Raccoons revisited...or look who came to dinner!
 

I was on my way out to the blind last night, but some visitors beat me to it. So I stealthily climbed up on our hemlock stump (it's easier than you think--raccoons seem to have really bad eyesight) to get a view over the fence and started snapping away.

[CENTER][ATTACH]74841[/ATTACH]
[I][B][FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Black"]The big brown raccoon showed up, cautiously looking around for any sign of that pesky Hooman.
Still hasn't learned to look up, though. :D I thought this one, big as it is, must be a male. However....[/COLOR][/FONT][/B][/I]

[SIZE="4"][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I][B][COLOR="Sienna"]"Pssst....coast is clear! Come on out!"
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"Good grub here, kids! Help yerselfs!"

[FONT="Arial"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Black"]I seem to have mistaken her gender. Hope she's not too mad at me! :o[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

"Now, if you kids wanna get the really good stuff, you'll have to learn to climb!"
[ATTACH]74843[/ATTACH][/COLOR][/B][/I][/FONT][/SIZE][/CENTER]

[CENTER][I][B][FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Black"]The sight of Mom shinnying up the pole and leaving them behind
sent the kits packin' back into the thickets.
Mom was unconcerned.

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="4"][COLOR="Sienna"]"Yummmmmm! Time for nomming!!"
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"Oh, ya!! That hits the spot!"

[FONT="Arial"][SIZE="2"][COLOR="Black"]Meanwhile, back at the forest edge...[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

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"Lookit Ma!!! What is she doing up there?!"[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/B][/I][/CENTER]

[CENTER][I][B][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="4"][COLOR="Sienna"]
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"Oops! I smellz hoomanz!"

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"Mom! What you doin' up there?! Are you comin' down?"

"Shhhhhhh! Don't go out there! I smell hoomanz!!!"
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"I don't smell hoomanz. I smell FOOD!!!!!"[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/I][/CENTER]

[CENTER][I][B][FONT="Comic Sans MS"][SIZE="4"][COLOR="Sienna"]"Do you really smell hoomanz?"
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"I can really smell food!!"

"Any of you other guys smell hoomanz?"
[ATTACH]74851[/ATTACH]
"Nope! Just FOOD!"

"And Mom is still up there! Must be okay to go out, don't you think?"
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"Okay, then! Follow me, guys!![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/B][/I]

:D[/CENTER]

Oh Wow! How many did you count?

That one of momma sittin' in the feeder smiling back (or growling) at you is cute. :)

There were four kits in all. :flirt:

This raccoon has some odd habits--a certain way of frenetic digging with its 'hands' and that goofy grin. :D She's also a bit of a bully when it comes to other coons. She ran off that other smaller mom back in mid-June that night I was out in the blind.

I love your pictures :)

Thx, LL. :D It helps when your subject matter is so cooperative and so darn cute!! :lovestruck:

Hazel,I absolutely adore Raccoons,I know people think of them as pests,but even they have to survive.
The females are such good mothers and the babies OMG,soooo cute:cloud9:
Great pics Hazel!!!

They are cute, I'll give them that! :lovestruck:

I get such a kick out of how they don't look up, and even if they're looking right at me, they don't seem to see me unless I move. Makes taking pics a little easier. :D

That photo of the four kits sniffing the air is a real beauty, Hazel. Now, I didn't know they climb, and wouldn't have thought it could get up smooth pipe. Was the pipe put there to deter such critters because if so, it isn't working. LOL.
Chico, what sort of mischief do they get up to?

Hazel, you took some awesome photos!

I love the pic with the babies hiding in the weeds looking at Mom.

Thx, ladies. :o

Don't they just look awestruck that Mom should be so bold as to be up there, lindapalm? :laughing: I like that single kit looking out at (but not seeing) the camera, too. :lovestruck: They're just adorable little critters!

[QUOTE=Goldfields;1016364]Was the pipe put there to deter such critters because if so, it isn't working. LOL.
[/QUOTE]

Yep it was, and no it isn't! :laughing: It still works for the small red squirrels, but the PVC is getting weathered enough now that the larger gray squirrels and the raccoons aren't having any trouble climbing it. We were going to change it for new (and therefore slippery) PVC, but to do that we have to get the shepherd's hook apart at the ferule, which is hidden by the pipe, and the blasted thing is corroded so it won't come apart. :o So we're sorta stuck with the sticky PVC. The raccoons and gray squirrels don't seem to mind. :D

Awesome shots :thumbs up The kits are so adorable w/their short little tails & curious little faces :lovestruck: :lovestruck: :lovestruck: :lovestruck:

GF,there was a mom and kits living in my neighbors roof,the house had been empty and under renovation...they can do a lot of damage.
They are also experts at opening just about any garbage-container,very smart little guys.
But I still love them,they are just trying to survive.

oh my god, I love it!!!! I can't wait for my daycare to arrive so I can read/show them *L* they love your doggie stories, I envy you....no matter what I put out the raccoons will not enter my yard!! yet the trailer court beside me complains about them all the time! thanks for sharing the pics and story Hazel.:lovestruck:

You're welcome, Melinda. I'm thinking of reviving my [I]Setters' Corner[/I] site and setting it up for [I]Storytime[/I], instead. If I do, I'll pass on the link. Need to stop taking pics, though, so I can get it set up (so many pics, so much editing to do = not so much time to build the new site :o)

They look like stubby little mini-Moms, don't they, growler? I was amazed that after a few minutes I was able to tell them apart by their faces! With the adults I have to go by fur color, which is much easier to do--by the time they're grown, all the faces look alike to me. :o Mom is our biggest fem, so I suspect these guys are going to end up pretty big. Right now, the runt of the litter is the most adventurous of the four.

I think they do more damage in a suburban setting, chico. Here, with so much wild all around, they occasionally damage a feeder, but not much else, so we're very fortunate to be able to enjoy them with minimal hassle. :D The worst of it is bringing in the nectar feeders at night. If we forget, we have a lot of sticky raccoons on sugar highs running around outside for a few hours. :o :laughing:

Omg, omg, omg, omg :goodvibes: :cloud9: :lovestruck:.

I would have thrown the camera aside and dove right in amongst them for some great big smooshies :cloud9: :D

Cuteness overload!

I wanted to join in, but then I thought of the hospital bills that would have followed. :eek: Similar thoughts kept me from givin' the bear a big ol' hug when it came around, too. :p

They are cute, though, I'll give them that! :lovestruck:

:laughing: You crack me up :laughing:

I hope I can foresee the way you do if I ever come across some smooshable looking bears, lol. If not, I'll be sure to post pics once...or if....I recover :D.

:eek: :laughing:

Bear-smooshing falls under the category of "Don't try this at home!" :p

[QUOTE=hazelrunpack;1016550]I'm thinking of reviving my [I]Setters' Corner[/I] site and setting it up for [I]Storytime[/I], instead. If I do, I'll pass on the link. Need to stop taking pics, though, so I can get it set up (so many pics, so much editing to do = not so much time to build the new site :o)

[/QUOTE]

Storytime would be an awesome sight Hazel! :lightbulb: Viewer discretion advised! :D :laughing: :laughing:

I just re-did our car site and while it took a couple of nights to revamp, it took me about a week on how to remember to upload it. :frustrated:

Ya, me, too. Once I get started again, it'll pick up speed as I go along. It's trying to remember how to get started that takes me so long. :o

But with all them there story time pictures, how could you not remember? :shrug:

You have lots of bears, racoons, birds and of course our beloved pack :dog::dog::dog::dog::dog::dog::dog::dog: to tell about. :cloud9:

What an awesome...[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][I][COLOR="Red"][I]once upon a time storybook. :lightbulb:[/I][/COLOR][/I][/FONT]

I haven't built a web page in ages...that's the part I don't remember. :o The stories I have... :D

Those are some awesome pictures Hazel..wish I would get a few of them around here :goodvibes: