Tag: Raccoons

There is a sense of peace and charity when one sees The Wild comfortable and safe.

It is rare for them, you know.

There is no such thing as deep sleep in The Wild. In a world filled with predator and prey, deep sleep is dangerous.

Even we, modern humans, could not enter deep sleep until relatively recently in our evolutionary and cultural history. Children could enter deep sleep but once they became ambulatory, such relaxations were out, forgotten, denied.

Must keep watch. From animal predators originally; large cats, bears, carnivorous flightless birds, wolves and similar roving pack dogs, boars, … Sheltering in trees meant you had to be awake enough to catch yourself if you rolled off the branch. Eventually humans realized shelters were a good thing, but that also meant predators went from hungry animals to other humans who wanted your shelter, your children, your mate, …

Even now-a-days, truly deep sleep is a luxury few allow themselves. Nancy Reagan said she kept a small revolver in her nightstand in case anyone broke in.

Good for her, and that meant she either slept little or extremely lightly; she’d end up shooting Ron on his way back from the lou otherwise.

Such deep, dreamful sleep is not seen often in The Wild.

So when we see an animal, Hester the raccoon is an example, being restful and at peace, munching away, having a sip or two of water, we rejoice.

 

Behold three young raccoon kits.

Whenever we see young of The Wild without adult supervision we grow concerned.

Children are a challenge to the best of us. More so in The Wild, me thinks. We have many predators in our woods and we understand evolutionary cycles and principles.

Still…

 
Mother Raccoons we’ve fed all along are watchful of their kits around us. They tell them to stay in the trees until they see Mom interacting with us. She shows them the rules then lets them approach. As I’ve written before, you can almost hear, “He’s a Two-Legger, but he’s okay. Don’t let him touch you, though. You don’t know where his hands have been.”

Enjoy.

 

It isn’t easy raising kids, human or Wild, doesn’t matter. These days, parenting is tough.

Makes me glad Susan and I opted out.

Not so Hyacinthe.

She’s such a good mother. Raised five kits to juvenality on her own.

Okay, we contributed somewhat, good aunt and uncle that we are.

Still, raising five healthy kits with all the predators around…pretty amazing.

So take a moment. Congratulate her. Or appreciate her.

They don’t live long, you know.

Have you ever wondered who says that about us, humans? “They don’t live long, you know.”

Maybe mountains? Oceans? Continents? Rivers? Clouds?

I hope they’re good aunts and uncles to us, don’t you?

And if it’s mountains and oceans and continents and rivers and clouds and icesheets and such, let’s spend some time being good to them.

I mean, we’re suppose to be sentient, right? Might be nice to give a little return for all they’ve given us, don’t you think?

Huh?

 

Naming children.

Do parents ever wonder how their children might turn out if given different names?

The cultures I studied gave people new names often, and always with a reason.

For example, I was given a new name when I entered seminary, then another new name when I studied with a west coast peoples, another name when I studied with plains people, a name when I studied with the Celts, …

And my parents had several names for me, based on my behavior.

Raccoons, we’ve noticed, give their children fascinating names.

We wonder where they get them.

Is there a book of raccoon names?

Probably not. Much of The Wild has similar naming tendencies.

I’m sure there’s a book they all use.

I’d like to see it someday.

If only to learn what my real name is.