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Possum
Topic Started: Nov 11 2004, 08:32 AM (139 Views)
mychrissy
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Chrissy
The sensor lights went on early last evening and I was hoping the deer were back but no such luck. It was a possum and gee are they ugly.
Let's see now, voles, armadillos, possums, racoons and deer. Did have two black vultures in the trees for a couple of days. I think I saw a deer in the woods last evening as when I opened the door to go outside something leaped and ran. I can't help but get all excited about these creatures. After living in Miami for so long and never seeing animals like these I find this all very fasinating.
Chrissy

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Heathertee
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Heather-Central Connecticut
Chrissy, possums are edible too ;) , but I don't think I would eat one. They eat dirty food (scavengers) and have to be penned live and fed clean food like lettuce, corn and fruit for a week. By the end of a week of feeding a creature, I think I'd have a hard time killing him, ugly or not.
Have the coons been back?
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mychrissy
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Chrissy
Heather,
No, the racoons have not been back. Frank has been taking in the bird feeders everynight and I put them out in the morning.
That possum was damn ugly and I couldn't eat it no matter what it was fed and for how long. Didn't I ever tell you the time we found a chicken at our front door in Miami? After we had her for two months she left us an egg outside our front door every other day. It took me awhile just to eat those eggs, but once I got over her being our pet I was able to enjoy bacon and eggs again. I named her Miss Delila. She would hear our son's car in the driveway after he came home from work and Miss Delila would run from one side of the house to the next to meet him at the garage door. We really enjoyed her, but I'm afraid the next door neighbor put her in a pot. We found them feeding her and fattening her up.
I know my stories must sound silly but I have enjoyed these animals coming into the yard ugly or not. Frank and I walk around the house laughing - we're so excited about all this. Pretty scarey isn't it?
Chrissy

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Heathertee
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Heather-Central Connecticut
Not silly at all, Chrissy, and I enjoy reading them. Sorry if I sounded cynical, but I have spent more time and effort and $$$ trying to keep the critters from eating or destroying our hard-won gardens! The Lyme Disease was about the last straw. :P
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Trailblazer
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We had a possum in the alley in the middle of the city (Wichita, Kansas) not too many years ago.

Last month at Sea Ranch in Gualala, Calif. we had a family of raccoons (BIG ones!) living under the beach house. Even after we bungie corded the trash cans, they still rattled them incessantly at night. They caused such a racket, that we had to bring the cans in at night. They were the most beautiful raccoons I have ever seen...very silvery, sleek, thick fur. Not like Oklahoma raccoons that are brownish, and can be scraggly looking.

The raccoons climbed on the patio walls at night also, and climbed up on the roof. They were very active and noisy. We'd take flashlights outside and blind them...they'd freeze and stare at you.

Turkey vultures can be aggressive. In Tulsa, we lived by the zoo, and animals would escape and come in our yard. A turkey vulture from the zoo named "Killer" roosted on the neighbor's roof and would swoop down on anyone outside walking. I called the zoo and told them to come get their bird. It took a day for them to account for who was missing and then they came out and got him. It was fun to go visit "Killer" at the zoo after that.

Armadillos can't see very well. We've walked up on them on our hikes in Oklahoma, and they don't realize we're close. They are so prehistoric looking.

At the Grand Canyon, we went to a bar in one of the lodges, and a ringtail family has made it's home in the lodge, and frequents the bar. They run around under the tables and then run up the walls to perch on rafters. They are so beautiful.

We had a skunk greet us when we arrived at a campground at night outside Colville, Washington. I knew that somewhere on this trip Richard would yell at me to "GET BACK INSIDE THE CAR!" because of a bear...but no, it was a huge skunk at our campsite!:o

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roboots
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We had a visit by raccoons last night. It/they managed to tip our trash can and open the lid and there were things all over our deck this morning. They must be very fussy eaters as they opened just about every kitchen bag and layed everything out like a banquet. This happens about once a month. Usually they find some other treats without having to tip the can.
Can't really blame them-they're just trying to make a living like anyone else. :ph43r: :hungry:
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sylley2000
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Sylvia, Grand Bend ON
Chrissy,

They make beautiful collars for coats.

I have a suede coat with 'real' possum trim -- it's beautiful fur, quite unlike anything else you would ever see.

So, they might be ugly in their present form, but they can be beautiful! Hmmm, found a picture of a possum fur hat. It's exactly the colour of the possum on my coat and looks to be the same texture:

Posted Image
Come to think of it, minks look like rodents!

The possum texture and colour is unique and quite stunning. New Zealand combines possum pelts with their wonderful merino wool for gorgeous sweathers, footwear and other creations.

Yeah, I know it doesn't have anything to do with actually seeing one in your yard, just thought I'd tell you about how useful they can be--just not in the live form! :floorrollin: :floorrollin: :floorrollin: :floorrollin: :floorrollin:

Sylvia
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Heathertee
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Heather-Central Connecticut
Oh boy; that brings back a memory!
In my late '30's I went through a luxury phase, finally having a little extra money for the first time in my life. I wanted a fur SOMETHING; didn't really matter what. I went into a fancy fur salon and bought the least expensive jacket they had, a $100 opossum jacket. It looked a lot like mink, like the hat you pictured. Soft, dark brown, and beautiful.
I wore it home as it was a chilly Fall day. Halfway there, my nose and eyes began to itch. By the time I got home, my face was swollen, eyes red and watering, and I was sneezing uncontrollably. I took off the jacket, put it back into the box and wrapped iot in a big plastic bag and put it in the trunk of the car. Next day, sadder but wiser, I got my money back. Never woren real fur since.
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mychrissy
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Chrissy
Sylvia,
Great picture and the color of the fur in beautiful. Haven't seen any animals in the last few days. I was hoping to see the deer again, but not the armadillos, possums or racoons. Come to think of it I haven't seen any voles. Now don't tell me a snake ate them - I don't want to see a big ole snake in the yard.
Chrissy

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roboots
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The Crap WeaselLadies. Should you decide to open this link you will be introduced to one animal that has no fear of being made into a hat or anything else. In fact the poor little guy/girl has nothing to fear but itself. A bit of tongue in cheek humor about one of Canada's lesser known forrest dwellers. :)
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Heathertee
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Heather-Central Connecticut
Now that is one revolting animal. I read the article twice and still can't decide if it's for real.....guess it must not be...

Hmmmm. Googled it and it mostly seems to be a reference to an unsavory person, except for one link that sounds serious.
So, is it, or isn't it?
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