The second release

Another busy weekend with the second and last release for this year!

Last week Laurie and I scoped out a release site in Norton that was perfect...with the exception that it is an hour away!  Lots of woods and a pond and plenty of room to avoid people. Nikki who owns the property will keep an eye on the site for us though, so even though we will not be able to visit as often as we would like (sniff, sniff), someone will at least be keeping an eye on them. Thank's so much Nikki!!

We got it set up while we were there and planned our return trip with the rest of the gang.

This past Saturday our schedules and the weather all cooperated. After a quick trip to the island to check on that gang (no one to be seen), we packed up the SUV full of raccoons, food and anything else we might need and started the long trip.

Once there it seemed like an even longer trip as we lugged all the coons and crap quite a ways into the woods to our selected site. I think this was the halfway point.

Then the fun began! We let them all out and enjoyed the show! There were just so many cute pics this time that I just couldn't put a limit on them....so enjoy the show as 8 of Laurie's kids and Pinner, Spencer, Houdini, Legend, Tumbler, Petey, Mahem, Lucky and Ducky discover their freedom!
Pinner

Pinner

Spencer

Houdini

Legend

Tumbler

Pinner (left) & Legend

Ducky

Tumbler

Houdini

Laurie and I hung around till dark then sadly snuck out of there while we could without being followed. We returned last night to check on them. Four were in the den box but it didn't take long for the rest to come running in once they heard our voices. We had another wonderful visit with the whole gang. It will probably be the last time we see them all again. It's going to be a while before we can make another trip out there unfortunately, so it was good to be able to hang out and say our final good bye's.

I love having less to clean up after!!! but I miss them too!

Visiting the island.

Well, still no luck hooking up with Lisa to get the rest of the release pics, but it would be cruel to keep you waiting any longer for an update! Our trip over there on Saturday was a great one! (at least for me since we saw most of mine, but unfortunately none of Laurie's)

On our arrival Doc had been napping on top of the den box and there were obviously others inside.

Little did we know there would be so many inside! LOL It turns out most of my crew were in there....all but the boat babies....Doc, Sis, Soldier, Sammy, Brim, Spit and Rocco. They were very happy to come out and visit and were none the worse for wear.

Trooper

Sammy

Soldier

Sis

Soldier (aka fat ass! LOL, he's huge!) again.

Trooper helps himself to some treats.

Sis chillin

Soldier in the hammock.

Soldier (top), Brim (left) and Rocco hanging out.

While we were out there 2 of the boat babies came in. No sign of any of Laurie's gang.....but they were a little on the shyer side anyway.

Then once again it was time to leave and we had to deal with the heart wrenching scene of them trying to hop on the boat to go with us.....

....then following along the shore and standing there watching us until we were finally out of sight.

Ugghhhh! I just want to set up a tent out there and camp out with them.....it's so hard to leave!

Laurie and I actually popped over there earlier this morning as well. Had a short visit with Trooper, Doc, Sis and Sammy who were all in the den box. We didn't really have time to hang out long or go searching either. Chances are that early in the morning they would be sleeping like the dead anyway and not even hear us! We're planning another trip over Sunday and hoping to check out another release site and even get it set up Monday if it checks out so we can get the second and final group out there!

The first release - Part 1

Wow! Been a crazy couple of weeks! A lot has happened. 12 baby squirrels are doing great and growing like weeds. 16 squirrels are out in the release pens awaiting their freedom. The chipmunk had a visit to Tufts to evaluate it's teeth after suffering severe trauma about 3 weeks ago. (Shame on me, I still haven't gotten pics of the chippy on here!) He's probably going to overwinter while I give it some time to see if the teeth are going to grow in normally so he can be released.

And........some of the gang has been released! (sniff, sniff).

It was a first for us. No release pen! Sort of a "soft" hard release. The location is awesome, an island in the middle of a swamp full of privacy. It requires a boat to get out there! So a first visit over there included bringing den boxes to put in the trees and setting up feeding buckets for them . The next trip was the big move. This past Wednesday, myself, Laurie, Lisa and a friend Bella spent the day bringing the releases over there.

The mode of transportation.....a canoe and a row boat. Laurie and Bella headed out with the first load of crates. Midway across there was an escape! Soldier and Spit managed to pull the door off their crate and there was just no fixing it. Luckily they were actually quite calm about it. Both calmly spent the rest of the trip sitting in a lap, enjoying the ride and apparently understanding jumping off the boat would not be a good idea. Whew! Once the boat landed they were the first to hit the ground running as they explored their new home.

Laurie heads back after dropping off Bella and the first load while Lisa heads out with another group.

Lisa heads in for a second load.

Laurie heads in to pick up me and the last of the babies. I had stayed behind to keep an eye on the gang while the rest were being shuttled across.

The second wave and I patiently await our turn in the boats.

Most of the gang were pretty calm.....

....hanging out trying to get my attention....

.....or just plain old chilling.

A couple were not so thrilled about the whole ordeal! LOL

But once we all made it to the island, everyone was thrilled to be out and exploring! Hopefully those pictures will be part 2. Due to the logistics of ferrying everything over there, and the fear of dropping things in the water, the camera did not take the trip with us. So I got these pics with my cell phone and Lisa got some much better ones with hers! I just have to wait to get those pics from her phone to my computer to post them.

Once all the lugging and lifting and transporting was over, we spent a fun afternoon on the island with the gang. It was a riot watching them explore. At one point Laurie, Lisa and Bella headed out to get some chow for us while I opted to stay behind and enjoy my last day with the gang. Most were running around like crazy, but Sis maybe knew things were changing? She opted to stick close and enjoy one last cuddle with mom.

Finally it was time to depart, and the worst part was rowing away as a few of the gang came to the waters edge to watch....looking like they were almost going to try to swim after us. And OK, I'll admit, that's about when I started balling my eyes out!

And so..... Soldier, Trooper, Doc, Sis, Sammy, Rocco, Brim, Spit and the 4 boat babies (along with 8 of Laurie's babies) have begun their new lives as free raccoons.

If the weather clears up, Laurie and I are hoping to head over there this afternoon to check on them so I'll update you on them soon I hope!