Unbagging the Cats 1

Unbagging the Cats 1

Monday, May 23, 2011

The Uninvited Guest






This is what I saw in my field this morning on the way to school. Not this very possum, but one that looked just like him. He was facing me, standing like some hulking behemoth in the field by the barn, acting like he owned the place.

He was creepy. Not because I've never seen a possum. I've seen plenty. The most frightening encounter was when I looked out the laundry room door one morning and saw a possum munching away at the dog dish. Right up on the porch he was, a mere two feet away, separated from me only by a hollow metal door.

No, this one was creepy because he was BIG. And he was not the normal possum color of silvery white with black-tipped fur. This one looked like our black-and-white cat. Only uglier. He was a regular piebald. A pinto. A painted possum not often seen around these parts. I've never seen one this color not-playing dead on the road.

Pictures proclaim him to be a Virginia Opossum. Seems like he's expanded his range right over here to Missouri. I don't even know what we call Missouri Opossums besides possums. Maybe they're all Virginia Opossums. But the ones in my neighborhood are not black-and-white.

But I did not like the look of this fellow. He was kind of like this:



And this:




I want to see a normal possum. Not one of these impostors. When you get right down to it, I'd rather not see a possum at all. If you're a possum-lover, here's a link for you. You're welcome. But don't expect me to join your ranks.

6 comments:

Val said...

JOSH HOYT SAYS...
Not sure why but I can't post a comment so here's my comment :) It seems we have societies for everything now days. The bottom one looks like he is puckering up for a kiss how cute !!!

Val said...

Josh couldn't post a comment, so I did it for him. I don't know why Blogger is conspiring against me!

JOSH,
Maybe you should form a "Can't Comment on Val's Blog Society." And I will form a "Possums Are Never Cute Society." Just to cancel out your next one, the "Possums Puckering Up for a Kiss Are Cute Society."

Author Joshua Hoyt said...

sounds great I'll get right on that. Hopefully this posts this time :)

Author Joshua Hoyt said...

Yeah it worked!!

Mommy Needs a Xanax said...

I've never seen a pinto possum either. Not that I can remember. I have seen some truly gargantuan ones with the biggest being a regular visitor to my front porch when I lived on Main Street in downtown Hattiesburg. Town possums are well fed, I guess.

Val said...

Josh,
Let's hope that snafu has been solved.

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MommyNeeds,
You can write a children's book: City Possum, Country Possum.