Looking Out The Window
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
Canada
January 6, 2019 10:00am CST
This morning I looked out because my husband was standing at the window and said Ruthie is back... two of them.
So we watched for a while. There was a young one that was huge one, so we thought she was looking for a birth place. She was looking in all the wrong places. Then we realized there was an another racoon with the big one. They were checking out all the trees, looking for a birth place and there are thousands of trees in the back of my yard.
I watched the small one climb down and go up the tree we have always seen them living in and yup, the little one climbed the tree and the very pregnant one slowly walked down one tree and then claimed the wrong tree. She got to the area where the other was hiding in the hole and this fat, big bellied mamma jumped from one tree to the other. And she made it look like she was a pro.
She disappeared in the hole in the tree and we hope to be see her and her babies later. I think its interesting there are two in that hole in the tree, first time I've seen that but maybe the little one will take care of the fat one.
The photos attached are from other years, there is no snow here this year (yet) and we are happy being snow less.
So when I see her I will get photos of them and watch until she leaves the tree with her babies. (my camera had no batteries today)
Do you have raccoons in your back yard?
13 people like this
13 responses
@mom210 (9115)
• United States
15 Jan 19
@PainsOnSlate they are fun watch, although we did have one get to friendly with a few of our chickens out back.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
20 Jan 19
@mom210 yikes, getting close to your birds is not a good think. My daughter has chickens and has lost a few every summer. Because of that she only lets them free when she is in the yard.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
15 Jan 19
The racoon is a pretty small animal but it is fast and it climbs trees, I love watching them.
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130213)
• Israel
11 Feb 19
@PainsOnSlate
No raccoons here. So they find a hole in a tree and climb in and give birth? That is interesting. I never knew much about raccoons before. Thanks for sharing that with us.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
11 Feb 19
We went on vacation and just got back and I haven't seen the mom yet but its nasty cold here so that could be the answer. In the past when the sun was shining she would lay in the sun above the hole in the tree, I hope i see her soon...
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@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
12 Feb 19
@Hannihar had a great time in the south, Thanks??
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130213)
• Israel
12 Feb 19
@PainsOnSlate
Now I understand and makes sense how they would want to be warm and go inside a hole to be warmer. I hope you had a good vacation.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (472087)
• Switzerland
8 Jan 19
@PainsOnSlate It's weird, usually wild animals do not have babies during winter. We do not have raccoons here, there are foxes, also wolves, but they stay up in the mountains.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
20 Jan 19
@LadyDuck by the time she has the babies, it is almost spring, once she has the babies, she lets them get bigger, but not big, and then she moves them to the ravine.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
7 Jan 19
We always see them when its snowing, they are usually there for a month and then have there babies and when the babies get big enough to be a pain she moves them to the bottom of the ravine.. We've only saw her move her babies once, it was raining and she took them one at a time down the tall tree and into the ravine.
1 person likes this
@amadeo (111938)
• United States
6 Jan 19
@PainsOnSlate that must be fun too see.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
6 Jan 19
Every year we watch the racoons, they don’t bother us, they mind their buiness. I like seeing the babies growing up and playing in the trees.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
7 Jan 19
She will show herself up that tree many time especially if the sun is shining, its snowing now so we haven't seen her at all since she climbed up. Once she has her babies, she then lets the babies grow some before taking them down the tree..
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (342179)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Jan 19
@PainsOnSlate I'm sure you look out for her each year.
1 person likes this
@MissNikki (5237)
• Maple Ridge, British Columbia
6 Jan 19
Yes, we do get a large family of raccoons in our back yard but we have not seen them since the summer so I assume they are hiding somewhere for the winter. 
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
6 Jan 19
This is the time they have their babies, keep your eyes open and you will see them looking for a tree with a hole to let her babies grow for a month and when big enough they get out of the tree...
1 person likes this
@MissNikki (5237)
• Maple Ridge, British Columbia
6 Jan 19
@PainsOnSlate I might take a walk around the back yard today to see if I can spot any tree holes!!
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
4 Mar 19
I think she moved the babies before we got home, Have not seen here since she climbed the tree...
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15727)
• Canada
13 Jan 19
What great photos...They look soooo cute... sad about their attitudes though ;)
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (51420)
• Canada
6 Jan 19
I like seeing the pictures of Ruthie and reading the posts about her, as I have done over the years.
We have never lived any place where we had racoons close by. One year we had a muskrat appear in our yard, but my husband shooed him away very quickly.
1 person likes this
@Juliaacv (51420)
• Canada
6 Jan 19
@PainsOnSlate I did not know what a muskrat looked like either until I saw my husband shooeing it away while I sat on our deck and our dog barked her fool head off. They are ugly.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
6 Jan 19
I’m not sure I know what a muskrat looks like. And yes, we have a ravine behind us ( government owned) so it’s full of wild animals. I’ve seen deer and racoons and lots of birds, but on both sides of the ravine is houses so I don’t think there is much more in the ravine.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
15 Jan 19
I was thinking the same thing, They were close and friends so I hope they are helping each other.
1 person likes this
@Morleyhunt (21744)
• Canada
6 Jan 19
We have no raccoons (that I've seen). I have seen a skunk....and we see at least 6 pheasants almost daily.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21852)
• Canada
7 Jan 19
We have skunks too but we rarely see them, and I will pay attention to the birds. I believe I've seen pheasants often..
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