January 7, 2014

i can see you


my hubby said, "look up."


i have to admit that with post christmas tunes still in my head, "a partridge in a pear tree" did come to mind. i wonder if anyone ever thought about "a opossum in an apple tree?" probably not. snort


he didn't move, but his eyes followed me everywhere.


come on, even if you think they look like rats on steroids, you have to admit his little hands and feet are adorable, right. no?



after hiking away from him we thought for sure he'd go back to wherever opossums spend their winters, but he was still there and had turned his head to look at me. i think in the photo above he looks a bit mean and i did hear a tiny hiss come out of him just as my hubby was saying, "uh, i think that's close enough." 

for a tiny moment i had visions from a scene in silence of the lambs. you know, the one where hannibal escapes from his "cage" when the security officers bring him his meal and he basically eats the face off the guard. i mean really, does anyone know if a opossum in an apple tree, feeling perhaps a bit threatened by a woman with her camera would or would not leap out and land on so called photographer's head? wow, i am so brave...or stupid. take your pick. snort. 


anyhow, all i know is that his appearance and our little visit with him, made our hike that much more fun and beautiful. i mean a deer would have been great, wild turkeys are always fun, but so skittish and hard to photograph or an eagle would have been cool, but i'm not picky when it comes to wildlife. i love them all.

28 comments:

  1. Very cool! I don't get to see possums all that much, you know? Nice!

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  2. Great close-up shots. I just love it when possums do their little hissing thing. This small creatures looks like he's holding on for dear life! I thought possums are hibernating at this time of the year.

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  3. third picture down looks like he is smiling! and yes, they do let out a fearsome hiss when they want; but I am pretty sure he would not have attacked.... only if cornered and he clearly was not cornered. sweet little fellow!

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  4. I've never seen a possum. I don't think they live here in British Columbia. But I love those little hands and feet. Your blog is great!

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  5. He probably would have fallen out of the tree playing dead! LOL! Hugs! deb

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  6. This is fabulous and the lighting is spectacular. You were so very, very lucky to not only encounter this elusive stranger but to find him or her at a spot where nature would make him all the more beautiful! (Hannibal Lechter? You crack me up!)

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  7. Your Silence of the Lambs reference is hilarious. What a crazy looking animal. Rats on steroids pretty much describes that guy to a T.

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  8. Bizarre creatures ! I have one play dead or play possum in my garbage can a few years back. Stank almost as badly as a skunk ! Cute toes and fingers, yes, but like you, there are some other creatures I would have loved to see more !!!!
    Fun times for you and hubby ! Love that !

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  9. i love opussums.
    we have a baby who eats on our deck in CT, and another fatboy who eats the cat food at cape cod. i never thought they were pretty, though, until your pictures. well done, and way to go on shining a light on the under-loved opossums :)

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  10. beth, you are too funny!!! loved this post! And I vote that it does look like a rat on steroids...but your photography makes him cute! Karen ps...my pentax k30 arrives today!!! can you feel my excitement through these virtual waves?

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  11. I love your narration...You are quite the story teller.....He is a cute little fellow and you really did get some awesome shots. I couldn't help but think about the squirrel attacking Julia Lewis Dyfus when she opened the door in Christmas Vacation. I'm very glad he decided to stay in the tree....Happy New Year.....When are you heading to the beach?

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  12. I've never thought possums were that cute, but I have to admit that this little fellow is adorable. (Those hands and feet though are a little ... odd looking.) I'm so glad he didn't turn Hannibal on you. Sometimes it's especially good to have husbands with us.

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  13. P.S. I am loving your new header. Very moody, but oh so pretty.

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  14. Cuteness! Never seen one in a tree.

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  15. we had a possum on our back fence this fall, and yes, they are adorable. this guy wasn't svn full grown yet, just a bit terrified of the barking dogs everywhere. these are the cutest pix, beth!

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  16. Well you've made him look adorable. I think the younger ones are kind of cute. A couple of years ago, during a rare, prolonged Florida cold snap, I found a young opossum sleeping in my back porch, under the grill cover. He had dropped a thin trail of pine needles as he carried them in to make his nest. Really, he was so sound asleep, and he'd made such a good, warm, waterproof nest for himself, that I hated to disturb him. But as you say, you don't really want Hannibal Lecter sleeping in your back porch, and my dog had also found him by this time, so I sort of took a broom and swept at him. Hannibal woke up, hissed at me, and took out of there so fast I think he used some kind of super power ;)

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  17. this post had me giggling -- i can only imagine you sneaking up for 'the shot'. fantastic beth!!! :) and yeah....he is a little cute.

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  18. These were awesome images. And his little hands and feet ARE cute!

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  19. Fantastic photography... Simply lovely.

    Tessa~

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  20. Wild animals - especially ones with adorable little hands and feet - are always great - to be able to get such wonderful snaps of them is wonderful.

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  21. Aw, he really is very cute! Not cute enough to cuddle, but cute ;-)

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  22. Whoa! Look at those little toes!
    xo jj

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  23. He's darling, I love wildlife, too. Your description of him/her potentially eating your face reminded me of a sculpture here at the Phoenix Art Museum called "The EMbrace" by Patricia Piccinini:
    https://www.google.com/search?q=patricia+piccinini+embrace&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=APjSUrzACuG8yAH0voGIBg&ved=0CDMQsAQ&biw=933&bih=505

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  24. As much as I love wildlife and find cuteness in most things, I have to say the rat-like appearance makes me want to turn away. I think it's the tail. I'm so glad he didn't jump on you. I can imagine that would leave a person somehow scarred for life.

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  25. You're the best opossom photographer I've ever seen! You really captured her. It is a special blessiing and a rare moment to connect with somthing wild. We share the same world with them. xo Jenny

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  26. Excellent photographs! Are you sure the possum was a "he", look at that "Mona Lisa" smile! If it was a female possum, she may have had babies in her pouch. I am not sure what time of year the possum babies are in the pouch, but there can be as many as 13 babies in there. She may have been eating for 14!

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  27. Such a rare sight!! So funny that you mentioned he hissed at you. In the third picture, I could almost swear he is smiling at you. There is a small island here, next to the big island called Hornby Island... it used to be over run by these critters. My parents were housesitting there at a B&B for 6 months, and every time I went to visit them, I was always on the lookout for this illusive creature.. never saw one. Apparently, they were becoming quite a problem on that little island, and a cull was done shortly before I got there. I was so disappointed. I really really wanted to see one! Sure, they might look a bit like mammoth rats, but they are kind of cute.. in a pug or cabbage patch kid kind of way. How wonderful that you were able to capture this little guy!

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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