Anne was sitting up on the porch having a smoke today on a break from her gardening activities, while I relaxed in a lawn chair reading a book and sipping a G & T. Since I had just finished hauling a dozen bags of magical compost/topsoil/whatever to the vicinity of her new bed in the side yard, I was feeling not at all guilty about kicking back for a bit.
"John!", she stage whispered suddenly, then motioned at me to hurry up to where she stood looking down at a sheltered area in a corner of our wood-fenced property. Intrigued (and furthermore out of gin), I moseyed on over.
Well, I just about keeled over from an overdose of "Awww!" when I got a close look at this little guy, nosing around in the dead leaf and tree bark litter. Since he seemed to be going nowhere fast, I went and grabbed a camera.
Some consider opossums to be nasty, ugly creatures, and there's a case to be made for this when they get older (and bigger, and ornerier) - but as for this little fella, he looked more like a roly poly cross between a cartoon mouse and a hedgehog than anything else I could think of. I mean, come on - those eyes! Awww!
In addition, there are numerous baby birds exercising their wings in and around our (bird-friendly) back yard. The almost constant high-pitched peeping of a juvenile downy woodpecker had been keeping me company out by my lawn chair for the past hour as he attempted to extract peanuts from a nearby feeder, flashing in between visits by the much larger "baldy" jays (who are so young their head feathers haven't yet fully grown out; they look a bit like mini-vultures).
It's enough to cause an old curmudgeon to rethink his cynicism. At least until the next news cycle.
Comments
Chad Jones Staff
So cute I am going to vomit.
6 days, 13 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Anonymous
Opossums, like coyotes and dolphins, have been known to prey on toddlers.
6 days, 9 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
John Meyer Staff
Then thank God I don't have any. (Toddlers, I mean.)
6 days, 8 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
David Gouldin Staff
Interesting side note:
Both opossum and possum are acceptable spellings. Good news for the silent-vowel-ignorant among us.
6 days, 8 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Billusa99 Anonymous
Granny Clampett wants your address.
6 days, 8 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Pavel Lishin Verified
6 days, 7 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Teresa Gubbins Staff
does it say something terrible about you if you find possums preferable to toddlers? signed, i find possums preferable to toddlers
6 days, 7 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Pavel Lishin Verified
From a purely selfish view point, I've never gotten a headache on an airplane because someone's possum wouldn't shut the hell up. So far it's possums: 1, infants: 0.
6 days, 7 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Kay Anonymous
Thanks John. Good photo!
...compelled to add just one more "Awwwwwww..."!
You know that when he gets a bit older he WILL learn to play possum instead of posing for the nice photographer.
Tip: Folks Please don't toss or sweep one off the balcony nor bag him up if you happen to find one that "looks" dead....leave him alone, he'll leave when the coast is clear enough. I can almost guarantee it.
6 days ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Susan Thornton Verified
Used to live next to a creek here in OC and fed the feral cats out there, along with any other creatures who enjoyed the occasional cheap catfood snack. Funniest thing I ever saw, and sadly without a camera, was a baby possum and feral kitten eating out of the same dish.
5 days, 12 hours ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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