Giggles Gang of Graham Grabbers

We had a visit from Giggles and Gang, there were a few scuffles over the graham crackers, but we had enough to go around.

Viva la Sixers!

My favorite six pack came back Saturday night and had some fun, some grapes - a recipe for marshmellow soup and up the tree to nap on the patio again.

Raccoon Cam is online!

Last night we had a visit from another newcomer - this time a young, very skiddish fellow. He seemed to really need and enjoy the food! He got chased off by Giggles and his clan, who enjoyed the smorgasboard as usual....

In the meanwhile, we got the raccoon cam feed available to see online, and Taburineagle recorded some of the footage! That can been seen on YouTube as well.

Mysterious Stranger

Maybe not so mysterious, but a face I didn't recognize. Where is that darn six pack?! I made a special grocery trip for them, and this is how they repay me?! Not even a postcard...

Anyway, the mysterious stranger was a very pretty light coat raccoon, who prefered ONLY the catfood. No grapes or graham crackers for this one.

Finally ... some action

Is that just the way? After several back to back visits from the six pack last week, I got to the store to stock up on grapes, graham crackers and marshmellows for them - they don't show up for days! I still haven't seen them, except for Ralphie, the baby who likes to forage on his own and is very serious about his food. So serious I bounced a grape right off his forehead and he just gave me a disgusted look.

Last night the other mom and three babies came by. (Giggles, the youngster in the Raccoon Chronicles header grapic and his family) They are getting so big it's hard to call them babies anymore, they are full fledged teens. They enjoyed a snack, but mostly were interested in playing in the yard and digging up the sod. Ok. Whatever floats your boat.

He's Alive!

Good news - little number six showed up (by himself) two nights ago. I was so relieved to see him! He showed up last night on the early side, then after a visit from Stubby, the family showed up. All six of the babies were there, so he had rejoined the group. Phew. I hope he stays there for awhile. On the menu last evening were grapes, graham crackers and a few organic chocolate wafers as a treat.



After the feast, they once again retreated to the balcony for a little rough-housing and a nap. (photos taken through glass)

It Was the Best of Times, it Was the Worst of Times

The mom and babies came last night, and I wish I could have gotten a picture of the first sight I saw... all the little raccoon butts high in the air, all diving into the pot at the same time. It was a hoot!

After I got situated with the door and cameras, I noticed there were only 5 babies, and the group seemed to be a bit on edge. I won't count number six out yet, sometimes we do have varying numbers, so it could be he was on a time-out in the den. That's what I'm hoping. So they were all very hungry and ate alot of food! They had some grapes and a new treat - graham crackers! Mom loved the graham crackers, she dunked them in the water, making a very watery/dirty graham cracker soup.



After the feast, once again they retired to the upstairs patio for a nap. All 5 babies fell fast asleep and mom gave them all a good grooming, then she caught a few winks herself. I'm pleased that they feel safe there, if only for a brief moment in their day.


Fingers crossed that next time there will again be six.

Slow Night

Last night was a slow one. Just George, the one with the actual stubby tail. He liked the grapes too, but didn't hang around long. No sign of the babies.

Grapes or Raspberries?

The hands down winner ... is grapes! They love 'em. We only had three babies and mom last night, and mom is a big fan of the little green orbs as well.

Time for a Nap

I was sort of hoping the kids wouldn't come by tonight. I worry about them becoming too dependant and losing their fear of humans. But just about the time I started to worry about them....they came bopping in the frame on the raccoon-cam! I watched them for a few minutes, took a few pictures, but didn't feed them any berries or anything from the house. Then I let them play on their own for awhile and went back upstairs. About a half hour later all the cats went over to the sliding door by the patio, and I checked it out. Sure enough, three babies had climbed up the tree and were trying to get in to play with their kitty friends! When I checked on them a few minutes later, they were curled up and sleeping on the balcony. Adorable.





It is really hard not to go out and full on play with them and touch them. But I don't want them to lose their fear completely, it's a struggle. They want to play and have fun so badly. I threw out a cat toy (a stuffed Sylvester head with a bell on it) the other night and one of them grabbed it and ran to the yard and for at least an hour made the bell shake constantly. He LOVED it. But I had to go out and get it, I was afraid the neighbors would get annoyed.

Want a Blueberry?

Hit Me Baby One More Time

The kids were back again tonight (Friday) and I got some great photos and video. For those of you who think I'm crazy, well, maybe I am, BUT I'm an animal photographer. Duh, it's my job.

Oh Baby!

Who thought you could top a night of RACCOON-A-PALOOZA?! Tonight we did. The mom and her sweet six pack came a callin' and we had quite a time. They were in the yard for over two hours, eating and playing.

Wednesday Night

NORM! Stubby was back again. He's a regular on the early rotation. And it was a RACCON-A-PALOOZA last night! A total of eleven raccoons came through the yard. Not surprisingly, the first visitor was good reliable Stubbs. Then we had a lone female, who I'm now calling Gracie, came by. Not as skiddish as the one that was here last night. I was able to open the door and take pictures of her.



Of course Mouse Mouse the rat made an appearance or two. Still no babies, so I decided to call it a night and went to sleep about about 2:30am. But wait! At 3:15 there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.... It was the Giggles (from the header) group!



The mom and 3 babies. Haven't seen them in at least a couple weeks. They hung out for a few minutes, but mom was growling and obviously unsettled. At one point we had 5 raccoons in the yard, two sparring camps! Gracie had returned and brought her buddy George. Mom was not happy about that at all. Now here is the thing about George, he should have been called Stubby because his tail is truly stubby. This is George:



Maybe Stubby should have been called Skinner, but it's too late now and Stubby is Stubby and George will be George. Anyway, one of the babies faces looks ALOT like Stubby or George. Hmmmmmm.


Who's there?

They had a little tussle, and mom and her babies retreated up the back wall and out of sight. Bummer. (not that I don't like the other raccoons, but the babies - both the set of 3 and the 6-pack are by far my favorites!)

So George and Gracie had some more snack, took a dip and moved on.



Moments later...babies bumbled into the yard! At first I thought it was the set of 3 that had R-U-N-O-F-T. But it became clear that it was four of my six pack! The little charmers, the smallest set of the babies. They ate and played and charmed my socks off.





The sun was starting to come up when they left, and we started to close up and head to bed. But wait, there is someone on the back wall... Stubby! Back for a nightcap. What a night. A five food scooper.


Stubby

Stubby's Back

Stubby was back again tonight. He's very friendly and unflappable. And portly. I think if this was Cheers he would be Norm.


You can see how his tail is damaged, and how he got his name...

A Special Guest

Well, it's been three or four nights now and no visit from the baby raccoons. We have a new awesome wading pool (thanks Kelly!) waiting for them and they don't have the manors to show up and use it. The last couple nights we've had a few lone males come by for a bite to eat - Stubby and one other one. The other one did get in the pool for a moment, but just had a drink, he didn't play. However tonight we did have a special visitor...


Surprisingly he was not at all interested in the Provolone cheese I left for him.

And after the rat left (I should say in between, because he came back several times) we had a visitor from a very shy young female. I could tell from the tentative way she approached the food and the door that if I tried to open the door to take pictures, she would have been off like a shot. So I took a few through the door. Good thing I cleaned the glass! She enjoyed a snack and a quick dip in the pool before moving on.

This is Stubby

He is one of the lone males that comes through. This poor guy has seen some bad days. His tail fur is all gone, and some of his body hair is missing too. We figure either a coyote tried to get him or a trap may have gotten him. He's still a friendly little fellow and we're happy to provide a snack on his journeys. Stubby likes to have a few bites, play in the yard for a bit, have a few more. He's pretty laid back and friendly. I can open the door to take pictures of him and he's cool with it.

Can't get enough of the backyard bandits?

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AbNGbNuzas29a

I may need professional help

But I don't think so really. Just because I'm up at 2:54AM waiting and watching on the "coon-cam" for the raccoons to come - that's not weird is it?! My friend Kelly brought them a little wading pool today, and I don't want to miss seeing them discover it. They are just fun and cute, those six little babies. So open and friendly. Not jaded and guarded like the adults. I worry about them out in the city. I just want to give them a little peace and place to feel safe - our yard. They could move in if they wanted to, I would love it. No worries of cars, traps, mean people or coyotes. Anyway, they did come last night for a party, they really wanted to come in. I really want to let them. Sigh. Here are some pictures.






This one is a little cut-up. Here he is doing his impression of Templeton the rat from Charlottes Web.

Raccoon Party

Ok, so now we have a pretty serious relationship with the raccoons in our neighborhood. We have a raccoon cam so when we are upstairs we will know when they are there. The families consist of a mom with six babies, the mom with three babies and several loner males. One I call Stubby because he has a short tail. So last night two the babies (of the six pack) came and had a party in the yard. They aren't scared of me at all, in fact, they come right up to me. They played in the grass, looked in the planters, ate some food and had a bath.