I think I'll call him Spotsford.
He was under our bird feeder, munching away on sunflower seeds and just ignored me when I walked out on the deck, crunching through the snow to get his picture.
There he goes --lickety split!
What a cutie!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Possum Trot
Alas, no ground hog for Groundhog Day but just look at this fine possum! Such a beauty with his white heart-shaped face and the starburst of white on his back.
I think I'll call him Spotsford.
He was under our bird feeder, munching away on sunflower seeds and just ignored me when I walked out on the deck, crunching through the snow to get his picture.
He posed, front view, side view, allowing me to admire his pink little nose and toes. Finally, however, he thought better of it and trundled off toward a nearby tree.
What a cutie!
I think I'll call him Spotsford.
He was under our bird feeder, munching away on sunflower seeds and just ignored me when I walked out on the deck, crunching through the snow to get his picture.
What a cutie!
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17 comments:
Vicki
I love this sequence of photographs. The third one reminds of a character from a Disney animation, scuttling off and kicking up the snow with those little furry feet.
I can't believe how he posed for you ... neat pictures!
We have a possum that lives in the barn and each day ventures out towards our house (to the waste from the birdfeeders I'm guessing), but he must pick up on Wally's scent and turns around and back he goes. He's not as handsome as your guy though, this one is big and fat and just waddles.
Those photographs of the possum are great. We have one who comes periodically to eat the finch seeds.
Vicki...this was a treat! He really is a handsome guy! :)
What terrific photos Vicki. I can't believe that he posed for you. Wow.
Have you ever been to the annual Possum Drop in Brasstown at Clay's Corner? Brasstown is where the John Campbell folk school is located. Clay has an all male Miss Possum contest, jokes, bands, fireworks and they drop the possum (very gently in a nice plexiglass box I might add) at midnight on New Years Eve. The NY Times even came once and wrote an article about it. It's a popular family style event and people come from far and wide. Clay calls possum "the other white meat" on t-shirts.
I bet your guy wouldn't go within ten feet of Clay if he knew about the Possum Drop.
Sam
How cute!!!
I love that third one two, Martin. I'd never seen a possum move so fast.
He was so happy to be there with all the sunflower seed the birds had kicked out of the bird feeder that he was willing to overlook my intrusion -- for a while. He really is the best looking possum I've ever seen -- probably a young one.
Alas, possums have a short life span -- 2 to 4 years -- due to their many predators and their propensity for hurling themselves under cars. Also, the playing dead thing (which is an involuntary response, like fainting goats) just doesn't work that well as a defense.
I read the Possum Drop article in the New Yorker, Sam, but have never been. Sounds like great fun but we almost never venture out on New Year's Eve -- and Brasstown is a 'fur piece' from our mountain.
A few years ago one of our Shepherds encountered an opossum in the woods and charged at it full speed - the opossum just dropped! It was hilarious - the dog took one sniff and made a face like "Yuck" and walked away! Thanks for sharing those pics - he is a cutie.
Wow, Vicki! What a piece of luck to be able to take photos of this possum. I have never seen a possum so close, not even in Australia.
Thanks for the visit! You asked about the ancient illustrations in my sidebar. Well they are from the Dutch illustrator Anton Pieck(1895-1987). He gathered all kind of antique articles and used them in his drawings. He also designed a fairy tale park,called "Efteling", where you can find fairy tales from all over the world. I might use these drawings for either "That's My World"or ABC Wednesday P for Pieck!
Great capture-of a big ole possum! He is cute : )
That is the cutest little opossum I've ever seen. Ours tend to be on the mean and ugly side. Happy Opossum Day!
Liz -- glad to hear the play dead ploy worked for your possum!
Thanks, Wil, for the info -- such beautiful pictures!
Tipper and Willow -- I'm glad to know others see the cuteness in this guy. So often folks just make rude remarks about the ugly tails possums have.
how sweet a sneaking posing possum on groundhog day, really cute, i never have seen one. thanks for the education!
Once had a possum get into the old house I lived in. Woke up in the middle of the night to mahem as our daschund 'treed' the possum in the diningroom. Best they stay outside, but when they 'play possum' you can catch them in a foam cooler and return them to the wild. Needless to say, the landlord had some 'possum proofing' to do on the old house. Your little guy is cute though.
The setting for this little saga was 'Booger Hollow' in Floyd Co. Georgia. The story goes that the moonshiners had a path through the hollow and bandits disguised with a floury paste on their faces would descend from the hills as they made way back from selling it to steal their ill-gotton gains.
Lynne in GA
Thanks, Eliane! And thanks, Lynne, for two good stories! Love the explanation for Booger Hollow!
Great photographs. I agree...he is a cutie.
The possum is just wonderful. I love him! Larry bought me a possum in Cracker Barrel and I put him in my hammock but when I returned to England I couldn't bear to part with him so I brought him with me. Then when I went back I just had to have another one. This one is soooooooooo cute.
Blessings, Star
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