About This Baby Possum

Our house was built in 1888. We actually have copies of land deeds for the piece of land we’re on that were signed my Sam Houston. It’s old. It’s in need of major renovations which would cost mucho dollars that we don’t have right now and won’t have any time in the near future. But, we find it charming and have been willing to put up with plumbing problems, heating and cooling issues, electrical circuit overloads, and a foundation so rundown in places that the boys can conduct soapbox type races using Hot Wheels from the middle of the floor to the wall. We’re also pretty sure the place is haunted because window panes turn up mysteriously broken on a continuous basis and no one ever knows who did it. That's yet another blog.

I’ve often remarked that living in our house is just one step up from camping. That said, it’s not really a big surprise to find a baby possum inside. The big surprise is that I actually caught the little thing. I’d heard him the night before. I was up late by myself and the house was quiet. From the family room I could hear a little crunching sound. I stealthily made my way to the kitchen doorway and waited oh so quietly. After about 2 full minutes of waiting I heard another crunch and spotted just his little possum face from around the corner of a big basket container. He was eating at our dog’s bowl. He noticed me right away and scuttled off. After looking online and confirming that it was indeed the face of a possum I’d seen, I went on to bed deciding to deal with him the following night.

Yesterday afternoon, dinner was in the oven, husband was on his commute home from work, and the boys were outside riding bikes. I sat down in the family room again with my computer. Just a few minutes passed and the now-familiar crunching noise began. I tiptoed my way to the kitchen door. He must have heard me coming because he was not at the dog’s bowl. Just then, I heard a scuffling and quickly spotted him in the corner just to my right. He was under a little decorative shelving unit. I moved a little toward him and he skittered about a foot forward along the wall and behind a medium-sized basket in the floor. I gently pressed against the basket with my foot, trapping him, and then, (this is the shocking part) I actually grabbed him by the tail. With my hand. Believe me, even a baby possum has a rather large and ratty looking tail. I mustered all the courage I had in me and just grabbed him. It was the mother in me that did it. I REALLY wanted the boys to see this thing and I LOVE impressing them. The looks of admiration I got from them last night were priceless. They have a mom who caught a possum! Fortunately, I had a nice deep box handy to put him in and my only regret is that we didn’t take any pictures before releasing him.

grace