Misadventure

Well, we made it through the cold snap ok. No pipes freezing, no frostbitten paws. We were glad to move back upstairs though. 

The last really cold night was Thursday. It had warmed up enough that we wanted to go outside again. About 9 pm, mom let us (Tallulah and Petunia) out to potty. She was putting her coat on when Tallulah started barking very high-pitched and shrill. Mom grabbed her phone for the flashlight and ran out to see what was going on. 

You may recall that this guy pays us a visit once a year or so. 

Mom's not sure where he was in the yard or what he was doing. But when she ran outside, Petunia was dragging it across the yard. Mom thought it was a plastic bag or something, maybe had food in it. When she shined the flashlight on it, she realized what it was. 

Boy, was she freaking out on the inside. These little buggers can do some damage with their claws and carry all sorts of nasty diseases. Amazingly, we actually listened to her and dropped it. Mom bribed us to come inside for a cookie. Once we got inside, mom removed the wad of possum fur from Petunia's mouth and duly rewarded us with a cookie. Then we got crated. 

She went back outside to check on the possum. By that time, he was getting up and running off. He really was playing dead! That kind of surprised mom given that the possum probably outweighed us by 10 pounds. A few years ago, when he was under the deck, he hissed at us. And when he was on the fence, he hissed. Mom figures that he was on the ground somewhere, maybe burrowing in the leaves or something. She doesn't think we are fast enough to have chased and caught it. Maybe the cold had slowed its reflexes or something.

Hopefully, Mr. Possum will share the news that our yard is not friendly to critters that look like living squeaky toys. 

Hope your weeks is less eventful and no where near as cold as last week was!