Yesterday, I went to the front door to see if Ed, the master of the house, who assumes that we exist to see to his every need, was lounging on the sidewalk, waiting to be let in for his afternoon snack.
Ed wasn’t there, but we had a tiny possum visitor. This little guy peered around the edge of a pot of lavender and watched to see if I was going to invite him in. After a bit, he backed up and tottered off into the ornamental grass growing at the corner of the house. He was about four, or perhaps five inches long, and had soft, fuzzy baby fur, and that heart-shaped face that possums have
I hope that Ed didn’t find him. I’m not sure what this little guy was doing out at 2:00 in the afternoon. I know his mother is nocturnal. Of course, it’s crossed my mind that his mother has been hit by a car, but I hope that this one is just curious and went sightseeing while Mom snoozed.
I won’t put out water or food for him. It would draw him to the front area of the house where Ed would be sure to catch him. I know that most of you don’t want to have possums sharing your habitat, but we’re used to all sorts of wildlife passing through our grove.
I’ll keep an eye out for him and try to get a picture if I can.
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
Keep the possums away from your cantaloupe vines, or you’ll be like us–without!
What are possums like, Buffy? Are they cuddly and friendly or are they something you wouldn’t want around? They aren’t something we get around here.
Adele, they are totally homely…with a face that only a mother could love. I was speaking kindly of this one because it was so tiny and defenseless.
They are a dirty gray with wirey, straight fur, a long naked, rat-like tail, and a heart-shaped face with a long pointed snout.
I understand they carry disease, and are not cuddly, friendly animals. We have one that I know of (obviously TWO) in the area. It comes to eat seed below our bird feeder in the night.
CC…I’ve never tried to grow canteloupes. I need an engineer to help me lay out a watering systems! (hint, hint. I’m sure the possum would have gotten the canteloupe if I had any.
Adele–And they smell bad–especially when….
Buffy–The cantaloupe that are growing this year are volunteers–about 4 hills of them (probably from buried garbage). They are not in irrigated areas, but the wind probably blows enough spray from the grass irrigation system to satisfy their needs.
Hhmmmm, sounds like you need the services of Nimrod the Mighty Hunter to resolve your possum problem. The quaranteen regulations would make it difficult for him to travel across the pond to you. Would your a cat help out with chasing your possums off?
I don’t know about Ed, Adele; but, CC and Jelly (and 3 cats that we had in the 1960s-1970s) co-exist quite nicely with o’possums–and skunks–and raccoons–and….They get along with everything but other neighbors’s tom cats.
Then Nimrod must be the contrary one. He’ll kill any other type of animal or bird or rodent he can catch but seems totally unphased if any other cat from around the neighbourhood decides to come visiting. The Husband said that in the garden the other day he watched as a completely strange cat sauntered past Nimrod who didn’t turn a hair. The minute John chased it, though, Nim suddenly took off after the moggie roaring as only a cat can.
On Occasion, I’ve observed the “Oops! If my human wants that cat chased, I can’t let her see me as falling down on the job–I must act fierce!” syndrome.
Ed is a mighty hunter. I know that he catches birds, chipmunks, mice and bunnies, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen a possum baby in out 16 years here. I think he chases anything smaller than he…..when he’s of a mind to.
I’m surprised that we still have so much wildlife around the house. You’d think he would have scared everything off.
I discovered one day that his killing field is under the viburnum at the front of the house, where the water is turned on for the hoses. YUCK!!!
Maybe it would be worth the quaranteen period to have Nimrod come over and visit. Do you suppose he could pursuade the RACCOONS to leave???
Better to have the killing field outside the house than where Nimrod has his – in the hall of our house.
HHmm, I assume that he would go after raccoons like he goes after squirrels. But the latter are so intelligent over here that it took the better part of 10 years before he managed to catch and kill one.
I’m not sure I would want to be without his company for 10 years.
No, Adele….even for a friend, ten years is too long to give up Nimrod. I think we may have resolved the issue. I’m waiting to see if we make it into winter without any more visitors to the attic.