An update to the menu for my wildlife friends (or, at least, mooches).

Blackberries and raspberries are off the menu entirely.  No one appears to like blackberries unless that’s all there is to eat.  The opossums do not like them at all and the raccoons eat them reluctantly.  Raspberries are popular with the opossums and raccoons, but they suffer a horrible fate insomuch as the raccoons tend to smash them into oblivion before getting to eat them.  So, no more blackberries or raspberries.  Or, more precisely, no more blackberries at all, and raspberries might be considered once in a while.  More generally, anything mushy like these two berries will be avoided for the latter reason.

Carrots and green beans are off the menu.  Neither the opossums nor raccoons like them.  Discarded like a bad date, both species pushed them aside and made a granddaddy of a mess doing it.

Apples are off the menu for the raccoons.  They don’t like them.  The opossums really like them, though.  As I mentioned to xocobra on the phone several days ago, I stood within a few feet (less than a meter) of the opossum visitor during his many trips by the food one evening.  Until everything else was gone, he would deliberately nuzzle the apple pieces aside.  Only when everything else was consumed did he return to them, and then his enjoyment was profoundly obvious as he vacuumed up every last piece.  It is clearly documented that apples are one of three favorite foods for possums.  That list also includes sweet corn and persimmons.  The raccoons, on the other hand, blatantly trample the fruit as though it offends them like the blackberries.

The raccoons also do not favor Newton cookies (strawberry or fig, whole grain or not).  They will consume them if hunger requires it, but otherwise they ignore the treat.  Opossums love Strawberry Newtons (I don’t have enough of a feel for their like or dislike of other Newton flavors).  Since I only treat them with cookies once in a while, no change is required here.

Cat food is always on the menu, although rarely offered, for everyone.  They only get that when I’m clumsy enough to spill it or forgetful enough not to bring it inside before someone discovers it.

Pecans, almonds, sunflower seeds, and peanuts will stay on the menu.  Everyone seems to like these.

Grapes also stay on the menu.  Again, no one rejects these, and I’m amazed at just how many grapes can be consumed in one evening (of course, more visitors mean more food consumed, but there is an abandon in grape consumption that seems to indicate they are a welcome sweet around the whole dinner table).

I intend to try some new menu items in the near future and will pass along what I learn from that experiment.  I also hope to add a few things that will more readily attract birds and squirrels.  As usual, I’m always on the lookout for new life forms visiting this part of the galaxy.

In the meantime, I have revamped how and where I feed the wildlife.  The patio is no longer used for dining.  It’s increasingly difficult for the opossums to get through the fence.  I broke a small piece of it to make that easier for them, but they’re still growing and eating voraciously and I can’t win that fight either way (stopping them or fully enabling them).  The raccoons make a huge mess that I inevitably have to clean the next day (lest I attract ants and other unwanted pests).  Again as I mentioned to xocobra recently, mashed blackberries have permanently marred the patio floor and, while I do not intend to feed anyone blackberries in the future, I’ve learned through their previous use that the midnight marauders readily crush what is available when they start backing over the food (this only happens if more than one raccoon is eating at the same time and the food is not spread out).

More importantly, however, is that I do not want to train any of the wildlife into a false sense of security with people or people places.  They need not learn any bad habits.  For that reason, all of the food now goes outside the fence.  I generally toss it haphazardly about the ground so they must forage as they normally would.  This ensures they find the food via their normal activities rather than assuming a neat little pile will be available for consumption.  I’d prefer not to modify their behavior in that way.  Making the circumstances more natural just seems like a better idea.  And let’s not forget that keeping it separated no longer works since everyone can get to everyone else’s food.

After I implemented this new feeding process, the squirrels discovered that there is usually a handful of nuts left untouched the next day.  The last several days have seen at least two squirrels make repeated trips to rummage about in the hopes of locating those hidden gems.  Of course, the birds already frequent this space and likewise are aware of the availability of scraps that might interest them.

Sadly, I have never seen an armadillo or fox in this area at night, although I have seen them all around the lake and at various times.  I suspect a fox can’t get through or over the fence that surrounds this area (standing between this residential space and the lake park itself).  As for the armadillos, I suspect they’re out tormenting other people.  Besides, given my current lack of knowledge about what they eat and when they tend to be out and about, I don’t even know if they travel as much as the raccoons and opossums do when looking for food (or otherwise).