Raccoon Invasion!

Ok, I'm not sure where this is or what the story behind it is, but how amazing is this! There are about 34 coonies in this picture and god only knows how many that aren't even showing in the pic! And even more incredible.....they all seem to be getting along! (at least for the moment! haha). There must be food involved.....and so much of it that they don't have to fight over it.

I think I would start having chest pain if I went out back to my feeding station and saw that! I'd be thinking about how many would be having babies and how many I would end up with if something went wrong!

More snow, less raccoons!

More awful weather Wednesday night. Got about another inch of snow which isn't so bad, but it was very windy and bitter cold. Even the overwinters didn't bother leaving their den box to eat.

Only squirrel, bird and coyote prints out around the feeding stations. One coyote was so bold as to poop in my driveway, the little brat! Sounds like we're supposed to get another 6 inches Friday night too, so no end in sight for clearing snow. I can't wait for spring and WARM weather! Snow may be pretty, but it's not fun trudging around in it!

Raccoons tucked in

There were no raccoons out last night, and rightfully so! Late afternoon the snow started up again, and by evening it was just torrential rain! What a messy, wet, yucky day. We even had some thunder and lightning. The coons were smart enough to stay snuggled in their dens.

Crazy weather all around! Today there is just a lot of deep, slushy puddles everywhere. Uggghh!

Evening visit

Popped out back for a brief visit last night. Dandy and Red came over to say hi. No one else came in for a visit, but there was a lot of screeching, barking and chattering out there. Being breeding season and all, most of them were a little too preoccupied with their own "business" to be bothered with me!! haha


I checked the girls over and they look great! Left some treats out there but they prefer the dog food and what they are finding in the wild. The treats help keep them still long enough for me to give them a quick once-over with a flashlight and see if anything looks wrong, but that's about it! That's great for the blue jay that spent the morning sneaking away with all the treats that were left behind!


That's Red getting checked out below. She's a little thinner than when she was released, but that's to be expected this time of year. That blue jay cleared the platform of treats! By the time I brought the camera in to download the pics the platform was empty.... I hope he appreciates it! That is why I don't usually leave treats out there. They never end up with the intended recipient.

Introducing the overwinters.....

Time to meet the gang that is spending the winter. It's a crazy cast of characters. We have Popeye, Foxy, Daisy, Screech, Buddy and Whitey.

Popeye and Foxy were raised by our friends at Urban Wildlife in Springfield. We brought them here to hang out with Daisy, Screech, Buddy and Whitey who are the same age. My friend and fellow rehaber Laurie did a great job with those four and when they were all ready, we introduced all 6 of them into the release pen. As expected, they all got along great and are now awaiting a spring release. (While Laurie and I trudge down there every day to water, clean and feed them!)

The pen is down near the feeding station so they are getting acquainted with the area as well as the comings and goings of the released gang, so hopefully they will integrate well once they get out there.

I stand corrected!

It takes more than a bunch of snow to keep these guys in! Here they are the night after the storm. That is Sarge with his butt to us and Smokey on the right. I'm not sure about on the left...I didn't get a tail shot, but my guess would be Dandy or Red...one of them is usually with Smokey. I can't tell all of them by their tails, but Sarge and Smokey have unique enough tails for me to identify in the less than professional pics from this camera.

I haven't seen Sarge in a while, so this is a great sighting!!

Digging out!

Just when all the snow from the last storm had finally disappeared....we get another 9 inches! I just spent the morning digging out the entrances to the pens and the feeding stations! What a pain in the butt. Luckily the woods are thick enough that it did not pile up as bad as in the more open areas, so digging out the actual pens wasn't too bad.

Don't think I'll be running into anyone out in the woods for a little while! Not until the snow melts down a little or it gets hard enough for the coonies to walk on top of.

Feisty sighting!

I'm happy to report I popped out into the woods about an hour ago and ran into Fiesty. I have not seen him since about Thanksgiving time so it was good to catch up with him. He's in great condition and has adjusted very well to his wild life!

Free at last!

And so Smokey, Feisty, Dandy, Silly, Fuzzy, Red, Goofball, Sarge and Siren began to THOROUGHLY enjoy their new found freedom! They stayed close to the area for for a while, and eventually worked their way into the woods finding new homes and friends. They began to mingle extremely well with the first group released the previous fall and all their kids too!

Finally the raccoon chronicles have been brought up to the present day. Last night was the lunar eclipse and while I was out in the woods I was lucky enough to have a visit with Ringer, Red and Smokey. Ringer and Red were in a particularly playful mood with me and Smokey just wanted some of the treats in my pocket! Ringer's my favorite gal from the first summer and she always wants to say hi when I'm out there.

There were a lot of others out there running around like crazy, but they were having way too much fun to come say hi to me. Between the full moon and breeding season, they had other things on their minds!!

New Kids on the Block

The whole time my first group were out galavanting in the woods, the new kids were trickling in. It started early in 2007 and lasted longer with a lot of late babies. This year we welcome 3 early babies rescued by the Animal Rescue League from a chimney nest when their mom was hit by a car, 1 boy, Fuzzy and 2 girls, Silly & Red.

Then we have 2 more boys, Smokey & Goofball and another girl Dandelion (Dandy for short). All singles....Goof and Dandy were wandering neighborhood streets all alone. Smokey was the only good thing to come of a tragic story. Men working on a roof dropped tools in the chimney. In the course of retreiving them they discovered a mom and babies in there. They harrased and chased off the mom, then proceeded to start to kill the babies. One worker managed to scoop up the last little guy and brought him to me.

The next boy, Feisty, was brought in by a local animal control officer. His mom got into a huge fight with another coon that tried to raid the den. In the confusion, the babies ended up scattered out of the nest. The aco kept an eye on the situation and Feisty was the only one still there in the tree after a couple of nights so she rescued him. Lets just say his name speaks for itself!!

Finally we have brother and sister Sarge and Siren. They were found by local police wandering in a busy street and rescued. (and would never sit still enough for baby pictures!)

Once again over the course of the summer they all grew big and strong and very charming, learning to fish, climb and forage in knot holes and other hidden places.

Until again, one beautiful September day, the gang was released to find their way into the wild.