Friday, February 7, 2014
Possum in winter
Got hit by an other foot of snow on Wednesday and my right shoulder has been bothering me more than usual after yesterday's clean up job. Thirty years of use and abuse swinging a framing hammer, P.W.T. genetics and sundry accidents have relegated it to junk status.
At least the birds seemed enjoy their new condo set up in the storm.
I have always wondered where the possums that visit at night come from. Following their tracks in the snow showed that they cut to the back corner of the property and made their way under a tiny gap to where my crack junkie neighbor set up her compost pile against my fence. So yesterday while cleaning up after the storm I cut a path with the snow blower to make it easy for them. I figured I would see tracks in the undisturbed snow on the other side of the fence giving me a clue to where they might have their den. So imagine my surprise this morning when I looked over the fence and saw this.
Considering it was about 5 degrees below zero F or about 25 deg below zero Centigrade I figured he might be a gonner.
But I could see him breathing.
And as I shifted my weight on the fence cross beam to take the pictures and the ice cracked, he woke and looked up at me as if to say, what the F--- do you want?
Some cool visitors you have there! And more snow , none here as yet just rain , a little frost this morning but that was the first for a long time .More storms for the weekend bringing even more rain. I know you will get fed up with the snow but I would happily take some in place of the wet stuff . Hope your shoulder eases up soon ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Brian, Yes you can have all of my snow, I think we've all had enough of winter by now. I have been watching the news about the floods over there, looks awful soggy.
DeleteThe shoulder is what it is and only will get worse from here on in. Dock said the cartilage is worn and I have bone on bone contact. A steady diet of Ibuprofen is the only thing that keeps me marginally functional. Surgery is the only solution but I am reluctant to go there just yet. I am waiting for them to come up with injectable Teflon.
They lose their ears and tails to frostbite a lot in this kind of weather.
ReplyDeleteYes I think that the pink tips on the ears means some level of frost bite. I just checked on him an hour ago and he was still there. So I tossed a pile of straw over him to give him some insulation. Most nights they come over for supper right after sunset but no one is moving in this cold. Must be about 3 deg F below zero right now.
DeleteThey are one hell of a wierd creature! I'm kindof glad we dont have them over here, I doubt that playing dead like they do would stop my dads dog from eating it.
ReplyDeleteShame about your shoulder. I think I know what my aliment will be when I'm older - my knees. They hurt like hell some night after I've been doing skirtings all day. Not good when my little girl wants "horsey" rides most nights! I wear pads but they only do so much.
Kev: I think possums or more correctly Opossums, because the true possum is an Australian creature, get a bad rap mostly due to their odd looks when they feel threatened and they open their mouth. They do grow on you after a while. I think they are so ugly they are cute. They are perfectly harmless and do not attack other animals and more often than not will run away if confronted. They are the only marsupial on the American continent. They have a prehensile tail and opposing thumbs. They are immune to snake venom due to some protein in their blood, and are highly resistant to rabies. They are fastidiously clean and spend a lot of time grooming. I have watched them under my deck doing so. They are omnivores but do like to eat road kill. They apparently have a very slow metabolism that allows them to withstand extreme low temperatures.
DeleteAs for the shoulder there is little that can be done about it. I suppose it is almost inevitable to have some sort of damage after the kind of work we do. Luckily I still have all my fingers. I have this notion that the kind of work we do takes not only wood and nails but energy to make it all come together in to a finished product. And if you think of that energy as an actual solid ingredient in the recipe, say like paint, it is inevitable that as you apply that "mater" on your work some splashes back on you much like paint on a painter. Only it hurts a bit more and is harder to remove.