My squirrely friends.

A bunch of the released squirrels are still hanging out and mooching off of me! A couple will still come up and take some treats from me....most likely from my gang of 6 that I raised.

Awww...how cute it that! This one follows me around begging until I go get it some treats! LOL
Reminds me of JoAnn's Luna that was released here a couple years ago who literally used to follow me around everywhere I went in the woods for a while.

So sucker that I am, I get a big bucket of nuts and put it out there for them to snack on....and the whole gang appears. They hang out and play and eat and watch me walk back and forth while I go about my business taking care of the coonies outside.

Right now there are 5 new squirrels in the release pen. 4 are from JoAnn and 1 that had been rescued by the animal control officer. I call him Little Monster because he was an older baby and tried to attack me whenever I went near the cage! It was a race to see if I could throw his food and water in there and clean the litter box before he got to me to try to tear me apart! LOL He's much happier in the huge release pen with 4 friends now. I can at least go in there without fear of attack.
Laurie will be bringing some red squirrels soon to go into one of the other squirrel pens for release so almost up to a full house again!

Holy Squirrels Batman...... and more.

First of all a long overdue GREAT BIG THANK YOU! goes out to John for the awesome den boxes he made for the coonies! Four luxury suites....the babies won't want to move out! He brought them by on Easter, the last day of calm before the storm, and I've been so crazy since then I have done nothing but weed through phone calls and gather squirrels!

So I'm feeding the squirrels...(what squirrels you ask? I'll get to that.....) and I look out my window and see this guy prance by checking out the yard! Ran around the whole yard and finally just into the woods in the back yard. One of the girls from the Gobble Gang was none to thrilled either! She didn't totally panic as the fox's curiosity led it to check her out, she was just a little anxious. She is after all bigger than the fox and would definitely come out on the winning end of that battle! Managed to snap this just as the fox came out of the wood line into my backyard again.....saw the flash and off it went. Mom or dad out looking for breakfast for the kits I imagine...

Yes....lots of nocturnal animals are out during the daytime (especially this time of year!) and no....it does not mean they are sick! Many have little mouths to feed and it's safer leaving them during the day to go get food.

So....as I said the last week has been so crazy I can't even describe! I managed to finish getting the newly extended release pen ready but haven't had a second to get the gang over there! Phoenix is doing much better....most of the swelling is gone so she will be able to head over there with them if I ever get a second!

Back to the squirrels....a total explosion of orphans has left all of us loaded with babies to feed! First these 2 cuties had their tree cut down and no luck reuniting with mom.

Big yawn.....this is the life!

The ever adorable food coma after a feeding.

Then 6 more! These guys were very well taken care of for 2 weeks before coming to me...big, beefy little piggies! Just a little comfy...ya think! LOL

This VERY tiny mouse came in .....the nest was disturbed, mom moved them all but never came back and collected this little guy. It is so tiny I was cross-eyed trying to get a close enough look to see if it was eating! Poor little fella didn't make it.....I'm not surprised as mice don't even do well with mom half the time. The reason mice have a lot of babies is because a lot don't make it to adulthood....more babies insures some make it to keep the species going. (Doesn't make me feel any better about it, but it takes a little of the sting out of it!)

JoAnn and Mary are also loaded with squirrels...they probably each have around 6-8 as well and Lisa has about 14!! Luckily help is on the way for her! Laurie was on vacation for the past week during the squirrel explosion (lucky wench! LOL) but she just got back last night and no doubt Lisa was waiting to greet her with an armload for her to take over! Welcome back to baby hell Lau! LOL

Also ended up with a mom raccoon and her 3 kits in need of help. They are safely tucked away in Mary's release pen now thank god!.....I'll get to her story next....

Raccoons in the last release pen.

The other half of my crazy day releasing and relocating raccoons.....

Baloo, Scootch, RJ, Rosie, Flipper, Willie and Einstein....along with food, water, supplies and tools are packed into the truck and off we go to their release site!

(I should note, River did not go with the group....she had a seizure one day and I may keep her overwinter with the small babies to make sure they don't get worse then release her with them in the spring. )

We had to haul everything uphill for the first release site, we had level ground for the second one were Laurie's gang went, and for this one....you got it! Another hill. This is downhill though so it's a lot easier getting all the heavy stuff there and carry out all the empty buckets, carriers etc.!

Down the hill.....into a nice thick wooded area....thus the dark picture...

an adjustment in the camera....and the smallest of clearings and a bright, little, flat (sort of!) patch appears..

The cage is set up nestled in a beautiful area....there is a nice brook running through on the other side of the cage...(you can kind of see it just to the right of the den box in the background of the picture).

I decorated the cage the day Laurie and I and her dad...THANKS DAD!!....dragged it down there and set it up so it was ready to go when I put the gang in there! They wasted no time exploring and running around like maniacs. One thing about raccoons....a move is not terribly stressful, it's more like something new and exciting and fun! (as long as they are with their buddies/support group!!)

They waste no time scoffing up acorns that are EVERYWHERE!! It's a very good year for the mast crop around our way which is good for the releases!

The brook behind the cage that runs through the area. They are gonna LOVE IT!!

So after a couple weeks in there, they too will be ready to go.

A special thanks go out to the family of this property!!!! Flipper, Willie and Einstein are literally returning home as they were found in the driveway to this property. When they were brought to me they offered to let us set up a release site here...and what a perfect place it is. It's a little haul from home for me....about 45 minutes....but the trade off for any inconvenience is knowing it's perfect for the coonies!! It's not so bad though....I work halfway between home and the release site, so if I head out there before or after my shift it's nothing!

Meanwhile...back at the first release site.

Hey...is that mom coming up the hill??

It is, it is!!! Come here guys...it's mom!! Hey mom....you got any food!??

Cat playing shy...

Grizz swinging around like a monkey!

Grizz and his sister Goldie.

Kodiak really want to play with mom! Here he does "the backward shuffle" before charging at me again and becoming velcro coon on my leg! I shoulda worn thicker pants that day, that's for sure!!

Panda strikes a pose.

Grizz and Goldie having fun.

Panda stopping for a snack.

After fun time with mom, they finally settle in to eat so I can sneak out of there.

It was tough getting pics of Diesel, Razz, Dozer etc. as they spent most of the time clinging to my legs, on my back, or trying to climb up my body. It's tough taking pics while trying to fend off rambunctious raccoons and keep the camera away from them too!

Release site #2....done!

The second release site was a walk in the park compared to the first! We didn't have to climb a vine choked hill like this one for starters!! I held the camera level from where I was standing part way up to try to give you a perspective of the hill.....it's quite a climb and it's still worse in person!

So you can imagine how great it was walking across this fairly level stretch of woods! BIG thanks go out to Andrea and her family for letting us use the woods behind their home!! It's perfect and there is a nice brook running through further back. On Thursday Laurie, Lisa, Andrea and myself lugged the cage etc. out there and set it up.

Friday Laurie and I returned to decorate and give it that "homey" touch for the gang! Trees, branches, hammocks, litter boxes and den box all put in place and ready for new guests!

Yesterday, Laurie's gang went into this pen.....6 of 10 of them that is. Four are still too little to go this year so looks like we are both going to have 4 to overwinter....sigh......so much for the winter off!!

One more pen to go!

We have raccoons in the first release site!!

One down, two to go! We finally got the first cage set up and filled. Laurie, Lisa and I lugged the damn cage up a steep hill into the woods last week. Not fun! We finally finished putting it together and "decorating" it for the kids yesterday.

Today was moving day! We loaded up Razz, Diesel, Tank, Dozer, Cat, Mack, Goldie, Panda, Kodiak and Grizz into carriers and then proceeded to lug them and supplies up that steep hill!

Once in the pen the carrier doors were opened and the fun began!! The move certainly didn't stress them out and having a new place to explore was so very exciting!

A short rest on Auntie Laurie's shoulder.....

.....then back to running around like maniacs again.

So the gang is officially settled in and will have the next 2 weeks to get used to their new surroundings before the door is open and they are free to go.