After the storm...

OK...being from New England and all, anything under a foot is more like a dusting than a storm to me! So, after our last "dusting" of about 3 inches.....the clouds cleared out and it was a beautiful sunny day. Throw in a little wind and all that light, fluffy snow blew around in the sunbeams making for some lovely scenery outside my kitchen window!

Kind of like those "Jesus Clouds", you know, when the rays of sun come out through the clouds like in the pictures from the bible...??

I have my own "Jesus clouds" here with a little help from Mother Nature!

What a week!

Well it's been a long, horrible week! We had a pretty destructive nor'easter snowstorm last Saturday. My power (thus my heat etc.) was out from Saturday night until Tuesday afternoon, at which time I ended up in bed sick as a dog. After a trip to the ER Friday morning, (thanks sooooo much to my wonderful brother who wasted his morning taking me there!), I finally only feel like shit as opposed to wishing someone would put me out of my misery! Thanks to Mom and Dad for special deliveries of chicken soup and medicine and I can't thank JoAnn enough for coming over to take care of the hoard (and me!)when I was definitely in no shape to.....it was no small undertaking for sure!!

Being sick this weekend meant I had to miss our annual trip to the New York wildlife conference! I am so bummed I missed a fun weekend with the gang! I hope you had some extra fun for me while you were there.

Before all hell broke loose last weekend, Laurie and I took a trip over to the island Saturday morning to check on the gang. To our surprise there were a few there! Trooper, Doc and Sis were very happy to have a visit from mom! I think Doc and Sis have decided to make this their hangout, seems like we always run into them and an occasional sleepover with some of the others.

One of the boat babies and Sammy were a little less thrilled to see us, but it was good to see them! They all look great.

And finally, last night I got out of bed long enough to settle this poor coonie in. It's leg was stuck in the crook of the tree in Worcester and it was hanging there all day, poor thing! ARL to the rescue again! Nice job getting him out Brian! Once we get that leg checked out we'll see whats in store for this one.

Crazy weather & crazy coons!

After blizzard upon blizzard, suddenly we have a stretch of a couple weeks with no precipitation! Yaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Then the freezing temps give way to a few warm days. I mean, it was down right balmy! In the 60's even! It was beautiful.

I should have known there would be a price to pay.

Enter Friday night.....a MAJOR thunderstorm blew through here with high, gusty winds and torrential rain. By the next morning it looked like the pine trees had puked all over my yard, it was freezing again, and the gusty winds were sticking around.

Saturday was not a comfortable day! Luckily none of the pens were damaged. All the falling branches, trees and debris fell away from them, but the winds were still pretty bad.

First up LB and the boys. They were hesitant to come out to begin with because of the cold, (in fact LB didn't even bother!) but Mom was here.....and she's bringing food! So a big stretch, and lets check it out! Then ......screw this! The freezing wind sent Gibby and Ringo right back into the warm den box.

Andy bravely descended to eat some dinner, but it didn't last long! Notice how he's holding his back legs? He was trying to keep them warm by pulling them up against his body, and when that didn't work too well, off he went into the warm cozy den box. Enough was enough!
On to the rest of the gang. At first it was business as usual....everyone saw Mom, which equals food, so out they charged. Then a big gust of wind blew something down and there was a loud crash! A tremendous stampede ensued & they all ran back inside to the indoor den box. Well almost everyone! One of the babies thought it best to hide here! (I laughed so hard I don't even remember which one it was!)
Frozen still, not twitching a muscle! Remember, if they can't see you, then you can't see them.....same goes for whatever scares them!

When the rest of the gang heard me laughing my ass off, they figured it was safe to come out again, and unlike the boys, the freezing wind was not going to keep them from food! So veggies and omnivore diet was enjoyed by all....as well as some new fun! Some of the pine tree branches collected off the ground!
Pip, May and Amy

Kinky, Moose and Scrappy

Merry and one of the babies.

The babies have grown quite a bit! This is actually Pip (left) and Amy. Can you believe it! Amy already looks bigger than our little Pip! Moose is bigger still and little May is about the same size. Pip is so tiny, and is probably going to remain a pretty small raccoon. After seeing what this winter was like, I'm glad she spent the winter here.....probably would not have fared well out there. At least she'll have this coming season to mature and hopefully pack on enough size to get her through her future winters in the wild if they should end up being this bad again.

I'm not coming down there....Tash wants his dinner served up on the observation deck!

May loves her tummy tickles!

Amy knows where the treats are kept.....right in this pocket! It's a big pocket and I usually end up having to drag them out of there by their tail after they dive head first into it! It's pretty amusing to be walking around with nothing but a big furry butt and tail hanging out of your pocket! :)

And here we have Mr. Innocent himself....NOT! Vin is driving everyone crazy! Through no fault of his own of course....he's just being a raccoon. He's an older baby, more mature and feeling his oats so to speak.....he's acting like he's supposed to be, but that doesn't mean the gang and I have to like it!

After the first attempt at separating him (with Scrappy to keep him company) failed when he ripped apart the removable window, Dad came by and measured for a new one....hopefully a stronger one.

In the meantime, when I saw Vin and Scrappy hanging out in the section I wanted to separate them into, I couldn't let an easy opportunity pass. There is a built in plexi glass window that can be opened and closed to seal off that section as well. I had not wanted to use that because I still wanted them to be able to interact with the crew through a wire window, but the annoyance level among the girls has reached a peak. To avoid future injuries and future babies (in case anyone ends up going into heat!) I played my trump card.....and I'm going to hope he doesn't manage to dig his way in there again!

Winter Raccoons!

It's the day after our first real big snow fall. About a foot on the gorund and more to come.

The little kids have that rolly, polly look now! The look like chubby little puff balls as they eagerly head out to greet me! Then it happened.....Charger's paws hit snow and the line came to a screeching halt!! It was comical watching every ones face go up the but of the coon in front of them!!

Outlaw finally takes point and starts down the branch. His paws hit the snow..... what the........


Ohhhhhhhhh mommy it's COLD!! What is it!!! GET IT OOOOOOOOOOOOFF!!!!

The smarter coons stayed up on the nice, dry shelf! Roxy on the left says "No way I'm goin' down there! Button in the middle started the attempt......

....then thought better of it!

Finally one brave soul out of them all! Charger lived up to his name, and charged right down into it!

He thoroughly enjoyed checking out the cold, white, fluffy stuff...

.......pouncing on it, feeling it and tasting it!

Briefly that is!!! It didn't take long before he realized...."Hey...my feet are FREEZING!!"

MOM!!! Get me outta this stuff!! Pick me up NOW!!!!!!!

Button didn't avoid it all together though....while checking out a different part of the cage, one misplaced step and a pile of snow landed on her! Ha ha!! She was NOT a happy camper! But damn cute none the less!

Out back with the big boys and all is quiet. No one is going to be venturing out for a while I think. The only reason I got a glimpse of Quinny & Rollo is because they drew the short straw and were the one's stuck near the entrance!

One look outside was all they needed......I'll see them in the spring...especially since we have another 5-8 inches of snow heading in right on top of this storm!

Surviving the ice storm!

Some very wild weather around here last night! Lots of freezing ice and wind did a number on a lot of trees in the area.....including my woods!

Luckily on my way out to check on the gang I was greeted by the little piglets almost immediately! A good sign all was well in the main pen!

Velcro coon!

All was well inside also. Roxy was chillin' on the den box.

One of the gang was particularly happy to see me, giving me a surprise, got ya from behind when you weren't looking, head hug!! Turns out it wasn't me he was excited to see, it was the new shiny toy on my head! (compliments of Laurie for Christmas!!! )

He's not very thrilled he had to get down without his prize!!

And the EVER SO CUTE Button beggin' mom for hugs! Who could resist this face!!

Well?? Ya gonna feed us now or what!!??

Although the sparkly iced over trees looked pretty, it was not a good thing. Both coon pens managed to escape unscathed.......

But the squirrel shed did not fare as well!! Two of the many branches that fell on it managed to literally impale it!! And to make matters worse...it is occupied by Miracle & Mojo, 2 greys overwintering this year!

Luckily they were not hit and the branches stuck in there in such a way that they kept the holes plugged enough to keep the fur butts from escaping! Miracle is living up to her name...because it was nothing short of a miracle that something worse didn't happen!

Dad to the rescue again!!! He patched the hole from the inside then got some shingles on the outside to hold it over until spring.

This is how weird the weather was. It was bright and sunny and not raining at all, but there was sooooo much ice in the trees that it was like a torrential downpour in the woods as it warmed up and stared melting off the trees....for a couple hours no less!!!

Let's hope the crazy weather is over with!

And Belle too!

I forgot to mention! Went out around 4pm today to check the coon cam etc. Belle was out in the tree near her den box lounging high up in the branches watching me do my thing. Until the downpour and thunder and lightning drove her inside, that is! The downpour that suddenly had to start just when I had to go outside to take care of the coonies.....and stopped when I was finished and back in the house of course!

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!