“Opossum PIe, Anyone?”

Wow are Opossum ugly. This baby is only slightly less ugly than the adult variety seen on the side of the road every day (the kind with the treadmark pattern running the full length of its body).

This little guy tried, for about thirty minutes, to find some way into my office through the sliding glass doors into my office from the back yard. (This might have something to do with the weather, it's really cold, but I think it's just because he's a young'un, and he's hungry). Then he went up on the deck and completely freaked out the parrots in their room (which has big windows looking out on the deck). It was their screams of terror and fury that finally convinced me to do something about him.

Not that it was difficult.

I put some cat food on a paper towel, in the bottom of cat-carrier. He surprised me by not running away when I went outside, so I just put the carrier down in front of him. After a minute of sniffing, he walked right in and started eating. I just walked up to it and closed the door... on his tail. Oops. He spun around at the incredible speed that only possums can manage -- at least 1,000 millimeters per hour -- and looked at me. That it. I opened the door again, pushed his tail out the way with my hand, and closed it.

Now he's incarcerated in my office, while I read him possum recipes ... and wait for Groton animal control to call me back.

"Woo doggie, that there's some good country liviin'!"

Update: Sorry, Richard. Opossum, not possum. My bad.