She's Back!
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
Canada
April 22, 2017 8:58am CST
We wondered where she was this spring. We usually see in in January and here it is April and she shows up.
Who am I talking about? Ruthie the Raccoon.
Every year, so far, a racoon mama climbs up into a hole in the crotch of a big tree in our back yard. She stays there until she has her babies.
Its never the same mama although I couldn't ask her if she was new or old. This one that showed up yesterday looks young, last year the mama was turning white with age...
Out of the 10 plus years we have seen her, we have only seen the babies once. One early morning in the rain we watched her take her babies one at a time down the very tall tree and into the ravine, she came right back and got another and we guessed she had 6 babies that year. We have no idea where she took them but it is wild in the ravine and I'm sure lots of places to raise babies.
Its been raining here but the sun is shining today, I hope to get a good shot of her sunning herself just above the hole in the tree.
The photo I put on this discussion was taken a few years ago.
Do you have any of nature's life in your neck of the woods? Its entertainment for us. Once she gets used to us she won't pop back into her hole to hide from us. We are no threat and she must know that.
I hope to get more photos of this Ruthie, the photos I took yesterday were dull and not very clear but I will work on it...
23 people like this
26 responses
@Jeanniemaries (8237)
• United States
23 Apr 17
My raccoons become pests and won't leave the yard. I would love the situation you have. It's amazing they take the babies away.
2 people like this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
23 Apr 17
fingers crossed....our have not been pests. they do get into garbage cans when they can but the majority of the neighbors have critter proof cans for garbage, the glass and melel recycle bins are supposed to be rinsed before put in the bin and the paper recycle bin is clean anyway. The trash lives in our garages and only come out on garbage day. @amadeo mentioned they get in his garden but they never have gotten in mine or our neighbors that I know of.. I enjoy seeing them in the trees once in a while and Ruthie is welcome to my tall tree with a hole in it..
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
23 Apr 17
I'd prefer that animals remain afraid of me. I mean them no harm, but that's not true of all humans and I wouldn't want them thinking it's okay not to be afraid of humans!
We get deer, possums, woodchucks, and rabbits. We do get raccoons but I don't see much of them.
1 person likes this
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
27 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate that's good that she keeps here distance. I've seen foxes but I don't think we have any in our neighborhood.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
27 Apr 17
I like them to be wild too and we don't make pets out of them, She will sleep in the sun several hundred feet above us but she won't come close.. I have all of the ones that you mentioned and have been visited by a fox and a deer too..
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
27 Apr 17
@katsmeow1213 We get them once in a while just because the ravine which is Ontario Green space (can never be sold or built on) There are lots of trails in the ravine and wonderful water falls after a good rain too. And lots of wild life.
@Nawsheen (28644)
• Mauritius
27 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate here we have lots of stray animals unfortumately
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
27 Apr 17
Very interesting, here cats are not allowed to wander neither can dogs. Occasionally I see one in the morning but think someone let it out to do its business and then it goes back in. Ruthie is wild, we never get close to her.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
6 May 17
Thanks, I liked it too, I haven't seen her lately and am not so sure hshe is up in the tree anymore.
1 person likes this
@velvet53 (22528)
• Palisade, Colorado
8 May 17
@PainsOnSlate I hope she is still around. It sounds like she is very special to you.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111073)
• El Paso, Texas
23 Apr 17
Awww, what a sweet shot. I've never seen a raccoon in real life but I did see a resident lizard the other day. I didn't have my camera with me so I missed that shot but now that I know where it lives I'm going to try to get a shot of the lil tyke. I hope it's female, I want more lizards to eat the ants and other bugs.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (111073)
• El Paso, Texas
28 Apr 17
Those lizards are so fast @PainsOnSlate by the time I see one it's already on the run, they are so fast. I do have a lot of shots of the spot they were on before they ran though 
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
28 Apr 17
I don't think we have blizzards here but thinking about it we do but we don't see them often and they are small...I look forward to seeing your photo of one...
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
1 May 17
No woods around here sadly. Wish I was in the woods Paints.
Thats a cute face and the perfect photo you got there.
1 person likes this
@TiarasOceanView (70035)
• United States
1 May 17
@PainsOnSlate Welcome Paints..the position of her in the tree is perfect.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
1 May 17
I love the photo she was just sticking her head out of the hole and looking at me.. Thank you.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (71659)
• United States
16 May 17
Aww that must be so neat to watch them come every year. I wonder if this one is a baby of the mother you saw before whose face was aging with white. Some people hate racoons around here but I love them. I just had to put huge rocks on top of our garage cans to keep them out haha.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
17 May 17
Everyone in this area has critter proof trash cans, Having the ravine and green space behind us makes that a necessity. We saw her the day I mentioned it and we have not seen here since, either she stays in all day and goes out at night or she is already gone. I'm guessing she had her babies and moved them down into the ravine and we didn't notice.
1 person likes this
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
25 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate They are wonderful creatures to behold.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
24 Apr 17
I like the birds and butterflies in my yard too.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (457293)
• Switzerland
25 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate baby raccoon must be so cute. Yesterday evening I opened the door to put outside cat food and the hedgehog was there "stealing" the food. It's so cute.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
24 Apr 17
They don't bother us and we enjoy watching her as she get ready to have babies.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
22 Apr 17
We have all kinds of nature in our backyard...most activity goes on while we sleep thank goodness!
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45496)
• United States
27 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate We don't have motion sensor lights, we have three huge lights that are on dusk to dawn - if not for those lights it would be pitch black.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
27 Apr 17
They do turn on our lights with their movement and if we are up we look to see who it is.
@bluesa (15023)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
22 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate , she looks so cute. I'm in the suburbs, so no, not much of nature's life, though once a baboon was sitting on the roof of one of the townhouses in our gated community, but that is not the norm.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
23 Apr 17
I don't think I've ever seen a baboon...maybe in a zoo. That's very cool.
1 person likes this
@bluesa (15023)
• Johannesburg, South Africa
24 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate we all freaked out, they are quite aggressive, it had gone on an adventure from the game reserve it was supposed to be living in. We hope it found its way back.
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246334)
• United States
23 Apr 17
I remember Ruthie! Nature is awesome. We are blessed to see lots of wildlife, including raccoons and their babies, too. Of course, it's only because of the woods behind our house. It's a land trust and environmental conservation. Lucky us!
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
28 Apr 17
That is what is behind my house too. Government green space, will never be sold or built on - the reason we bought the house, Nature and privacy
1 person likes this
@DianneN (246334)
• United States
28 Apr 17
@PainsOnSlate Same with us! Lucky we are!
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
24 Apr 17
What fun, I love the birds and their buildings.
1 person likes this
@dramagirl26 (3259)
• Ringgold, Virginia
23 Apr 17
Ruthie is a cutie! We have squirrels and birds in our backyard.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
27 Apr 17
I have birds and squirrels too, chipmunks, deer and I've seen one fox, opossums, rabbits and woodchucks but they don't hang around. You see them and then you don't. Having a green space (government land) behind us is wonderful. ( no hunting, hiking trails and lots of quiet.
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
22 Apr 17
I love the photo too, a favorite of mine. she was so cute. I think she was young too with a sense of humor - staring at my camera while just sticking her head out of the hole in the tree,,,
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
23 Apr 17
please don't apologize for the picture. i'm just happy to see what you see, and learn about racoons. it's good that they have a safe place.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
26 Apr 17
That tree is very tall, nothing can bother her there. I love seeing her too.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61047)
• United States
22 Apr 17
I do see lots of squirrels and an occasional bunny. But no babies.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
24 Apr 17
We have seen a few raccoon babies hiding in our gardens, when it happens we encourage then to go back into the ravine. They are big babies, the ones the mom moves are new born...
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
28 Apr 17
They look so cute but they are wild so we don't get close but she is fun to watch from the window.
@manasamanu (3746)
• Bangalore, India
22 Apr 17
She looks cute peeping out of the whole. Her name suits her nice.
1 person likes this
@PainsOnSlate (21854)
• Canada
23 Apr 17
No matter who is up there we call her Ruthie...She is a cutie and we love watching her.
1 person likes this
