Riana’s comment about the boldness of my opossum made me realise that most of you in the UK would be unaware perhaps of the opossum’s reputation!

“Playing possum” is a common expression here in the United States, and here’s why:

They are North America’s only marsupial, they can carry their young in a pouch, like a kangaroo, and they can play dead.

Possums are famous for “playing dead” when threatened, but this isn’t quite accurate. They are not “playing” dead at all: the possum goes into shock when particularly stressed. While not dead, it can be found lying on its side with its legs extended and is, in fact, limp and unconscious during this time, like a person who has fainted.

While playing dead discourages predators from chasing the possum, it also makes them vulnerable. When drivers see the limp possum in the road, they don’t bother to swerve, since they assume it’s already dead. There are also accounts of people shooting the comatose possum in order to “put it out of its misery.” There is such a thing as overplaying a part.  

If I had advanced toward the opossum, it is quite likely it would have ‘played possum’!  That’s why I stood still, and left it alone.

I have seen them on rare occasions in my back garden.  They will come to eat the bird seed which has been knocked out of the feeding stations.  They are odd, ghostly animals.

I have been diligently searching for signs of life here, but alas, it is simply too cold!

 Well, actually, I’ve had a busy couple of nights.  I have gone for walks in the evening after my husband has gone to work (we have different days off now), and have seen some interesting sights.  No photos, unfortunately, to go with my sightings, but it’s been cold enough that I am not certain my camera would work.

 So, what have I been doing?  I’ve been out looking for owls.  Have I seen any yet?  No….BUT, I have seen an opossum, which alerted me to it’s presence by uttering a very low growl at me as I passed.  I brought up my torch, and the opossum just stood there underneath a tree, not more than a few feet away.

Opossums are odd looking creatures.  They have dirty white fur, a long pointed nose, small rounded ears, a naked tail.  They’re about the size of a domestic cat, and have odd little pink paws.  Here’s a good photo of the Virginia Opossum:

 http://www.flex.net/~lonestar/opossum.htm

 I also got to hear coyotes howling for the first time ever at Big Soos Creek.  I’ve known that they were there, but have never heard one.  Fun for me!

Now, I still need to find some owls, darn it!

 Oh, how cold is it here?  Well, right now it is 25 degrees Fahrenheit, or about -4 degrees Celsius.  For us, that’s COLD…brrrrrr…..

Not having a lot better to do, I’ve been sitting here at my computer watching the crows.  I have a piece of suet nailed to my deck, mostly for the chickadees (and woodpeckers if they ever show up), but the crows started coming as well. 

 The crows are very cautious–they can see me watching them through the window, and are leary of even landing on the railing when they see me.  There’s one crow which is bolder than the rest, and that one is the only one which seems to be feeding.  How long will it take the rest of them to become accustomed to me?

The west coast of the United States (at least from Northern California on up) has been hit by ferocious winds, rain, and flooding.  I did a lot of dodging of tree branches this morning on my ride!

 I was going to gather nettle to try making nettle hair conditioner, but decided it just wasn’t quite safe enough.  Perhaps tomorrow for nettle gathering?