Dancing babies!

All 13 young kids are doing great and getting along together....whew! They are just so cute I can't stand it! Michelle relaxes here, trying to beat the heat. It has been pretty hot and humid this past month! I don't know how they do it with all that fur....but it doesn't seem to phase them all that much! Drake is eating...AGAIN! He is the biggest piggy with a pot belly to boot!

Drake and Michelle

Quarry wastes no time getting into position to jump onto me when I walk into the pen. Getting onto the box gets her to about thigh height on me....a nice big, trunk like area to cling to and climb up! Ouch!

Pansy is kind enough to climb the branches, not my limbs.

2 of the beach boys....Tash and Chappy....are interested in the wrestling match going on in the hammock.

Of all the coonie kids that have come and gone, I have never had so many that liked to stand on 2 legs than this group! All 4 of the beach boys, Pip, Merry and Kinky all love to stand on 2 legs, getting onto the box to get my attention by standing up and waving with their front feet. It is soooo adorable and they look like they are dancing!

(And yes, that is Quarry getting ready to spring onto me on the left! That left a new hole in the sweatpants! )

Oooohh....oooohh...pick me, pick me!!!

Ta dah!!

Have I mentioned how freaking cute Pip is?? LOL

The little stinkers go free!

So my 5 little stinkers finally got their freedom Monday night! As you can see...it brought a smile to their faces! LOL First wake up the crew......

...then give them a final big meal so they don't have to worry about it their first night out there exploring!

Then off they go! I opened the door and they made their way out without hesitation....well except for one that was SOUND asleep! The rest were wasting no time heading out and exploring....I had to go wake up the slacker or he would have woken up later to find himself all alone and none of the others in sight! A little snort and a grunt, he finally realized what was going on and caught up with his siblings.

They pretty much stuck to the woods, occasionally investigating just beyond the brush in the open....but for the most part they stayed safely under cover of the dense woods and eventually ventured deeper.

One last look back...and maybe a passing thank you?....and off my little babies went! Sniff..sniff! Good luck little ones!

I still have Lisa's 5 skunks here, and they were thrilled to get moved into the bigger pen my gang vacated. It won't be long before they can head out too!

A very large beaver was unfortunately hit by a car and killed near my house. I ran across the ACO trying to drag it out of the road. So as not to make his death a total loss, we brought it to the back of my property away from everything and left it for the coyotes and anything else that could utilize it for a meal. I know that may seem gross to a lot of you, but again, it's death may as well help the living.....

....and it did! It didn't take long for these guys to find it! Turkey vultures! First time guests here. They are quite large and I was first alerted when this one landed in a tree in my front yard...sorry, only got the back view and it was blocked by branches.

So I snuck down to the area where we put the beaver. I couldn't get too close....they have a very good sense of smell and they knew I was coming before I could even see them and flew into the trees. They weren't going to budge till I left, so I managed to get this shot from far away and then I left them in peace to eat.
So a sad ending for a beaver family briefly makes life a little easier for many others.....

Scrappy and Dolci join us.

Another 2 stranded babies with no where to go have joined us. Found wandering down the middle of a road the finders attempted a couple nights to re-unite to no avail. I was unable to find anyone else to take them, so despite the overflow here already......say hello to Scrappy and Dolci! (So named by their rescuers)

Luckily they were already old enough to be eating on their own, as the finders had to hold on to them for a while before I could accommodate them. Brother and sister passed quarantine with flying colors and luckily are just the right size to fit in with Michelle, Pip and the rest of the gang. After a round of vaccines they finally got to move from my basement dungeon into the spacious outdoor pen with new friends, fresh air and trees to climb!

Everyone accepted the new kids very well but tiny little Pip still had to make sure they knew who was boss!

That's 13 now in the baby cage! They are going to outgrow it soon....very soon! The boys with attitude are ready to go as well as some of Laurie's. If we can get them out soon with an early release I may be able to juggle this gang over to the larger pen where there is a little more room. That will give Laurie's gang a little more room too...she's as overcrowded as I am! I need a contractor for a roommate so I can get him to build some more pens in exchange for room and board! LOL

The Raiding Reds!

The reds were released weeks ago but are in no hurry to leave! They are still raiding the shed for goodies and one little boy in particular comes running when I show up.I call him Little Monkey because he's always hanging around and when I go out there he runs over and climbs all over me!

He's very cute and does a pretty good job of getting along with a couple of my grays that are still fond of visiting me as well.

It's actually pretty interesting watching a red, a gray and a little chippy all getting along well enough to share a pile of sunflower seeds together!

The big kids.

The big boys are HUGE! All 5 boys with attitude are at least 10 lbs. and ready to go as soon as we set up a release site. The 5 NCIS kids will be waiting a little longer at just around 6 lbs. It is one big rambunctious crew though!

A little sibling rivalry......

Gerry is very good at relaxing.

Look what a big beautiful boy he is!

The younger one's still love a snuggle here and there.

Is there a treat in there or not!?

It's like a hammock and the dinner table!

Is it any wonder why I call it the laughing raccoon? You'll find this is a very common expression among happy coons!

The now destroyed papasan chair frame.....I've got to start working on a hammock made out of the fire hose we got!

I never get tired of watching them play....they are sooooo good at it and obviously enjoy themselves thoroughly!

Pipsqueak

I needed to get a weight on Pip so we took a little walk through the yard and she took some time to smell the flowers! She was a little more relaxed than Michelle had been on her first walk in the real world! LOL.

But eventually, like Michelle, she wanted Mom to save her!

At 11weeks old, Pip is a whopping 640 grams! Chances are she'll have to overwinter as most coonies her age are minimum 2-3 pounds by now! Do they make miracle grow for raccoons I wonder??

A name has never been more appropriate!