Some might think this is cute.
I don't. Especially at 2:30 a.m. when you hear
a blood curdling scream. 'Mom.....we
have a rat!' We were knee deep in
renovations....the 12" crown moulding had
been removed from the base boards. A huge expanse
of crawl space could be seen. The dirt floor remains of a
generations old possum colony had been exposed.....and
now it was time to meet the humans. I can see why the kids
thought it was a rat....it's long nasty tail....it's beady little eyes.
This is more of what I saw. Plus add to the humiliation.....
that you think you have a rat in your home. A
mouse might be bad enough. I was devastated. In fact....
I was balling my eyes out and wanting to go
to the nearest Holiday Inn. We were all pretty shaken.
The next day I called my good friend Kevin....lucky for
me he owns POW Extermination. Get it POW.....because they
get it done. They get rid of vermin. He said....'I don't see any signs
of rat infestations. It would be really evident.' Gnawing....pawing....
all sorts of rat behavior. But the kids said they saw a RAT!!!
......so the next day....it all came clear to me. We
didn't have a rat....we had a possum! The dogs were
going ballistic. One was hunkered up all safe on
the couch. The other one....was protecting us. Treed to
the back of the couch ready to pounce on said RAT....um....
possum. Lincoln yanked forward the couch....Liberty lunged
forward....grabbing the RAT.....um possum by the scruff of
the neck and immediately ran out her doggie door.
Lincoln and I bolted out the door....not the doggie
door of course....and I said get it Lincoln!!!! He was
scared so I started beating the ferocious RAT....um....
possum in the head with a hoe. It flattened to the mere
size of a pancake. I scooped it up with the hoe and took it to
the driveway so I would be able to show my husband....ummm....
let's say my kill to make him happy....when he got home.
No sooner had I placed that sucker down on the driveway.....
it was gone. I thought our stable hand had disposed of it....
but no.....that RAT.....ummm possum....well you guessed it....
it was playing possum. So now we had a brain dead....possum
playing POSSUM running around.
This possum.....um not so lucky.....or is he just playing....
POSSUM????? I hope you enjoyed one of the many
adventures that I have taken in my humble
little farm life. I am not a farm girl at heart....but I do love
our quaint little life here. For those of you curious about the use
of possum/opossum....you can use them interchangeably according
to my dictionary. Do any of you have funny stories...I would love
to hear them....at first I was a little scared to tell this one.
I thought you all might think I lived in squalor...but then I thought
it was just too funny not to tell. I hope you have a clear image
in your mind at what I might have looked like beating
a poor defenseless possum with a hoe. Blessings for a fun filled
evening.
4 comments:
Oh my goodnes! I call them rats too! Anything that doesn't belong in the house is a rat. Almost 2 years ago on MLK day an albino ferret (which, by the way, looks just like a white rat with a bushy tail) came visiting me. Kitt was 2 and Bennett was 3 and loading them into the van was, well, you can imagine. As we were almost to the van, out came the rat like creature from the bushes! I started screaming, threw my kids into the van, and went to shut my door, only to see him following me, like he wanted in my van! When I called the non-emergency police number, they told me the animal control guys weren't working because of MLK day. The ferret disappeared but came back on Wednesday. Our front porch faced the south so we always attracted stray cats, dogs, even a possum but the white rat thing just about did me in. When I called the guys again, they asked, are you sure it was a ferret? I set out pieces of an apple on my step and sure enough, he came back. The animal control put on these huge gloves, picked him up, and the rat ferret bit him as he was put into the cage. He said it was the very first ferret he had ever picked up. He went to the animal shelter...I heard he was adopted! Gross....gross....gross.
Y*U*C*K. We had a large mouse once....no fun!
The possum playing possum....priceless!
You beat it with a hoe? Was she on a lunch break....? You mentioned we might think you lived in a "Squaler" (love that expression), I'm thinking "Red Light District"... not really :)
I think I would want to have you sitting beside me in the event of a plane crash or natural disaster, you've got the "get 'er done" thing going on! I'd feel safe with you...forget POW!
Great story.
Sharon
We used to see them all the time when we lived in CA -- their tails are so gross! The only possum story I have is one that our next door neighbor back then caught and put in a shoe box -- it was a baby. Whenever she opened the lid of the box, it would hiss and try to look all tough! I wouldn't want one in my house, that. is. for. sure!
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