A Visitor At My Birdfeeder

Today Joe has some kind of a stomach bug, so he's been in bed and I have been doing all kinds of things to busy myself and be quiet. I came into the computer room a few minutes ago, to check my emails, and looked at the feeder in the window. There he sat...as quiet as can be..an Opossum just enjoying a meal at my feeder. I had noticed that the feeder was crooked a couple of days ago and kept straightening it, when I filled it. He must have been here several times before. We had one of these furry creatures here once before. I went out at night, to make sure the hose was turned off...and reached my hand down in the dark corner and heard something that sounded like a cat. Pretty soon an Opossum crawled out and sauntered away. It really startled me. This time I can watch from the safety of my home to see how this creature behaves. I checked him out on the internet and found that they don't hibernate....but change their foraging from night to day, because it's warmer. Sometimes their hairless tail will get frost bitten. They aren't pests, because they have a range of about 50 acres and seldom congregate in big numbers. The can get as large as a house cat. This one is about that size. They seldom carry rabies. They will bite if provoked. They like to eat carrion, small rodents, seeds, fruits and grains, and pet food.
This guy has been here for a long time now. He doesn't seem to see me...when I go close to the window. He's very slow about eating. He takes his little paws and scratches the frozen seed up from the bottom of the feeder. I had put some of my homemade suet out there (it had chicken starter feed and lard mixed with different seeds) and it froze in a clump and I couldn't budge it from the bottom. He is helping me clean this feeder right now. His nose looks kind of like a pig. He takes a few bites and then sits up and looks around slowly...yawns...shakes his fur...turns to look at cars going by...and is most interesting to watch up close. His winter coat is very fluffy and soft looking. He's never moved from the corner where he is sitting in the picture.. until now. He slid down the bush and used his tail for balance as he slowly moved down to the ground. He's now cleaning up under the feeder. What an interesting animal and here I was with my camera ready for a change. I'll watch for him again tomorrow. You know me, I'll be putting a treat out there for him...I wonder does he like apples?

Balisha