A Different One Sees the Moon

Another video from the deep of a southern New Hampshire winter and the raccoons are at it.

This is both a good and an ungood thing.

Good – there’s food for them. Ungood – they shouldn’t be out in this weather. They should be doing the Raccoon equivalent of hibernating. I mentioned in The Bluebirds of Keith Jarrett that signals seemed a bit off.

WinterMan walked through (as mentioned in Enjoying a Little Opie Butt) and it seemed some signals were still catching up.

Truth is, we do see raccoon in winters. Mild winters. Not deep, snow heavy winters. They don’t maneuver well in deep snow.

And you haven’t lived until you see a pair of raccoons ice-dancing across a frozen pond.

I mention in this video about another raccoon. There was a video. It was all black. Next time I’ll wait until the lights are on.

But many raccoons came out on this night. Perhaps to sing praises to The Moon.

We did.

Wouldn’t you?

 

Oaps Likes Grand Funk

We are often intrigued by The Wild‘s musical tastes.

It is eclectic to say the least.

And it would be one thing if musical preferences followed some kind of Old One differentiation, you know?

Something like “All raccoons prefer Bach, all Opossum prefer modern jazz, skunk are heavily into acid rock (thank goodness they’re not!), …”

You know, some kind of differentiator so we could see who’s come to visit and put on something to suit their musical tastes.

No such luck.

Each’s musical leanings are as individuated as, well, as they are.

Food.

That seems to be the commonality.

Not only across species, but individuals, as well.

Set out a good table and they’ll gather.

It’s a good thing.

 

Oaps Pays Attention to Traffic

In the cool of the night…

(feel a need to due homage to Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger here)

In the cool of the night, the Opossums come to dine.

Don’t remember seeing an Opossum during the day. Unless it was deep in the woods, heavily in shadow, and usually peeking out from underneath something.

Opossums are skittish at the best of times. We’ve seen them dining with raccoons and, the moment some raccoon gets a tad too close, you can hear Opossum say, “Beware my piercing teeth.

That’s their own name for themselves, by the way.

In OriOrinda, the Opossums’ native tongue, their name translates to “Beware my piercing teeth.”

Good to know, that.

Good to know.

 

Colder and Colder Nights

Recorded in early November 2021, our raccoons prepare for winter.

I wanted to write something witty and frivolous at this point.

Wasn’t happening.

As I type this, it is late May 2022 and so much of our environment has changed. Not just locally but in the world.

I watched Ricky Gervais‘ Supernature and Humanity Netflix shows last night. I admire him immensely, perhaps more so when I don’t find him funny. Sometimes he skates a thin edge (to me). I appreciate his humor and recognize (as he admits) there’s a difference between the subject and the target, the content and the context of his jokes.

I also recognize sometimes it’s difficult to see the two as separate, unique, and distinct.

Gervais is an active supporter of many things I support.

I wonder what he’d have to say about my work with raccoons and various other Old Ones.

 

Mani He (conclusion) now on Bewildering Stories Issue 952

Continuing the success of

in

respectively, Mani He (conclusion) appears in Bewildering Stories issue 952 (and even has a challenge attached).

Mani He originally appeared in Magic 1995, Crumb Elbow Publishing’s Read ‘N Run Anthology 1996, and my self-published Tales Told ‘Round Celestial Campfires in 2016.

It’s wonderful to know a work is so appreciated it’s anthologized again and again, and again and again.

 
Many writers contributed to Bewildering Stories Issue 952 and I’m sure you’ll enjoy reading them all.

Please be sure to comment.

It means a lot to us.