Good news for the beaver!!

This will be short but sweet because I have to take advantage of the nice weather to clean outdoor den boxes etc......

Just got a text from Laurie.....the beaver is doing great and going to have dental surgery! Don't have the particulars right now, but when I get them I'll pass them on. I'm psyched!

Laurie was the first of us to get new babies.....4 pinkie squirrels last night....ughhhh. No more sleep for Laurie for a while! It has begun, we are all on borrowed time now!

Thank You..from me and the raccoons!

A builder of boxes for squirrel or coon,

and housing for orphan's with plenty of room.

Moving downed trees after stormy winds blow,

fixing the damage from a long winter's snow.

Shopping at BJ's for veggies and grapes,

for me to distribute among orphans plates.

He's always around to lend his support,

with time and knowledge, even the financial sort.

Wild babies survive to go free in the fall,

with all his hard work to thank for it all.

Always unfailing through good times and rough,

for all that he's done I can not thank enough!

The biggest supporter that I've ever had,

he's one in a million, number one, and my Dad!

Thanks to Dad and everyone else who has help support our little wild orphans (from vets to friends to strangers -donating time, skills and much needed supplies and money!!)...without you all this endeavor would be impossible!!

Keeping an eye on an injured raccoon.

On the 24th I started noticing this injured raccoon. Unfortunately it's not coming around until about 3-4am so my chances of running into it are slim unless I make an effort to be up around then, go down, and hope by some miracle it will stay around when it hears me coming. (I'm guessing fat chance of that!)

After my initial panic, I am not terribly worried at this point though. As you can see in this clip, it's obviously using the paw a little, and they do have to climb up that limb to get onto the feeding platform....so it is getting around fairly well with it. Appetite is good...has been in every night to eat like a pig and seems ok otherwise. So I am going to monitor the situation for now. I have had others who have hurt a paw or leg and hopped around on 3 like that, but when I tried to grab them, had no problem using it to run away or climb a tree when necessary. (Popeye was a great example of that right after his release.)

If the condition appears to deteriorate, I will take more aggressive measures to try to help.

This morning aoround 8:30am, me and this little one scared the crap out of each other! I was just going to collect the camera when all of a sudden I see this head pop up at the top of the log right across from me! We both stopped short, I yipped, it huffed a little, (we both peed our pants a little I think!) then I collected myself enough to reassure it that I meant no harm! It's not one of my kids, but possibly a grand kid used to hearing my voice out there at night while I visited it's mom, because after I started talking to him, he proceeded up onto the top platform to eat. Wary but tolerant of me as long as I left him alone! I finished checking the feeder and left it to eat in peace. It's a little one, but in good shape and no signs of illness at all. This isn't the first time I've caught it on video during the early morning daylight hours.

Not a good prognosis for the beaver.

The word is in from Tuft's....our beaver friend is missing both bottom teeth and one top tooth, due to an old injury. The mouth is also very infected. As you may or may not know, without a properly working mouth and teeth, the beaver would be sentenced to a long, suffering death in the wild. They are going to start antibiotics, but their guts apparently don't handle them too well and he isn't eating to begin with.

So a lot is up in the air for our friend...who turns out to be probably between 1 & 2 years old...but they are going to keep trying, so there is some hope however small it may be. So everyone keep your fingers crossed and send some good thoughts his way!!

The midnight run.

Laurie got a call last night about a beaver. A woman came across a crowd of people standing around the poor thing on the side of the road. Lucky for our little friend here she had a passion for animals and every intention of making sure this one got the right help. She covered it with a blanket, scooped it up and brought it in to Laurie. When Laurie got out of work around 10pm she swung by and got me and we drove the beaver out to Tuft's in Grafton.

I think we made it home by midnight.....a late night but well worth it!! At least I could sleep in in the morning. Laurie has a full, long day at work......no worries, plenty of IV's there to start a coffee drip if needed! LOL

The Dr. and on-call student did a preliminary exam and all seems well so far. Minor abrasion to tail, nothing appeared broken, and not neurologic. They were going to have to get a better look in the mouth though, and that would have to wait for today when he/she could be sedated. Here's hoping for the best and we'll keep ya posted!


Had a huge gang of squirrels at the feeders yesterday....the cold doesn't keep them down when they're hungry! Of course they are probably all eating for 5 or so now!

And yes.....sometimes the grays and the reds can coexist in peace....at least for a while. Little Red here never once chased, yelled at or harassed any of the grays this time! Shocking!

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!

Irish raccoons?

These were taken on St. Patty's day, so maybe this is Rollo's version of a jig???

Toto lounges in the 65 degree weather!!

Let's see how good your teeth look Quinny!

Mo loving his visits with mom......

How beautiful is he!!! He's got distinctive eyebrows...

Spring is definitely near....their coats are getting all crappy again....the moulting has begun with bare spots and fur clumps coming out.

Hissy is back!

I've got lots of geese on the pond...but there is only one that actually shows up begging (and even comes when I call out to him!) when he sees me every year! My old pal Hissy (and his lovely wife). Since all the geese have been returning I have been keeping an eye out for him...but no sign. Then this morning I went to check the feeders...no sooner do I finish that when I hear a familiar hissing coming from behind me. So I turn around and surprise! There he is begging as usual! LOL. They must have seen me come down and swam over to greet me.

So I pushed my way through the brush with a treat for my friend and we had a nice visit on a beautiful, sunny, 65 degree morning! It's good to see him back....and it means spring is gonna be here soon!!

The pond is also filling with the rest of the regulars. 2 pair of swans are back, along with lots of wood and mallard ducks.

And my other usual visitor to my front lawn is back too! My little muskrat friend was out for a while.

The chippy's are out and the beavers too and all the birds are back....it's wonderful to have so much life back home!

Playtime, Raccoon style.

Ok now! The big boys have been separated from the girls and kids while breeding season has been in full swing. Had a nice warm day out there so I moved the boys into the smaller side and let the kids go nuts! As you can see, it was a hit!!

What I like to call "the backward shuffle". They puff themselves up, the ears go back, they bow down a little on their front legs, and shuffle backwards! Ooooooo, so threatening!! LOL Button looks sooooo formidable here! (NOT!) What a cutie.

Ah....now what do I do!?

Kids will be kids! Button, Charger and Outlaw the wrestle maniacs.

Charger doing what he does best-and what he is so aptly named for- Charging mom and the camera!

With any luck, winter is just about over and the squirrels will be able to go in the near future!

Our returning raccoon kids...Seeker & Winnie!!

Well I just got back from a wonderful dinner out with Laurie and Mary....I needed to get out!

When we got back to Mary's we caught sight of a couple of ring tails scooting away in the dark! We went out calling and it wasn't long before Winnie came running in to visit and play. A little more patience and her cohort was discovered......Seeker! He was much more shy, but he still let his mom come over and give him a Hi, a good chin scratching and of course some marshmallows!

I was so happy to see Winnie and Seeker...they both looked GREAT and it was a much better end to my week!! If I didn't have to get up bright and early to work in the morning, I could have spent hours out there hoping to see more!

It just gets worse!

This will be short but sweet...I'm just not in a writing mood! I am still without heat, but it is at least being worked on......might get the part needed by Tuesday! No worries though....it's a balmy 40 degrees in here!

Jingles the bat died yesterday for unknown reasons. Fine one day, gone the next.....

One large, healthy raccoon hit by car dead on road in my area....could be one of mine but cannot tell.....I'll assume the worst the way this week has been!

Thanks to Laurie though, the 3inches of dog hair that has collected since my vacuum broke is vacuumed and my spirits are lifted with some yummy Trader Joe's red pepper spread!! Thanks SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!

De-stressing, raccoon style & a visit with Lexi!

Ok...2 days of a broken furnace and no heat (and many calls to many repairmen before getting one to even call back), an oil change that turned into a $430 fix, a broken vacuum cleaner with a bernese mountain dog living here (among many other domestic residents!), and what started as a fairly simple and amicable divorce (as simple and amicable as divorce can be I guess!) now turning ugly and stressful. My week has been VERY bad!!

There is always one thing that helps a lot! Playin' with tha boyze!! I think they all knew mom needed a pick me up....even Mo, who usually gives a quick hi from inside the den box without leaving it, ventured out! Not only that, he was all about giving me some love! Crawled right into my arms for some lovin' and playing.

The whole gang came out to play and were just a little more attentive to me than usual....

And like Mo, Nosey was also particularly attuned to my mood giving me some extra lovin' that he knew I needed!

Like I said, nothing better than coonie cuddles to make it all better! If you don't believe animals can pick up on how you feel and react to it, you are crazy...these guys are living proof!

Later, seeing as it appears to be warmer outside than in my house at the moment...I figured I would venture out and see who might be about. 1 raccoon remained at the feeding platform when I approached....and I was very happy to be greeted by Lexi! She waited for me to come over, checked me out, took a nut from me then disappeared into the brush towards the water. It was short but sweet and I was thrilled that she at least waited to say Hi before scooting off again. She is one of my first releases.....one of Ringer's and Belle's step siblings from 2006 so It's great to see her doing so well still!

Now I'm gonna go cuddle with the dogs and cats and keep warm...luckily the temps have been in the 50's, but they are going to drop drastically again. The repairman should be here first thing in the morning! He's the only one that called me back and was shocked I had been 2 days without heat or anyone even calling me back to help! I wish I had called him first 2 days ago!

A little more snow this past weekend...not much, just a couple inches. It's pretty mild temperature-wise also, so it's wet, heavy snow and melting quickly. It's not slowing down the gang though! They were all over the place...throughout the snow fall even.

The tree raccoon has been showing up off and on. Always in the same tree, in the same spot. I've come to the conclusion that it is the balcony of it's home tree, or the summer vacation spot that it's been using in the milder weather! I can't get a clear shot of the front of it when I walk around the other side of the tree, but with the binoculars it seems fine.

I checked it out the other day as it was curled with it's nose under it's tail, one eye wide open, watching and intentionally ignoring the crazy lady down below yelling to it, disturbing the afternoon nap!! LOL! It literally had a look on it's face like..."Not again!! What the hell now.......!!"

Video at the coon den and feeding stations are showing no raccoons with signs of illness so far, thank god!

Otherwise...4 squirrels, 1 bat and all the coonie overwinters are status -quo.

Raccoons and fun in the snow.

Some raccoons like the snow......and some will go to extreme measures to avoid it! For example..... taking a stroll outside without walking in the snow!

.....and digging right in.......

...to get to all the fun places in the cage...

......still strolling while avoiding the snow.....

......and loving every minute of it!!

Outlaw had a snow tossing fest! (I got this pic. just before the camera was enveloped in a pile of snow!) I love little Button hanging down there egging him on!

Then there are those who don't mind it one way or the other.....until one of the pesky little kids up above pushes a pile of snow down on top of you!! Then it's game on!!!

Whaaaat??? It wasn't me! I swear! Charger looks guilty, but he wasn't.

Button may be little....but she's got BIG attitude! While the guilty snow-pusher Outlaw makes his escape, Button gets confronted....and wins.... fending off this big guy who's got at least 15lbs on her!

He makes his move......

....then thinks better of it.....

The fact that Button also had the strategic advantage from inside the hanging papasan chair frame didn't hurt either!

What a tease!

From 60+ degrees to snow again!! What the hell! The prediction is 13-15 inches and I'm not happy. I was so excited to finally see grass in my yard again, and the swans, geese and beavers all out enjoying the pond! Now THIS again!!

Went out to check on our tree coon #2 and it's gone again, thank god! I was going to be worried with all this snow coming if it was still up there. (I'm still worried, but not as desperately as if it was still exposed up there!)

Instead I got a glimpse of this elusive little one! I had seen very quick glimpses of some type of hawk whisking by on a couple of occasions. I knew it wasn't a red tail....but never got a good enough look to identify it. I know the picture isn't great....it was about 10ft above me when I went to check the raccoon and of course I didn't have my camera. By the time I got it and went back out there, it was much higher up in the trees (and snowing like crazy!)

I think it's either a cooper's or a sharp-shinned hawk. Beautiful bird up close and in person! I was happy enough to have a few moments to observe it up close and personal finally!

Once again, LOTS of activity at the feeding station and no signs of illness in anyone. One particular couple was getting a little x-rated for the camera! Damn kids should know better....that could end up all over the Internet! LOL!