll get an x-ray and a closer look tomorrow when I have access to the vet and some helping hands!

Needless to say she is actually pretty happy to be getting mom's attention since she's still in her very friendly mood. She settled happily back into the pen she grew up in and is not the least bit stressed about the whole thing. Her attitude will be a big help when it comes to checking the leg. Anesthesia may not be necessary with her desire & willingness to be handled by me.