It is morning and I have been up a few hours thanks to the dog who can’t sleep past 7:30 no matter what time she last goes outside. I stayed up til midnight though I was ready for bed by 11, still trying to kick this cold. Hubby has it now and I and hope he doesn’t pass it back to me.
I stayed up not because I felt the overwhelming need to see in the new year but because I felt an overwhelming need to wait for the firecrackers. Chelsie, my last dog, was terrified of the firecrackers that went off in the area on festive days. The poor thing would cower and try to hide under pieces of furniture much too small for her.
Cassie was sleeping when the firecrackers started. She lifted her head and stared at me then moved to patio door. She rang the bells (her signal that she wants to go outside) and waited for me to do her bidding. I was trying not to make any reaction to her or the fireworks. I opened the door and she trotted outside, looking first, as she always does, to the back corner that the squirrels use for all their comings and goings. There was a movement and Cassie began to bark. Not her little puppy bark but her big dog alarm bark that she has been trying out of late.
I worried that it was a rat from the nest I know they have next door. But it was too big. A cat? Too slow. To my surprise it was a possum who, as Cassie moved closer (still staying 10 feet from the fence) turned around and walked down the opposite end of the fence.away from our yard.
I live in the city, surrounded by small houses with small yards and busy streets all around. This is the first time I’ve seem the possum at this house (we had one at our old house too.) I imagine he came to go fishing in the neighbor’s huge koi pond.
I don’t think a lot of about possums one way or the other as long as they keep their sharp claws away from me and the dog and don’t nest in the house. But it does make me feel a little bit hopeful that other creatures will find their way to our yard as the native plants grow and bloom.
Before bed last night, well into the wee hours of the new year, I wrote a bit, a few bad poems, some lines in a journal. I plan to do more of the same today. I also plan to work on my new blog for my garden. (Any one out there a LJ CSS expert? I need some help.) I want to move the garden posts to the new blog so I can track my progress.
Here’s to the new year. May it be filled with many new adventures.
Call the city/county/animal control whoever about the rats. Seriously. They get out of hand quickly.
We do. The rats are a constant problem with “that” neighbor who is also the one who hates what we did to the front yard, didn’t pay their half of the good neighbor fence and is generally a mean, spiteful old lady.
Your yard looks good, even if it’s not to her taste. Whereas her rats are a health hazard. Sounds to me like you guys have the moral high ground. Just be careful of the dog, if there is rat poison around – apparently it’s highly appealing to canines, and highly deadly.
Oh yes, we’re in the right. We call and other people in the neighborhood call but until they remove the bird feeders from the deck which has rotter so all the seed falls underground to feed the rats, well…not much we can do.
And I know, the poison is horrible. I know that’s what they do on their side. In the past we’ve always used a rat zapper which works fine and is safe (as long as we place it right) for the dog.
I’m glad you didn’t mind the possum. They get such a bad rap. They’re quiet and slow and are the most often abused by people because they don’t see well and can’t get out of the way. Their jaws have wicked crushing power, but they prefer to run from a fight most of the time. Or just play dead. I really like them.
As long as they don’t hurt my dog, I’m fine with them. At the last house we had a baby possum living under our deck. He came out one night when our other dog was out and the dog pinned it under the barbecue. We wanted to stay and look at it but the baby was making weird noises (scared I am sure) so we went back inside.