Lolli’s Great Adventure January 4, 2009
Posted by Jennifer Schlick in hiking, mammals, outdoor recreation.Tags: Procyon lotor, raccoon
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Yesterday was a great day for a walk along the Chautauqua Creek. We carried the snowshoes in, thinking that we might need them for deep snow down in the gorge, but we ended up leaving them near a tree and continuing on with just boots. There were some spots where we sunk in deep… but for the most part, the crusty layer from the thaw and rain of a couple of days ago kept us up on top of the snow.
We walked in as far as as the great ice wall, then decided to turn back.
On our way back out we paused for a brief rest. Suddenly, Lolli goes nuts… digging AND barking.
Lolli often digs. It seems the only time she barks, though, is when she KNOWS she’s got something. The last time this happened here in the gorge she had a porcupine up a tree. Today, I’m hoping it isn’t a skunk…
At the other end of the log from where Lolli is digging, I notice fur… and it’s not black and white. Whew!
As it struggles through a hole in the snow up over the log, I catch a glimpse of the striped tail and realize it’s a young raccoon… quite small.
Once it reaches the other side, it looks up at me, quizzically. It seems confused, but relieved that while I am making a clicking noise with some strange piece of equipment dangling from around my neck, at least I’m not barking.
And then it’s off, over the snow at a rapid pace.
Meanwhile, Lolli is still digging… and by now, Mozart is curious enough to join her. I’m rather surprised that neither of the dogs witnessed the great escape…
Lolli seems truly mystified that she can’t find her quarry.
Better luck next time, puppy dog… On second thought, may your luck continue to be just about like today. Poor little raccoon.
What a neat encounter!
Lolli the wonder dog! Looks like a fun day for dogs and I’m glad the raccoon escaped without incident.
Well, that must have been one scared and confused raccoon! Great discovery for Lollli, and great escape for Junior! ;o)
Our dog treed a fairly big raccoon in a volunteer apple tree a few weeks ago. I had to leash him as he would of stayed right under the tree all night in hopes of bagging the raccoon, which would have been sad,brutal and unnecessary. So we left the raccoon up the tree ignoring us in the hope that we would disappear so he could do the same.
Great sequence of pictures – glad they didn’t catch the little guy, though.
Give that dog a biscuit! I wish I could find an animal that would make birds land close to my camera lens.