A welcome midnight visit.

I was out in the woods last night after work and noticed a few sets of eyes scattered around. One pair was in a tree near the main pens. So I went out with a little food for the feeders and when I tried to coax whoever was near the pens down, it wasn't happening. I then proceeded to head to the feeders and put some food in. It wasn't very long after the sound of dry kibble, bouncing off the metal feeder reverberating though the woods, brought my friend in the tree crashing through the underbrush towards me! It's a good thing I'm comfortable with what wildlife is out there or I probably would have wet my pants and gone screaming through the woods upon hearing such a noise out in the dark! LOL

It turned out to be River and we had a lovely little visit. No one was with her at the time, but when I made my way to the main feeding station downtown, her daughter Amazon was there waiting on me. They are in great shape and were beautiful, as always, and it was so great to see them. The rest of the glowing eyes in various trees out there chose to stay put in their lofty perches. No one else was going to come visit me in person this night. Sigh. I would have loved a visit from Gibby.

Cold weather gear & River's gang.

As the weather gets colder I end up bundling up in warmer clothes to go out and take care of the kids. My favorite is my coon skin cap....it keeps my head so warm! I love it! Sometimes it gets too warm though and I have to take it off....

.....or it just gets hungry and crawls off into the food bucket! LOL!!! Silly River!

Up until this past month I could always rely on River and the kids showing up when I went out to feed the gang. Sometimes they were a little impatient I think too! I would come out and find them already waiting....snoozing away waiting for the sound of the shed door opening and food getting scooped into a bucket. LOL...how sweet.

Now they are acting like normal coonies.....no sign of them until after dark. Howell the boy hasn't been with them in a while either. Probably hanging with the bachelors by now. A few days ago when I went out looking for them with some treats River and the girls came in with Ringer. It appears they may be hanging out together quite a bit now. They couldn't have a better guide to show them the ropes out there....she's the queen of the woods!

River's crew.

River and the kids are doing well and seem to have integrated perfectly into the native population out there. Many nights I go out there to find them hanging out with Ringer and Belle and all their kids! They are all very tolerant of each other and it is very surreal to go out and be tripping over moms and kits mingling around. Throw in Gibby and Scrappy and a couple other unidentified adults and I am just amazed at how tolerant they all are of each other (and me). Males, females, adults, babies....a total mix and a total contradiction to the solitary life described by experts in the past.

A daytime visit by half the gang allows for some nice family portraits.

Momma River and one of her girls.

All 4 of her kids, Howell, the only boy, is the black one.

Ringer and her kids were out there as well. She moved off with 3 of them but one decided to hang with her cousins! She's on the far right acting like she was one of River's own.

Howell left, River's 3 girls in the middle and Ringer's girl on the right.

Ringer's girl. She's adorable and looks exactly like a larger version of Springer with her markings. She is very distinguishable from the other babies.

It seems to me that "release" is a bit of a contradiction here......I'm tripping over more coonies outside the pens than inside some days! LOL

I wouldn't have it any other way!

River and the kids.

Over the course of the last week, River and her brood have moved around a lot! The night Howell was hanging around the pen by himself he kept trying to get back in. So much so that when I stood there and opened the door for him he walked right past me and inside instead of keeping his distance like usual. So I let him stay the night.

The next afternoon I discovered River and the one girl she was with had been rejoined by the 2 that were MIA for a short time, holed up in the den box on the back release pen. So I decided a total family reunion was in order! I managed to get Howell into a carrier and hauled his ass down there and carried him up to his waiting family. He was thrilled beyond words and it was a very happy reunion!

Over the course of the next few days I have encountered them hanging out in the woods.

Eventually they started hanging out in the den box at the main feeding station. I usually encountered all 5 of them together. Yesterday I only noticed River and her usual girl with her and today I didn't notice any of them in there, but that's to be expected. They have been out exploring the local real estate and it's only a matter of time before they find the home of their dreams!

The cuteness is unbearable!

Well I am actually able to go inside River's pen without being mauled now. I won't be giving her hugs anytime soon, but we have reached an understanding. I do what I am told and bring food..... and I live! LOL

The babies are quite leery of me, but they follow mom's lead and come out for a little chow, followed by a little milk, and give me the chance to admire their total cuteness!

She is such a good mom and it is awesome to watch her interact with them! They are absolutely beautiful!

Gibby is great and was re-released Wednesday night. Hopefully he has learned his lesson and will try not to make friends with every strange raccoon he encounters?! Scrappy was out there last night to keep him company, as was Ringer....however I highly doubt Ringer was going to make him feel at home if he went anywhere near her!

Ringo has finally been spending his days away from home. Up until a few days ago he was always in the den box by day. LB was around and I think he finally egged him on to take the plunge and just go wild!

Sneak peak....

I was not brave enough to go into the cage and risk the wrath of River, but I did manage to get a couple halfway decent shots with my cell phone! While River was enjoying a chicken wing, one of the babies was eagerly licking up the scraps behind her and playing in the outdoor den box.
It's tough getting pictures because they are still hanging out primarily in the inside section which is dark and opening the door wide enough to get enough light in there means putting my life at risk...lol.
What a good momma!

The local town paper, The Billerica Minuteman, did a wonderful story on us then had us on the local AM radio program to talk about our cause! It was great and I wish I could find a link online to show you all but it doesn't appear to be posted online. If I manage to find it I will share it with you all...or maybe I can just type the story in here when I get a spare minute.....(in the fall maybe! LOL).

A lot of updates!

Here is the new kid on the block. His tree was cut down and the gentleman that did it didn't realize there was a problem until he heard this little guy screaming and clinging to a branch. Unfortunately the rest of the family did not make it, but the man was kind enough to scoop this guy up and get him to me. He's a monster squirrel...huge for his age. He basically weighs what Peewee weighed when he came in, and Peewee was 4 weeks older!

Chunky was in perfect condition when I got him, having only lost his mother 3 hours prior, and amazingly not a single injury from the fall. He's doing great and eating like a pig. Speaking of Peewee.....he is doing great as well! Although still smaller than his sisters, he's growing like a weed and gaining ground fast...especially since he's not competing for mom's milk anymore. He's going to be just fine.
Sweetie, Luci, Wombat and his sister have already moved from this cage into the larger pre-release cage. They have graduated to bowls of formula and are eating solid foods well.

2 squirrels that came in from McGrath Animal Hospital where I used to work and 3 squirrels that arrived just before heading out to Laurie's birthday party have all be relocated with another rehabber who amazingly had none yet! She said she would take 10, so we took a look at the hoard we all had and mixed and matched and got a group together for her, including a couple of Lisa's and some that came in while we celebrated Laurie turning 29 (again...LOL).

Now for the raccoons.

Lucky & Ducky are doing great. Not having had mom at all, they are a little behind the 8 ball...smaller and slower to develop, but they are thriving. Stony's 2, Pebbles and Porcelain, are doing great as well. They had mom's milk for a whole day and what a difference it makes. They are larger and although a week younger, their eyes opened much sooner.
Here we have Lucky and Ducky on the left (Ducky being the smallest little guy in the middle) and Pebbles on the right.

Porcelain so named because she is almost white...not even a light blond tint like the light ones usually are, but white. She's beautiful and the biggest and fluffiest of the group.

Actually they are all a little fluffier now after getting baths. Someone decided to poop in there and of course they ALL had to roll in it! Lucky was less than thrilled I think! LOL

On to Trooper the monster coon! A perfect example of how much better mom's milk really is! He had mom for over 2 weeks and it shows! Weighing in at over a pound now(560 grams).....he's not fat, he's just big boned!

He's at the puppy dog stage...where his ears look more like a puppy's.

He is now in with the 2 sisters rescued from the evil homeowner, Doc and a yet to be named sister. Doc is missing part of an ear so it will always be easy to identify her! Both girls are about the same age as Trooper, but about 200 grams smaller. Like I said...he's a monster coon!

They love to snuggle with their fur from coats for cubs....thanks to Pat cutting some of the coats up into usable sized pieces for them!

I have wonderful news about River and her babies! I finally got a peek at all 4, very adorable and playful kits with River. Since putting her in the enclosed section of the pen, I have not been able to check the babies due to her murderous attempts to kill me anytime I tried to open the door! I could only hope for the best and quickly toss food and water in there and slam the door shut just before she could reach me and maul me...hehe. Now that the main part of the pen is vacant and cleaned.....she's had some more breathing room and has been out exploring.....

She is also much less murderous towards me when I approach the pen on this side....she has even calmly sat there on the other side of the door while I toss some food in to her.

Well, a couple nights ago all 4 were out with mom hanging out on that top shelf and in that den box! I had the very extreme pleasure of watching her gently play with the very mobile and curious kits. I'm happy to report that Tigris, Amazon, Nile and Howell are perfect and adorable as ever. As soon as I see them out when there is enough light for pictures, you'll see for yourselves!

Dad is making great progress on the isolation room. What used to be an empty corner that collected junk is quickly becoming a very useful area.

Frame, fluorescent light and door is up, some electrical outlets are going in as we speak and it won't be long before it's in use I'm sure!

I think that pretty much brings us up to speed...gotta go help dad bring up the new microwave....mine of course s#!t the bed the other morning...just as I was rushing around trying to get everyone fed before leaving for work of course! Grrrrrr

Crazy weekend.....great visits!

What a crazy weekend it has been! Started off the end of the week with a double delight on Thursday.....Ringer and her sister Belle came in for a visit! At least I had my cell phone with me this time for pictures. Ringer greeted me on the path and followed me to the feeding platform and minutes later her sister came crashing through the bushes. That's Ringer in the top picture and Belle in the second....

Of course just because they came in at the same time does not mean they were exactly getting along! They were not on the best of terms and did not want to see each other, but at the same time they both wanted to say Hi to mom and of course get the little handful of chow I brought in case of just such an occasion.

So they came up with a compromise both could live with! LOL
Friday was full of cleaning and torching the main pen, now that the girls were moved out of it. What a project that was.....all day...ugghhh. But it looks great and River now has access to much more room to move about and have the babies explore once they start coming out of the den box.....if she ever lets them! Talk about your overprotective mom!
Saturday was even longer as Laurie and I took a trapping course that is required to become PAC (problem animal control) agents. All day long in a course about trapping and killing wildlife. It was difficult but necessary....now we can become licensed to legally trap animals in other peoples houses and get them outside be released humanely or reunited with the babies left in attics to help prevent so many mom's from being killed and babies ending up in rehab.
Thanks Lisa for taking all our babies to feed for the very long day while we were gone!!!
Sunday was full of feeding babies and heading to JoAnn's house to celebrate Laurie's birthday! It looked like a zoo with carriers full of babies that we all brought that would need feedings throughout the afternoon. We spent more time feeding all the babies than we did feeding ourselves! LOL ....and we were constantly getting new ones delivered while we were there!
Par for the course this time of year. That's why we always get together at one of our houses...so we can bring the babies that need to be fed and still hang out together at the same time!
Whew....I need a day off from my days off!

The boys!

Well the boys are doing great! Vin scared the crap out of me when I went into their pen to clean and feed! I'm carrying on in there and catch a movement out of the corner of my eye right above me. Holy crap...I scared the boys when I jumped and screamed like a baby! I think I scared Vin too because he backed up a little and gave me this surprised look! LOL! He must have been thinking...it looks like mom, but it sure didn't sound like mom!

Tash was pretty unfazed by him....more likely wishing he was up there running around with him.

Oblivious to all else, Gibby just wanted his food.....NOW while LB, Andy and Ringo were a little more annoyed with Vin's suddenly discovered presence right about them (and the strange squealing noise mom made!) Tash found the whole incident pretty amusing I think!

So out of the pen I got to have a chat with Vin. He knew he was in for it too! He saw me coming and a very guilty looking coonie decides it would be best to leave the boys alone and climbs down. He's such a wise guy!!!! And he knows it!! Ugghhhh.

So he starts to check out the woods like he is innocently "just exploring" while I tag along hanging out with him. It didn't take me long to figure out what he was up to though as I realized he was on a round about route to guess where???

Yup, right back up to annoy all the girls again! Ohhhhhh what a little wise ass he is!!
Lately, finally, they are sticking to darkness and staying away during the day.

He and Scrappy are a tag team. Wednesday night I went out there to find Scrappy getting the gang all worked up! He was a little better about it though. I went out and he got all playful and cute with me, but he was much better about letting me "encourage" him away from the pens to play. He made an appearance last night too. I was finishing up rounds and look up one of the trees near the girls pen and see a lounging Scrappy watching me. I must have woken him early....God forbid! I just wish he would stop hanging out around the girls!! I don't want him freaking out River and the babies. Even though she's in the indoor section and can not see him, she hears all and reacts to all! I have not seen hide nor hair of them since putting them in there. I can not even open the door without her throwing herself at the door and trying to grab me and KILL me! But I do hear the babies in there....and luckily I left enough food and water for an army in there. When I brace the door and open it just a crack I can see enough to know there is still plenty of food and the water is still clean enough to be drinkable.

I'm going to have to get in there at some point though, and I am not savoring the thought, nor do I have any idea how I am going to do it!