Possum Pal

I arose this morning at 5:30 with a head full of steam to clear out a flowerbed I've neglected for over a year. I removed some dead limbs from the Jude tree, took a look at our decaying wooden fence, bagged some trash, tidied up the recycle area, swept the driveway and was going to put the Jude limbs into a contractor bag when I changed my mind. I tossed them into one of the landscape containers that was sitting under the dogwood tree.

The baby possum was maybe 12 inches long and after my initial surprise I felt quite sorry for him stuck there with no way to escape. I thought he must have fallen into the bucket from the overhanging branch since possums do climb trees. I had no idea how long he might have been there but he didn't hiss at me and that was an encouraging sign.

I ran for the camera, but when I got back he'd already figured out that the limb was a good way to exit his predicament and was slowly crawling up it. I yanked it out from beneath him and as he burrowed into the grass I ran to get the wire cage trap. A little food and a slight nudge on his behind would surely coax him into his new environment.

Everything went as planned and after possum's photoshoot, we brought him to a wooded area where I'm sure he'll be as happy and content as I am knowing he's no longer in my backyard. The possums drive Max nuts especially at 1:oo in the morning!

To view him larger, please click here. A mosquito was biting him near his eye, the poor little thing.