@BirdieBlue , I used to love the Heidi thread too. I hope that when DreamOfSpring returns to the 'Rants, raves and..." thread in the Sandbox we'll hear more wildlife stories from her (she's having some physical challenges at the moment, and we're waiting to hear how she is doing).
This morning there was pandemonium on the deck. Ginger and all four kits were there. When I emerged from the house with food they all made for the steps, but another adult raccoon (one of the gray sisters) emerged from under the deck and blocked their exit. The kits panicked and ran in all directions. Poor Ginger was torn between rounding up her offspring or chasing off the other adult, while keeping me away from the kits. The kits eventually went into a protective huddle and I was able to get past them without triggering any attack from their mom.
When Ginger was feeding on the largest bird table all the kits tried to climb up to join her, but only one made it. The rest scampered back into the bushes. I think one of them is just visible in the pic, looking out from the undergrowth in the lower left.
