January 18, 2010

so I married a opossum whisperer...who knew ?

I was going to tell you how amazing our drive in the country was yesterday morning
after another frozen fog rolled in the night before
painting our world in shades of white and grey
but
instead I decided to share with you
my new little love
he was the first
of three opossums we found
waddling in snow banks during our
four hour drive
~~
when we stopped
to get a closer look
at this one
I was sure he was going to take off in the opposite direction
and
run away
but
actually
he hardly budged
~
actually
I'm not sure opossums even know how to run

and
then my husband
~who continues to amaze me with his hidden talents~
started calling him closer to the car
the same way you'd get the attention of a dog or cat
and
it worked
~~
in fact it worked so well
he almost ended up going under our car heading towards the other side of the road
~I know I know...don't go there~

anyhow
when he finally turned to leave
I noticed that the end of his tail was missing
and
that his back left leg was covered in burrs
and
I was sad
that we had coaxed him closer to us
for nothing
but
cute photos
~~
so
next time we go out for a drive
I'm taking opossum food with me
just in case
~~
anybody know what they eat
?

56 comments:

  1. Well, yours actually looks cute but the one I saw years ago, on the chain link fence in a back yard near ours, was not so cute. He seemed to be very large and and ferocious - maybe he was just frightened by the dogs that were barking at him.

    As for what they eat, goodness, I haven't a clue!

    It's amazing that you got such great photos!

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  2. As always, wonderful post and beautiful photos.

    I thought they were night dwellers like foxes and raccoons, which may indicate illness if they're up and about during the day,but I don't know that for sure.

    BTW, your daughter in the post below looks so much like a daytime actress whose name I don't know. She's lovely!

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  3. oh oh!!! he's soooooooooo cute! Have extreme possum love here in sydney australia! Maybe we should make possums the next theme for spoonful...hmmm..

    thea.
    xx

    www.spoonfulzine.com

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  4. Adorable, and sad. That would have broken my heart.

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  5. Oh dear his poor little tail. But it might have been a battle in which he won...he got away!!??!! Love the pics and I haven't a clue either of what they eat.
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  6. I can't believe a possum was out walking around, usually they are still hibernating. Kinda makes you wonder if the warmer temps wakes up the animals. If we see a skunk or racoon, then spring might be closer than we think!

    Love the possum close-up.....

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  7. There was a opossum on our back porch last week, not nearly as precious as your little fella. In fact, as I could see was a big RAT. Sounds like your opossum was a bit of a showoff.

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  8. awww! you have captured him so perfectly -- especially that little tail.

    xoxo

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  9. the only possum story I have wasn't as friendly. They do run (not very fast though) and they HISS!!

    Great photos as usual!

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  10. Great photos ....

    Food -- cat food!!!!!!

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  11. Oh oh oh Beth how wonderful was that!! Amazing shots..but also amazing critter experience!!
    I understand they like cat food and are fond of marshmallows too!
    Wonderful fun post!
    Namaste, Sarah

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  12. Wow ! That was some gift ! What a beautiful creature and beautifully captured by you. You and your Jack Hanna husband sure are lucky !

    Cat food eh ? Well, that is easy enough !
    Happy Monday beautiful !

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  13. But they were such cute pictures! who knew they could actually be....dare I say....cute.

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  14. i pretty much love his little nose!

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  15. OMG! That first photo of the little guy peeking over the snowbank is so adorable! That little pink nose...how cute. But, poor guy...he's had some trouble out in the wild. Love the story!

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  16. Awww, that poor little tail! Great captures though! I have no idea what they eat, but I'm sure they wouldn't turn their noses up to dog food.

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  17. I'm in awe of your photos! A opossum whisperer! That's a talent to be proud of.

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  18. i think they eat anything since they will raid your garbage can. be careful with the wild critters though - kay?

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  19. His pink nose against the white of the snow is adorable.

    I'm also surprised that he was out during the day. Usually they're asleep. We surprised one that lived under our shed. We tore the shed down, and when we lifted up the floorboards, he was none too happy. And he ran. Yup. He did.

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  20. awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww so very sweet. i wonder if they make good pets? ;)
    your husband is a very talented man!

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  21. Great photos - he looks... COOL!! Sorry for the long answer, but the more I googled, the more interested I become. :)

    "Opossums are nomadic omnivores.
    It is wrongly believed that Opossums are pests; most of them help clean up the neighbourhood and do not damage property.
    Opossums are not aggressive either, they usually run away from confrontations, but do be wary of their numerous fangs.
    They are also pretty funny, as they LOSE CONCIOUSNESS AS A DEFENSIVE MECHANISM!!! (haha -playing dead!)
    Learning and discrimination tests rank it above dogs, and more on the level of pigs."

    Opossums eat:
    •all green and yellow vegetables,like corns.
    •quantities of grasses.
    •most types of fruit.
    •carrions
    •people food.
    •snails, slugs, and earth worms of all types.
    •insects, flies, earwings and roaches etc.
    •rats and mice.
    •snakes.
    •amphibians.
    •ground eggs.
    •crayfish and other fish if available.
    •certain types of dog food and cat food left outside to feed pets.
    •dead pigs
    •small birds
    •voles
    •blackberries
    •blueberrys
    •smooched apples
    •chicken
    •rodents
    •over-ripe fruit

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  22. Your photos are fabulous and I think this is such a cute oppossum. Of course, your post was so interesting that I had to google it too.

    I discovered that sometimes they use their tail as a fifth limb when carrying leaves or other debris. They also really love fruit.

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  23. Oh Beth,...I'm stunned by this little creature. And these photos are the best. They are so super sharp and clear I can imagine me petting him.

    sorry can't help out with the food thing we don't have them in holland.

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  24. Here's a link on opossum diet
    http://www.opossum.org/diet.htm. Amazing what you can find on the web.

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  25. These photos are wonderful!
    He is a cute little critter.
    Just wish I knew what he'd
    love to snack on. ;o)

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  26. This is a very cute story and who could resist that face and little pink nose?

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  27. there is something very gentle and lovable about opossums. You've definitely captured that here. :)

    -maria

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  28. Aww he is cute, wonder what happened to his tail? great shots!

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  29. there little eyes scare me!
    xox~

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  30. Cute little critter. I had a close encounter with one once, where I was going up someone's back stairs in the dark, and came face to face with a terrified 'possum, who bared his giant teeth & hissed in my face! Eeeek! I know that in my neighborhood, he'll eat my trash if the bag is left out of the can...

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  31. I never thought opossums were cute...until today! Great shots!

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  32. What a cute little guy. Everyone love Oreos you could take a packet and spoil him but if you want to keep him healthy I'd say a few raw vegetables will do the trick.

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  33. will have to let my mom know about this post... she adores opossums. we used to have a family of them that would climb our wisteria at night and hang out under our window. i think they like vegies...

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  34. They eat stuff out of your garden that you were going to eat later!!!! That is what they eat. And they intrude on your property without an invitation on a regular basis.
    Umm.... my boys pull out the airsoft guns when we see them. They are big and ugly and yucky. And I think that if they bite you it is BAD.
    ummm... but now I know the true extent of your talent, because this little guy looks sweet and cuddly and friendly. (It is not true!!!)
    :)

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  35. 'Possums, as we call 'em down in south Louisiana, are also huge fans of dry cat food. My cats have been known to share in the summer. In our yard all creatures are welcome, excepting poisonous snakes - they have to find another place to stay since King snakes seem to like it here. Not bad for a subdivision in the city! :)

    Delightful blog, glad I found you from the Constantly Evolving blog as I was updating blogroll links on my healing blog. Will give you a link on my poetry blog and companion pages as your poetry is lovely and I like to help promote fellow poets!

    Take care, Denny

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  36. Great shots of the Opossum. Tell your husband Well Done! I was north of Waupaca this summer and came upon a Badger in the wild. Only got one good shot before he was gone. He is the only one I ever saw that was not in a zoo.

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  37. Cute with that pink nose. Take care, they can be quite vicious. They use to come and eat our cats food; so I know they like dry cat food.

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  38. That pink nose is adorable.

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  39. Interesting that you saw 3 in daylight, I thought they were nocturnal too! And I'll bet that oppossum took something from the encounter, too, an interesting observance from his pov :)

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  40. I don't so much like these animals but darn it, you have made them look so cute!!!

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  41. What great shots you got...especially the first...love it!...He certainly looks beat up and I'm sure he has many tales he could tell (no pun intended:)

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  42. What great shots you got...especially the first...love it!...He certainly looks beat up and I'm sure he has many tales he could tell (no pun intended:)

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  43. i love the first photo made me smile and laugh with delight!
    kt

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  44. Beautiful pics and words. Just came for the first time had a good look around - lots of inspiration here. Who said that journals can't be just in pictures, I often think in pics rather than words.

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  45. what a sweet little thing. and they have the funniest nose....

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  46. Ewww- Your'possum looks adorable, but the ones that hang out in our yard not so cute! And they eat garbage- btw- know that one first hand. Enjoy!

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  47. I don't think I've even seen a possum, except for my cat "Possum", and he will only eat cat food if its a different flavour than the day before!

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  48. Um I usually think possums are disgusting, but you somehow made this one look ridiculously adorable... tricky! :)

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  49. they eat fruit!
    and birds and frogs.
    this one is cute.

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  50. What a face. Yes, I think you must always have a supply of critter and bird food with you. You must!

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  51. So sad to read of his injuries, poor little guy! Apparently, my husband is a turtle whisperer...unfortunately his 'charm' only seems to work on the snapping-type :\

    Great captures!

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  52. Wow!
    My parents were living on a tiny coastal island for a year a while back and this island used to be overrun with opossums. When I went to visit them, they told me that most of them were gone but some were still around. At night when we drove someplace my eyes were wide open, searching for these elusive creatures....but I never saw one.
    So thank you for sharing these...the mystery has been solved...I always wondered what they looked like up close. Kind of like a giant rat, no?

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**I love reading the comments you leave, as they make me feel like we're sitting in my kitchen, having a cup of tea, discussing life and wondering where all the time has gone ...beth