by raccoons’ morning bath
It is 8:00 am and I am sitting at my computer preparing a blog post when at the corner of my eye by the window I see some movement outside in the backyard. Lo! a family of raccoons having their morning bath in the kiddie pool. I squeal in excitement calling husband and daughter to the window as I grab the camera. How delightful, a momma and four healthy looking kids.
We have not seen raccoons in our neighbourhood this year, in fact last time may have been three years ago. They must be coming back again, joining the regular skunk family visitors that walk along our back shrub border every evening. Too bad our granddaughters are away for a few days but these photos are especially for them. Enjoy!
July 8, 2011 in Canada and BC, Home, Neat stuff by Marja-Leena
A chorus from four children: Oh they’re cute! Did they look at you and run away?
That is so crazy! They look so cute too! And so funny!
That’s our pool! That’s so great that we left that out and they used it. They are so adorable. They look like they’re saying Mummy look how I can swim!
They look like they’re saying Oh this bath is wonderful.
Delightful. We did see some last year, a pair of them got into some compost I forgot about on the step (I never do that!) and in the night I heard them, turned on the light. They were incredibly beautiful. I hadn’t seen them like I used to as a child. x
Adorable (though I think I would be tempted to spray the pool with Lysol before my granddaughters jumped in!) And lovely baby fur…
They must have known of your interest in native iconography. I think the name came into English at Jamestown. They get around!
Elisa, glad the children liked these photos! They really are beautiful and healthy looking. I think my knock at daughter’s door was heard by them for they then took off into the bushes.
Marly, don’t worry, the pool will get emptied and cleaned. It only got left out because it rained all day yesterday. Our grandkids are too big for it now but they had some younger friends over a couple of days ago when it was hot. I didn’t know about the history of the name…
Harper’s having a cabinet meeting.
BB, I think you’ve just insulted momma raccoon and her kids.
Cute! I had one climbing the mulberry tree outside the window beside my writing desk last night. They’re fun to have around for all the bizarre nocturnal noises they can generate.
Oh what a adorable family you got there. Now you need a black bear walk through your yard.
Dave, that sounds like fun, and you do gets lots of wildlife on your mountain.
Cathy, the bears are not too active down in our area yet for they have enough food still up on the mountains but they do come around in fruit season. A few years ago one half-destroyed our plum tree. I see on your blog you are having wildlife visitors.
Näin pesukarhuja ensi kerran elämässäni, kun asuimme Torontossa. Eräänä iltana näin hauskan näyn: pesukarhuemo oli kiivennyt päärynäpuuhun ja heitteli päärynöitä pennuille, jotka olivat puun juurella.
Hei Anna! Sehän oli todella hauska näkymä varsinkin ensi kerralla. Pesukarhuja ei olekaan Suomessa, vain muutamassa keski-itä Euroopan maissa oletan.
Lisäys: Ai, huomasin myöhemmän postauksesi tästä jutusta. Suomalaiset lukijat, käykää katsomassa!
Apologies to English readers. Anna has written about her first ever sighting of raccoons when living in Toronto many years ago: a mother raccoon up in the pear tree, tossing pears down to her kids on the ground below. I wish you could read her delightful story at the link.
Is that a rather large kiddie pool or are my eyes deceiving me that the mother raccoon is kind of small? The raccoons of Forest Park in Portland were sometimes the size of small bears. One afternoon we decided to go for a walk along one of the trails and approached a large one sitting in the middle of the path. He wouldn’t move so we decided to walk back home.
Susan, I did not notice it being too small, but did see the kids as being quite big already, and that I’ve never seen four of them like this. Are you pulling my leg that Portland’s raccoons are the size of small bears?? Maybe it was getting too much junk food.
Darling. But they will eat all your fruit, if you have any. They are clever little bandits.
Hattie, they can be like that though we haven’t had that problem, yet. I don’t suppose you have raccoons in Hawaii.
I promise I’m not pulling your leg. One morning we heard a terrific row high up in one of the trees in front of our first apartment. We looked out the window just as a big raccoon crashed down onto the roof of a car making a deep dent. He rolled off and walked away. A moment later an even bigger one climbed down from the tree and strolled off in the opposite direction.
When we lived close to Forest Park my husband often passed one or two early in the mornings when he was on his way to the hospital. They are expert foragers who can open most anything and would make the rounds of the local dumpsters during the night. One friend who had a home next to one of the park roads had children who kept rabbits. No matter what kinds of cages he had constructed for them or how strong the locks every single rabbit was lost to hungry raccoons.
Strange but true.
Oh Susan, I do believe you concerning the raccoons’ behaviours and skills! I just find the size of a small bear amazing. Must have been extremely well fed, especially on rabbit. They should have sent out the raccoons to reduce the rabbit overpopulation at the University of Victoria grounds.