Cold, Possums & Pet Spats
It was cold outside last night. Wear-long-sleeves-and-warm-socks-to-bed cold. Duck-your-head- under-the-blankets-and-breathe-through-a-small-opening cold. The total opposite of what it was like two weeks ago.
It typically warms up during the day, so I’m wearing shorts this morning.
We are at that point in the change of seasons when the weather tips the scales back and forth, back and forth in indecision. Until it finally stays registered on the cold side.
These days I seem to go to bed tired and wake up not much rested. Charlie gets up at a minimum of 5 times every night. Sometimes more. He coughs. I give him medicine. Then he wants outside.
He knows there’s another possum hanging around out there. We met up with him/her the other night on the back fence. It froze, as they usually do, and stared at us with it’s beady little eyes.
Some residents ask to have cages put around the property to catch them. (And let them out in the wild.) I say leave them alone. Possums eat all kinds of vermin and snakes and such. I’d rather come face to face with a possum in the dead of night than a snake or a rat.
Possums are nature’s ultimate scavengers and are immune to most snake venom.
Ivy has been into mischief from the moment I got up. I walked down the hall and happened to glance in the dark bathroom. She was in the tub; nothing unusual there.
But it was the look on her face that made me back up. The way she looked at me from the other side of the tub with only her eyes showing.
She was trying to hide the end of the toilet paper roll in the bathtub. Once the light was one, I saw it all over the floor.
I make sure every time I’m in there to tuck the toilet paper in where she can least get to it. But Ivy is stubborn. She WILL find a way.
Now she’s worn herself out and is sprawled out on the glass table next to the couch and my chair. Her eyes are at half mast. One leg is splayed over the couch arm. She is losing the battle and falling asleep.
Heaven only knows what happens in the dark of night around here. I try to get her to sleep with Charlie and me. But no, she wants to be a night owl, chasing shadows and whatever else she does.
Charlie is next to me as usual, his head tilted over the arm of my chair. Ivy is mere inches from him. He’s fine with that. But if she gets too close to him he will snap at her.
Ivy doesn’t run when he snaps at her. She just raises her head a bit, as though this behavior of his is beneath her standards. She stares at him as if to say: I’m a permanent fixture around her, brother dear. I’m not going anywhere, no matter how many times you snap at me like some rabid wild thing.
In other words: Have at it. I’m not afraid of you. And I know you have no teeth.
Oh what would I do without these two munchkins to entertain me? To love me unconditionally and keep me company?
I am so thankful for their presence in this little home of ours. They certainly keep things lively around here.
It is always so much fun to watch the interaction between pets. I love the way they push/pull at each other.
I’m with you-leave the ‘possum alone. They are not bad animals…just a little weird. lol
Have a great weekend with your two babies! xo Diana
Sounds like home,Brenda.
Sometimes,I think my 2 B’s(Bella and Bud) have their little heads together dreaming up something to crack me up.
Bella is older and she’s more my Charlie boy,laid back and calm…
Buddy seems to find mischief in every corner in our little home but like you I adore them and wouldn’t change a thing.
Brenda does Charlie receive the Leptospirosis vaccination to protect him against the bacteria that can be acquired through contact with infected animals, ie possums and raccoons or their urine? Vets say L. is a real problem in the South Texas Coastal Bend, it can cause any number of serious diseases and humans can become infected as well. Possums are a problem here and I ‘m sure the nasty unwelcome visitors pee as they trespass in Capo’s yard at night. So he receives the yearly vaccination, better to be safe than sorry.
When I went to bed last night I could hear the two cats doing something but I was sleepy and just decided to find out about it in the morning. I had forgotten about by the time the alarm went off. So I went into the bathroom and found that they’d dragged an entire four-pack of toilet paper out of the bathroom closet and had been batting it around. It was several feet away from the closet. They never play with a roll of toilet paper while it is hanging on the little holder, thank goodness. But they love to do battle with anything that is inside of a plastic bag or wrapper, as the unused toilet paper was. They have little interest in toys, but a pack of toilet paper is such fun!
Possums kill mosquitoes and ticks all summer long. They are not the most attractive of animals, but they are definitely worthwhile. xo Laura
Every time you post a photo of Ivy Lou, even though her look is calm and peaceful, I see mischief in her eyes. Kind of a wry humor. . . .
Can you imagine if Charlie Ross was healthy and younger what those two would do?
The mention of you tucked into your blankets made me suddenly long for your holiday decorations. It’s coming you know! I don’t mean to be pre-emptive. I just so so love your different moods and takes on what will suffice for you each year. Now you throw what is Ivy safe in the mix and I can barely wait to see what you do. I mean you MUST do something, as family pops round on occasion now and Andrew probably LOVES the holidays! Grandma should have a little something! Maybe tiny candy canes on a tree he can pick from. What does a bohemian holiday look like I wonder? LOL Maybe rainbow trees instead of traditional colors,,,,I’m going to go search the internet now! Love your little life! It’s so perfectly you!
I’ve been pinning boho Christmas decor and ornaments and DIYs on my Pinterest boards. Guess I’ll find out what I do when I do it!
Oh that Ivy!!!! This post made me laugh right out loud at her crazy antics! I can just picture the sight of the toilet paper all over the bathroom and her hiding in the bathtub!
Hi Brenda! I really think you have found the secret to life! Cozy sweet home and fur babies. The older I get it, it is the simplicity of having a cozy home, not a lot of bills and our fur babies. You are blessed!
Have a great weekend!
I agree, too, with your thoughts on the opossum. Many critters, such as the bat, and even the little garden snakes, can be very helpful in ridding our grounds of other pests. My neighbor trapped a woodchuck in a “have a heart” cage and transported it some miles away to a wooded area, but was told he would probably find his way back! And would anyone in your complex really be willing to resettle Mr. Possum!?
Hi Brenda,
I agree with you about the possums. Just leave them alone they are in nature for a reason. Little Ivy I bet makes your life full with all her every day antics. Glad little Charlie tolerates her antics too. Have a good Friday.
Kris