Sunday, October 30, 2005

Guess who's coming to dinner?



"Uh oh... now I'm 'possum toast!"


Opposums regularly visit our birdfeeders at night, and I happen to think they are very cute. Our dog Tara thinks they are fun to chase down the yard (but she is only interested in the chase! She doesn't get close enough to them to get bitten.) We have found a 'possum on our feeder several times, and every time he/she does the "FREEZE!" thing, sitting entirely motionless. It's not exactly playing dead, because how can you be dead if you're upright with your eyes wide open? (Okay, well, it works for George Bush. Oh wait, that's not dead, that's BRAIN DEAD!)

So Friday night, my hubby-bubby found 'possum on the feeder, and I decided it was about time to document the event. I felt bad about using flash photography in the pitch dark (I probably blinded the poor thing for a few minutes!), but dang, opossums are so cute. But then, we're speaking of the woman who would like a pet rat.

It was also raining when I took this, so we were all getting quite wet and I was doing my best to shield the camera from the downpour.

Learn more (yes, I keep trying to educate you people about the local wildlife, but I'm not sure if you're paying attention!):

http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/opossum.htm

10 comments:

  1. There go you foreigners again--maligning our Fearless Leader. I'm horribly offended.

    And I agree--possums are cute. And their fur is actually very soft.

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  2. I'm not offended in the least. Malign away! And what's wrong with wanting pet rats? I've had two of them. I admit, though, that I was forced to have them neutered, though, because rat testicles are just too hot a topic among house guests.

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  3. I think you mean "maligning our brainless leader"! Bwahahahahah!

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  4. I'd rather have the blind possum as president then Stupid-as-a-brick-Bush for president. I'm just sayin' is all.

    Mo

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  5. Dear Mo,

    Don't hold back! Say what you really feel! :D

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  6. Anonymous4:17 pm

    Stella and Blanche have their bags packed and their plane tickets to BC. The 'possum pickin's have been way too slim in GA and they feel the need to branch out. I did find a mouse and a mole on the carport this morning..such lovely (but small)offerings from the girl-dogs.

    Oh, and Shrub is a dangerous, brainless twit. We should be so lucky as to have a 'possum in office!

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  7. Don't worry, ladeez. I'm pretty sure Dephal is no fan of Shrub! She was speaking, what, ironically?

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  8. Last year the dogs discovered a possum in the backyard (at my brother's house back East) and when I went out to look at it later, I shone the flashlight on it and it certainly looked dead and still...except nobody had told the occupants of its pouch (wiggle!).

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  9. Anonymous7:24 pm

    Sorry, dephal...I just checked out your blog and have to agree at the level of shockedness that I felt this morning upon hearing Mr. Stupidhead's announcement. Round up the usual suspects....

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  10. Yep, that was my attempt at irony. My 2-year-old has a t-shirt that reads "I already know more than the President." And the only person my children are allowed to call stupidhead is guess who. :-)

    I have a semi-traumatic possum story. As a teenager in Oregon, one evening I went to take out some trash. As I reached to lift the garbage bin lid, out popped a possum, who was, unfortunately, not playing possum at all. I nearly had a heart attack. But the possum and I both survived just fine. And next time I made my little brother take out the trash.

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!