And they're off.....

It was such a crazy weekend I don't even know where to begin! A mother with babies coming in has caused an emergency reshuffle of everyone!!! (I'll get to her story later.) Thank god the snow is gone from the woods and for the most part, melted off the fence panels that were stored out in the yard. Even greater thanks to Laurie and Lisa....and that they were both able to come over on Sunday and help me slap up a pen to make room!

We decided to move the trouble maker Vin and Scrappy into this bigger pen, move the new mom and her babies into the indoor section of the big pen and boot the rest of the gang into the large outdoor section separate from the mom. Tash, the last remaining older male in with the girls (other than Moose who doesn't count yet because he's so young) was also relocated into the pen with LB and the other 3 boys. Luckily they all remembered each other and are still friends so they accepted him right back!

My plan is to release Vin, Scrappy, LB, Andy, Ringo and Gibby here....right from their pens. I haven't released here in a while, and they're all boys so if they don't move on, at least they wouldn't bring any extra kits into the area. Tash will stay a little longer...he's finally using his foot, but it could use a little more time.

At least that WAS the plan! That awesome cage that gave us some breathing room lasted 2 nights! Today on my rounds I found the cage empty....Vin and Scrappy found a way out, the little buggers!! Not a big deal since that was the plan anyway, but ohhhhh that little shit! LOL (I must note here that I was not as careful about sewing up the seams so to speak, like usual due to time constraints etc....but I figured if they escape, no big deal, I was releasing them from there anyway!)
It didn't take long to find them. Scrappy found a comfy spot wayyyyyy up the pine tree right next to the pen.

And Vin?? Well as usual he was hanging out where he didn't belong!! On top of the girls pen, pissing them all off again! He found a nice cozy spot under the roof that covers the lower section of the outdoor cage. As I'm out there trying to figure out how the heck they got out, his head pops out and I get this look!

He then proceeded to go back to annoying his sisters again!

I can't say I was too thrilled to see the way he started eyeballing my home! Don't even think about it buddy!!!

Oh well, so back to harassing the girls and enjoying what was thankfully a pleasant afternoon....a little chilly, but not too bad....perfect release weather for coonies, as long as it holds!

Why do I have the feeling I haven't seen the end of this troublemaker!? LOL

A gathering of critters.

With some of the warmer weather we have been having, spring fever is in the air! After seeing the little stinker out I put a little something from our wildlife food donations out for him to give him a little break.

I'm guessing by this picture he's not the one that got to enjoy it! Although I have to admit....they only pick at it a little. They don't inhale it like a dog would, so plenty was left behind for the next crew..... Fox and Coon were very polite dinner partners and shared well....and also left some behind for those that might follow them! Sorry about the quality here...the batteries were on their last legs!

I never would have guessed it would have been this crew though! I have my regular hen that comes back every year, but she certainly doesn't bring a rowdy gang of boys! They polished off what was left and did some sparring as well it appears.

I only decided to check the cameras because I walked out to the shed one afternoon a couple of days ago and suddenly noticed one of the stumps out there moved! I immediately stood still and looked a little closer. Turned out to be 4 toms just hanging out together. I left and they eventually wandered off into the woods past where I have the coon cam set up. So I decided to download the pics and turns out it was a busy day for toms! Not something I usually see on there and a pleasant surprise to boot!

Lets hope this signals the end of one long, cold, awful winter!

A short term patient.

Got a call from a great kid who came across this unfortunate fella in the middle of a busy intersection in town. It was acting dazed and trying to run and falling over. He managed to scoop it up and get it to me.

(Yes they do come out during warmer periods over the winter, they are not true hibernators.)

Well by the time I got him and peeked in the box he was already making awkward attempts to jump out of the box. I set him up in a nice cozy cage to de-stress and rest for a while.

His exam showed him to be in great shape actually. No external injuries other than a swollen eye and all his limbs were working just fine. His body condition was great! He was most likely grazzed and stunned by a car during a sluggish trip above ground.

After a night of rest our little chippy was back to being alert and active and very quick! (and pooping and peeing fine as you can see!) No evidence of internal injures....good!

Fresh water and some yummy foods were eagerly consumed.
Then a nice hot pack for the closed eye and voila! Everything normal under there too!

I brought him back to the intersection where the kid found him to scope out a safe place to release him. I opted for the parking lot of a local ice cream shop that's got some yards and bushes around it. I opened the cage toward the direction I wanted him to go near some nice bushes, then he did an about face and proceeded to start to run the opposite way right across the open parking lot! Visions of him heading towards the road and getting squished right in front of me dancing in my head!
But no.....like it or not that ice cream store has it's resident chipmunk back! Because he knew exactly where to find that hole under the corner of the building.....he made a bee line right for it, no hesitation, no searching. He is home sweet home! Good luck little fella!

Insert warm fuzzy here! :)

Following in the Fox's footprints.

I love that my dogs are not prey driven or go nuts at the sign of other living things in the yard (with the exception of Grammy and Grampy and other favorite human visitors...nuts does not begin to describe it, LOL!). They do, however, serve as a great alert system when there is something of interest out there I might love to see.

Take, for example, the scenic dog couch. Strategically placed for comfortable observation of the great outdoors. (Thanks boys for the great pose to show the folks out there!)

Bernard was sitting up there yesterday afternoon, perusing his kingdom. As I watched him I noticed a very slight change in his demeanor....the ears went up a little and he was no longer just looking, he was intently watching something specific. He didn't make a noise or move really...but I knew there was something! So I trot over to take a look. (with Boo and Marly right behind me, because they could tell by MY reaction there just might be something good out there!)

Lo and behold we had a visitor! One of our local coyote was out scrounging around. Recognize the green fencing on the ground? Yup...following the same basic route as our little foxy friend a few days ago.

She poked around outside for a few minutes then ambled off down my long driveway. I didn't like that she was heading toward the more populated area during the day...you know how people are..."Oh my god it's rabid, it's out during the day..."etc, etc! (They are SO misunderstood and persecuted!) But a few minutes after she disappeared I walked down to check on things and I noticed her tracks veered off into the woods before going down near the other houses.

She looked great and there is no reason to suspect any problems, and she was definitely smart enough to avoid the populated area.

They are out there during the day folks, they have just adjusted their wandering habits around people to the dark (usually), when their biggest enemy can't see them! Perhaps our girl here was pulling double duty to find more food because she's eating for 3, or 4 or 5 now?! Oh I would love to get a glimpse of some pups this spring!

All I know, what a pleasure it was to have the opportunity to observe her! It beats the pics on the cooncams I have out there for sure! And..... at least it was at a decent hour, instead of at 3am when they wake me yipping outside my window and it's too dark to see anything anyway!