Opossum In The Tree
This morning I went outside to look at my patio garden, camera strap around my neck, and see if there were any birds around. I haven’t been able to get any good bird photographs in weeks.
I have my zoom lens activated and am panning the tree, when this is what I see in my viewfinder. An opossum!
Needless to say, I was shocked and I’m very glad the camera strap was around my neck, because I fear I might have dropped it.
I looked out the front and saw Nathan and told him to come look. He took photos with his phone while I took them with my camera.
I thought opossums came out at night.
Remember the time a couple of years ago, when the dogs were out in the middle of the night and wouldn’t come in. Abi had “treed” a big one out by the fence. I like to never got hold of her and got her back inside.
This one is still just hanging out in the tree. I’ve been getting up to look every little bit.
I put some of the yellow-flowering sedum around my Japanese maple. This sedum, as with most I’d imagine, has shallow roots.
You can take some of the strands, lay them in a pot and put a fairly thin layer of soil on them. And before you know it the sedum should take hold and grow beautifully.
Like you see below…
Yesterday I noticed basil growing between the cement crack. Nathan came over and dug it out. He took two plants and I took two. Once we replanted them, they didn’t look so good. As in fell over like a rock in a hole.
But I have hope for them. Either the strong root was way below the crack in the cement. Or he didn’t dig enough out. But then, how deep can you dig in between a cement crack?
I am happy to see this morning that my two basil plants are rallying. They are inching up toward the sun, slowly but surely. I think they may make it.
I am just astounded by what is coming up through that cement crack. First there was lemon balm and zinnias last year. This year this basil had grown about half a foot high before I even noticed it.
So where are these alien plants coming from? Perhaps I planted them years ago and they self-seeded in that narrow cement crack. But it’s a nice surprise to see you’ve got new plants by virtue of a crack in the cement.
I finished reading a book last night. It is called “The Kill Club.” Interesting book and concept.
Premise: If you’ve been taken advantage of, they will find you.
Say, your ex beat you, convinced the judge that you are an unfit mother and took custody of your child because he is an attorney and has money. An unfair slide of the scales, wouldn’t you say?
So one day you get a phone call from a blocked number. This person on the other end wants to help you. They have scoped you out, know your story and are willing to help you “solve your problem.”
In a time of desperation, you agree with the premise. The person on the phone sends you a box that always says it’s from Amazon.com. Inside you find some squishy oranges and two syringes. One syringe is empty. The other one has warning signs on it with a yellow liquid inside.
Your instructions are to practice with the empty one on the oranges, and to kill with the other one which has poison in it.
You are given instructions on how to find a person, someone else who deserves, says the voice on the phone, to die for their transgressions. And so your job is to inject this stranger.
And in exchange, another person you’ll never know or meet who needs their problem solved injects the husband who betrayed you and took your child.
This way no one points the finger at you. There is no connection between you and the deceased. Pretty clever, huh? If you are a psycho sociopath.
Oh, what a web we weave…
Great book! I mean, aside from the killing.
Now pics of the pet babies…
Charlie Ross thinks he wants himself a opossum. I beg to differ with him. He’d get much more than he bargained for I imagine.
I have physical therapy today. I’m doing much better. Holly has worked her magic on me before and she always helps my ankle from whatever it’s currently going through.
Interesting Facts About Opossums…
- The opossum is considered to be intelligent animals. They have the ability to find food more quickly than rats and cats.
- Possums are a nocturnal animal. They are active at night and search for abandoned burrows to stay in.
- These creatures are omnivorous animals. Their diet mostly includes flowers, grass, buds, fungi, ferns, fruits, insects, and eggs.
- Possums do not have great eyesight or hearing power, but their sense of smell is strong enough to keep them safe from dangers.
- Both of these animals are immune to rabies because of their low body temperature; they carry eight times less than other animals.
- The lifespan of opossum and possum is usually short only 2 to 4 years.
I did a bit of Googling. Apparently this is one is a opossum, due to its tail. Possums are actually cuter. If a possum can be considered cute. I actually kind of think they both are. But then, I’m a sucker for animals.
Possums have very sharp teeth. Keep Charlie away.
We have had possums around during the day occasionally, but they just slowly try to get out of my way. We have LOTS of raccoons here (Minnesota), and while I know they are clever and very cute, they are also trouble! We have one (or a family of them, not sure) that likes to open the back porch door and get into our dog’s food and treats! We moved the food away, and the treats are closed in drawers now, but they still come in to look for them. And they aren’t afraid! Even though our Shiba Inu/Cocker Spaniel mix charges the sliding-glass door and barks ferociously at them from just a few feet away, they just pay no attention. Even though the dog weighs almost 50 pounds, we won’t let him get too close, as raccoons are big and fierce. Terribly cute, though!
Oh…. that book. Who thinks this stuff up? How does the mind even go there to come up with it? Yikes! Scary stuff!
Can opossums get rabies CDC?
All mammals can carry rabies. However, it’s actually very rare for possums to carry the disease. This is party because opossums have a slightly below average body temperature, and the rabies virus can’t thrive at this lower temp.
However, I read they can carry other diseases that can make your dog ill. Don’t let little Charlie boy drink after the possum!
What a surprise though to see an opossum while attempting to bird watch!
I didn’t know about this Australian possum until I read it in your post, so, thanks for the education! However, pretty much everyone I know in my state of Kentucky just uses the name possum for the opposum, because possum is easier to say. This topic makes me think of the bluegrass song “Boil them cabbage down,” which has a verse that goes:
Possum in the ‘simmon tree,
Raccoon on the ground,
Raccoon shouts up to his friend
Won’t you shake some ‘simmons down!
The word ‘simmon refers to the American persimmon tree, Diospyros virginiana, that produces little fruit that both possoms and raccoons and some people really love. It’s a much smaller fruit than the Japanese persimmons in the grocery store.
Glad you are making some fun discoveries in your patio garden. I discovered a little redbud growing in a spot in the yard that had been missed by the lawnmower, and I’m really happy because it’s a spot where I can just let it grow. Usually, redbuds pop up somewhere totally inappropriate like in a crack in the driveway, and they are just about impossible to transplant. They have really long taproots and if you don’t get it all, the plant just does not want to make a go of it in a new spot. So I will put a marker with a bright piece of cord next to this redbud to make sure it doesn’t get mowed over.
I agree with Jan. This is a baby opossum and he is looking at your plants for food. Charlie wouldn’t stand a chance with him or his mama if he cornered one of them. And if there is one, there are plenty more from the litter. I had them under my shed for years and they absolutely get huge and not so cute. They seldom leave an area they get accustomed to. I would ask if anyone else in your area has seen them, and perhaps have them humanely removed by your animal control people, and returned to the wild. If Charlie were my dog I wouldn’t leave him on the patio alone day or night.
Keep us posted!
I had a pet possum when I was a kid. It was small when I found it crawling out of a drain pipe. I don’t know where it’s family was. It was a sweet, very skinny little thing. I named it Cuddles. It had fleas, I bathed Cuddles and we treated it with cat and dog flea powder, that we used way back then. It got tame as could be and followed me around like I was a mama possum. Very wide bell bottom pants had just come into style at that time and anytime I wore those wide legged pants, that little possum would try to climb up the inside of the legs of them. I guess it was reminded of it’s mama’s pouch. It loved Little Friskies cat food and anything else I would feed it and grew to be a big possum before the end of that summer. I am still a fan of possums 55 years later.
Great photos today ,I love opossums they are so cute !
Miss ivy is so pretty ,glad she and Charlie are friends .
Have an awesome rest of the week .So glad the PT is working .
I once got up in the middle of the night due to all four dogs barking at something outside (we have a dog door so they can go out). There was what appeared to be a very dead possum lying there. I turned a bucket over the top of it and locked the dogs in the house. The next morning I went up to dispose of the body. The bucket was still there like I had left it, but the possum was gone. That thing sure had been playing possum!!!!! I could have sworn it was dead! That was a very interesting incident indeed.
Super cute!!
I was going to say that I didn’t know possums and opossums were different, but reader Jan clarified that for me. I have seen adult possums only a couple times in my life and have tho’t them incredibly ugly with their long, ratty bare tails. Also, don’t they have an strong odor? But the little guy you photographed is certainly a cutie. Next time I see one I’ll try not to be so judgmenta!
Ivy Lou does indeed look comfy. She has definitely adopted you and Charlie as her family and your place as your home. She is both smart as well as lucky. Smart to have settled in and lucky that you found her. And Charlie has to get a lot of credit for having adapted so well to sharing his mom and his space with her. How does Ivy get on with Andrew when he comes? Does she let him pet her or is he afraid of her, maybe?
Brenda, I just love your angel statue on your patio. Where did you ever find her? I’m especially fond of the “cage dolls”–they have another name that I can’t think of right now. I’ve always wanted one, but the ones I find online are usually quite pricey. Yours is so perfect for your patio.
Hugs to you and pats to Charlie and Ivy.
I think possums are cute too !! Once, many years ago, I opened my front door in the middle of the night for some reason I’ve forgotten, and there was a very small possum coming up the steps. He froze and I froze. I think I just shut the door quick ! I also always have a raccoon in my backyard.
I’ve never had a raccoon. I don’t know if I’ve ever even seen one in real life.
Opossums and possums are the same critter, just regional differences in size and coloration usually due to genetic drift, the same as with squirrels, birds, rabbits, and humans. The possum in your tree looks like a youngster; he may have gotten “caught” out in the daylight when he ventured out of the den a bit too late, and now he feel stuck until nightfall. Your showing up at the patio door frequently to check on him may act to continue to “freeze” him (or her) in the tree. Best thing to do is to shut your drapes and stay away for a couple of hours, then peek out of another window that may have a view to where the possum was last perched to see if he’s gone. If he’s still up in the tree and you let Charlie out and he spots the possum, Charlie is like to have a heart attack from the excitement. And no – a dog the size of Charlie with no teeth to defend himself wouldn’t stand a chance against a possum. I generally leave possums alone, they frequently visit because of my feeding the birds and squirrels, they come tapping the soil with their paws for sites where the squirrels have buried their nuts. I only disturb them if they’re trying to get into the garbage cart.
It left before noon. Charlie still smells it out there somewhere though.
That guy is pretty cute!! You captured his face so well. We have those around here and every once in awhile I will see him in the backyard. I think he comes for the birdseed. Have a good week and wonderful holiday weekend.
Hugs,
Kris
Took a lot of photos to get that great shot.
Glad the physical therapy is helping your ankle
It truly is! I have about one more week of PT.
Here in Michigan, an opossum had her babies under the deck of an above ground pool near the filter. The DNR had to come out and eventually remove them since they are protected here. Needless to say, we couldn’t use the pool for six weeks.
I’m glad they’re protected there.
Oh how cute! Seems to like it up there above your patio garden; probably thinks it is a pretty view and a nice place to spend a little time. Just hope it is not hurt — odd for it to be there for this long and in the daytime. I see them around here a lot but usually at night. I saw a mother raccoon and her babies close to sunrise about a month ago. They were swimming up to the bank from the marsh. I am assuming they lived close by because they came up on the bank and disappeared in the brush. Maybe they all had fish for breakfast or oysters!
Ivy looks quite comfortable and Charlie looks like he sees an opossum and trying to figure out how to get it to come down so he can get it!
Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.
Yep, that’s exactly what he’s doing.
I have an opossum who comes to my back deck at night. My dogs bark at him through the sliding glass door, but it doesn’t scare him. Many years ago there was a redneck outdoor festival that we attended. One of the features was a Pretty Opossum contest. We had found a baby opossum in the woods and entered it in the contest. I tied a pink ribbon around her neck and called her Ellie Mae Clampett. Surprisingly, she won first place! The newspaper ran an article about it. The baby opossums are just like little kittens. Can’t help but love them.
Aw! Ellie May Clampett!
Sorry, Brenda, these things ooog me out. And – I saw your research on rabies, so i was curious, then, why it was out in the daytime??? From a website called ‘ The Possum Pages’ i learned that daytime sightings happen b/c ” when food is scarce or when they have been disturbed from their sleeping quarters.” And live science reminded me they love trees! And Nathan is right: according to critter control, they should never be cornered, b/c that’s when they get aggressive – just like people 😉
Wow, I got a little scared when you said he’s still in the tree, but apparently it’s not terribly unusual to see them out and about in daylight!
There was an opossum under the deck in my yard. When my neighbor moved it left. She told me she left her garage door open for it. My dog did not like it coming here.
So interesting about the possum and opossum. I wish their lifespan was a little longer. I love these creatures. Good picture of him/her in the tree.
I like the sound of the book, I must look for it.
That Ivy she certainly has made herself at home. I am glad Charlie and her are friends.
Last night Ivy was laying next to Charlie and licked and sniffed his ear and he didn’t snap at her. A surprise to me.
Opossums, the bare tailed possum live here in Minnesota too. They are a desirable creature here as they help a great deal with the undesirable insects. I was surprised to see them during the day in winter time. Seemed too cold for them to be out. I wish they could scare off the pesky raccoons! Your garden is pretty. Happy it brings you much joy. ?
Haven’t ever seen raccoons here.
I think he is cute, however I wonder what he is doing up during the day? Do they get rabies? I do not know.
I love seeing your garden! It looks fabulous as do your adorable fur babies.
Have a great day Brenda!
Read the list below about rabies.
I wonder what it’s doing lounging in a tree in full daylight too.
I think it is darling.
I do too!
Your opossum is adorable! They eat ticks and fleas, so if he/she sticks around, that’s good for you!
Yeah, I know. Nathan said just don’t get near it.