May, Moose & Amy are growing like weeds!

The 3 youngest kids are doing awesome! I'm hoping on my next day off to try to mix them in with the older gang. Hopefully little May won't hurt any of them! LOL
Amy in particular enjoys tummy tickles from Mom.

I love this one! Moose has the longer reach...he just kind of holds Amy back by her head while she keeps trying to get her paws on him!

They are all just so cute I could take pics all day watching them play.

Enough already! Damn paparazzi! Gimme that thing! hehe

Red, Lexi, Sarge, Dandy & fun in the rain.

I cannot be positive due to the quality of the pics, but I'm pretty sure this was Dandy on the right last night. The face is a little pug-like. She's obviously doing well since her surgery and hanging with the old gang again! Thank goodness!

All the rain we got in the early morning hours didn't put a damper on things for the gang. They are totally unfazed by it as they lounge and eat! I wish they would all come out earlier though! Most of them show up in the wee hours of the morning from like 2am on. It doesn't make it easy for me to run into them at all!



Ran into Red last night also. She's up to her old crazy ways! She was running around like a maniac last night wanting to play with me. The foot is obviously not slowing her down at all any more!

Lexi dropped in for a visit too! I haven't seen her in a while....she looks great! She's a little timid and would run to me, then dart off when she heard all the racket Red was making jumping around. I got a quick hello, she got a quick scratch under the chin and off she went to get away from the ruckus.



Shortly after Lexi left Sarge showed up. It looks like at some point he had gotten a nasty wound on his right ankle and heel. Looks like someone may have gotten the better of him in a scuffle. The leg was still a little swollen, but the wounds were already healing and granulating in. It looked good and is healing very well, plus he is using the leg with no problem. His appetite and condition are great so I let him be. I think he probably had a good sized abscess at one point that went through it's usual progression and all is now on the mend. I am always amazed at their tolerance to pain and their natural abilities to heal really well without our interference when need be.

Baby Bella is up to 175 grams and doing great. I am expecting her eyes to start to open within the coming week and then she'll start to really grow fast!

Red, Belle & some silly pics.

Red is doing great...enjoying her star treatment at the Ritz!! Breakfast in bed and all! The swelling is going down, her foot is getting better and I'll probably send her out soon. Since she's not anxious to leave and I'm in no hurry to boot her I'll just give it some time for the swelling to go down more and let it heal a little longer so there is less chance of her re-injuring it too quickly.



Belle is taking good care of her babies. She pops out during the day to eat so she can stay with them at night when all the other coonies are out and about. I got a brief glimpse of her when she popped her head out today to check me out when I was putting the coon cam back at the feeding station. She was pretty quick though and all I got was part of her head before she ducked right back inside to her babies.

The rest of the gang was just enjoying the nice weather (FINALLY!!). Just hanging out making silly faces!

Caught in the act!

Bella is growing like a weed still. She's up to 140 grams and doing great! Red is going to be heading back out soon too. The swelling is down in her foot and she's using it now. One more check with the vet and then I think she'll be free to go.

When I got the coon cam today to download the pics I couldn't figure out why there was dirt all over the camera and tripod. Someone had to be fiddling with it! I didn't put it on a tree because I knew the coonies would be ALL over it so I use a tripod that I figured would be to difficult to climb. Sure enough I discovered the culprit!! Curiosity finally got the better of someone who found a way to climb the tripod while another looked on in amusement!



It's good to know the tripod and camera can withstand a raccoon climbing all over it! Luckily I had anchored it with big, heavy bricks when I put it out there! Crazy coon! I hope it doesn't become a habit! haha

Hi from the kids!

Well the kids came out to visit today and Whitey decided to start of by pointing out what a nice penis he has! haha

Screech was not in a picture mood! Get that camera outta my face you damn paparazzi!

On the other hand, go ahead and take my picture....here, get my good side!

Even Popeye and Foxy poked their heads out to say hi....barely!

Daisy as usual wanted all the attention.

Whitey finally finished playing with himself long enough for a respectable picture.

Buddy gives us a handsome close up.

Pool Party

Today was a balmy 51 degrees. The ice in the coonie pool finally melted enough for me to remove the big chunk of ice! So I emptied and cleaned the pool, and gave the kids a little springtime pool party. They were THRILLED!! First a few moments to calmly test the waters......


Then watch out! The fun began! Splashing around like maniacs, wrestling and jumping and just plain ole' goin' crazy!! I think this face says it all. Look at that mischievous grin! You just know he's getting ready to start something!

Getting pummeled in the pool was fun, but hiding in here is fun too! No one will find me!

She doesn't need anyone else in the pool with her to have fun! She makes her own fun!

Oh YUCK! This doesn't taste as good as it looked!

It was so much fun watching them enjoy their little treat today. It's been a long winter without any water to swim and play in. Hopefully that's all behind us and spring is here to stay at last! Pretty soon the gang will have a big pond to play in, not just a little coonie pool, once they are released.

Seeing Red!

Well I ran into Red when I went out back to feed the overwinters. There is a big storage container out there with all their treats etc. in it and while I was in the pen Red must have heard me and came over to check things out. She scared the crap out of me when I heard something rummaging in the container. Luckily it was just her helping me out! She is still in the very clingy mood she has developed within the past couple months. (she wasn't like this initially after her release).

This is unusual for them once they are free....they usually do not want to be handled once they are released....but will tolerate my presence if I run into them. Yet once again she just jumped into my arms and wanted to be held. I was getting some serious coonie hugs this night, much to my surprise. I think she is pregnant and her maternal hormones are at work here and it will ware off soon as she prepares to have her kits. Right now she's just happy to see mom and say Hi when she gets the chance.

I also feel better knowing this is specific to me and she's not like this towards other humans. The last time I ran into her and she was like this, Laurie came by to feed the overwinters. When she came towards me and Red, Red immediately took off and even my presence didn't prevent it. I teach them to fear other humans before releasing them, and I feel better witnessing that behavior in action so I know it was reinforced enough to make her dissappear even if I am around.

Dandy is doing great. She is healing well, eating fine and keeping the wound clean. She is taking her antibiotics and worming meds without a problem and being an excellent patient. I know she is restless and just wants out so she can return to her home in the wild. I feel bad keeping her penned up but it is for her greater good and it will be great to see her go free again when I am sure she is healed completely and ready to go.

I'm sure Siren misses her too since the two of them were always hanging out together. It will be nice when and if they can reunite depending on their "maternal situations" this spring.

Red wants to play!

I don't know if it was the warm weather or maybe Red is going into heat, or maybe she just missed mom....but she was VERY happy to see me last night! She came running down the path to the feeding station, chattering away when she heard me there. She got up on the platform and when I walked over to her she literally ran over and jumped into my arms! She wanted to play and be cuddled back like when she was a kit. Pretty unusual for the releases. They do remember me and usually tolerate me being around and giving them treats to check them out, but never a display like this. They never want to be held once they've been released back into the wild.

Belle was out there also. At least I'm pretty sure it was Belle. She came over to check me out briefly then went right to the feeding bucket so I didn't have a good enough look to be positive. Belle was on of the quads from my first release and they all looked alike. I know it definitely wasn't Ringer, and Brownie tends to be a bitch to most other coonies out there and she tolerated Red. Based on her attitude, It was most likely Belle. She just hung out and ate while Red was there eating in front.

So I finally had to sneak away from the area. I was afraid Red was going to follow me back up to the house because of the way she was acting. I waited for her to take a trip down to the waters edge and snuck back up the path wondering what had come over her!

I saw no sign of Paleface in the den box. She didn't poke her head out and I wasn't about to disturb her if she was in there by poking my head in there!

Night Watch

Last night a few of the kids were getting a last minute meal in before the snow started. Dandy and Siren were hanging around in a tree near the overwinters in the release pen.

Red was all playful and happy! She jumped down from the platform she was on, onto my shoulder and proceeded to bounce around on my head and play tug 'o war with my pony tail!

Then I noticed someone poking their head out of one of the den boxes. I checked it out and was happy to see Paleface...she was my first baby from the first group I rehabbed, and she looks great. When I went back down there today she was still in there! Could my girl be getting ready for kids this year??? Not sure if she was just avoiding the storm or using it for a visit, but I'll keep an eye on the situation and of course keep you posted!

Here she was this afternoon....poked her head out to say Hi and have a treat. This is the den box Belle used last year to have her kits in. Pale didn't have any babies last year so maybe this year she is ready!


Meanwhile the overwinters are hanging out and having fun. Turns out Daisy is going into heat and the boys are all over her. The other female, Foxy, is luckily not in heat yet!! Here she sits calmly looking on trying to figure out what all the fuss is over Daisy! What a cutie!