Adventures of a Midwestern Girl (and Her Hillbilly Hermit Tennessean) in Sunny, Sunny California

A couple of weeks ago, Steve and I babysat for some foster care raccoons while their foster parent was away for a week. All of the raccoons that we had looked after earlier this summer were in varying stages of depression, anxiety, and wildness. They had all come to WildCare a little older than the orphans we usually get, which meant they were already on the wild side. This is not a bad thing as it's easier to keep them wild for release. But it means that we have very little interaction with them and can't really let them out for a romp in our yard as they may not be easy to catch again.

Added to that this year, were the traumatic circumstances most of them came from, whether they were left alone for a week in the walls of San Quentin after their mother was removed or they watched another of god's creatures take a shotgun to their mother in front of them. I believe animals have emotions and experience pain, and raccoons are very social critters. I'm just saying these earlier raccoons were a bit depressed.

But these guys were different. They were late summer babies, coming in when they were just a few days old in July. When Steve and I got them for a week, they were still getting 2 bottles a day. We are master weaners (well, I'm a master weaner, Steve's just a wiener) and quickly got them onto solid food only. But, at this point, young as they were, they still saw us as caregivers. People often ask about keeping raccoon babies wild and the fact is, while they are being bottle-fed, they have to see us as a food source and not as a threat. We never snuggle with them or treat them like pets, but we have to be able to hold them at that stage. We start limiting our contact with them once they are fully weaned. Since we were just finishing their weaning, we were able to enjoy their company like we hadn't been able to the rest of the summer.

And so they got to play in our yard, frolicking in the water fountain and learning to climb up and down trees (2 separate skills, there).

Here are some of the photos from the first weekend.

Posted by Anne at 08:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A couple of weeks ago, Steve and a took a mini-break in Gold Country. We have a big, much-needed and deserved vacation planned for later this year, but we're both tired and stressed and thought a quick 3-day weekend would help tide us over until the later trip. Besides, some friends had been recommending the Mine House Inn, a bed and breakfast in Amador City, for a while and the innkeepers are retiring in October. We figured if we were going to go, we had to go now.

While there, we went to the Black Chasm Cavern in Volcano. We were both a little surprised at just how short the physical distance of the tour was, but the formations were fantastic.

Black Chasm Cavern is most well-known for the rare helictite crystals that form there. Helictite crystals are very thin and, instead of growing up from the bottom like stalagmites or down from the top like stalactites, shoot out from the walls of the cave and are most likely formed by hydrostatic pressure. They are apparently quite unusual and definitely pretty cool.

Of course, while in Gold Country, we had to pan for gold. I was a little amazed at all the equipment Steve brought with us. He even built a periscope-type thing to allow him to see clearly underwater so he knows where to scoop up the dirt and rocks that are hiding the gold!

We went out to the Mokelumne River late in the afternoon Sunday to try our luck. Unfortunately, we still had to whip out our credit card to pay for dinner that evening as all we found was pyrite. Later that night, Steve found what would've been a much better spot for panning on the map. We're keeping the location secret, though, so we can go out again next time and strike it big.

Posted by Anne at 10:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last weekend Steve and I got to do one of my favorite things about volunteering at WildCare. We got to release some patients. Specifically, we got to release 6 orphaned raccoons that had grown into burly, strapping adolescents.

We found a great location for them in the woods near a creek, and not all that far from a small community in case they got desperate for food. It can be tough to find out that the Kibble Tree doesn't actually exist.

We passed a fruit and nut stand on the way to the release site and Steve joked about releasing them right there where there would be plenty of food. We managed to resist that particular temptation.

Two of these guys were raccoons that Steve and I had rescued as babies from a house in Sausalito. The homeowner had called a trapper to remove an adult raccoon living in the attic. It wasn't until after the trapper had taken the adult away and done his dirty deed that he homeowner realized there were babies in the attic, too. There were many things about this event that bear discussing as it was a cluster-f from the get go. I almost posted about it at the time, but didn't get to it. Just a hint to guide you on your way: if you trap a lactating female, there are probably babies in the area. I'm just sayin'. Suffice it to say, I'm grateful the homeowner called WildCare for the follow-up as we were able to rescue the babies from the attic and take them into care.

Steve and I had them in our cage for about 3 weeks before they joined the other four in a larger enclosure at WildCare. It is really neat to go through all of that, to save the babies and care for them and finally to let them go.

I've never shed a tear at a release although I know others who have. I am always able to keep an emotional distance because I know their end-point is in the wild. I just love seeing the little buggers be on their way.

Posted by Anne at 08:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)