A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

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

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Well,I do declare! This should be entertaining for you. Surprised ours haven't been into our feeders out here.
Have a great eve ~
TTFN ~
Marydon

Lona said...

Those opossums will eat anything I think. They are always coming up to check the feed pan I use to feed the feral cats in the woods. They can be mean though if cornered.

Melissa Ann Goodwin said...

Balisha, I was googling my book The Christmas Village ( I know, I know) to see what would come up and one of the results was the blog post you did about your Christmas Village in December. I thought you might want to pop over to my blog - there is info about the book - it's about a 12 year old boy who wishes he could live in The Christmas Village, and by George, his wish comes true! From there, it's an adventure to get back home! In any case, it's nice to meet you. Your post about the visitor at your feeder is lovely.

Balisha said...

Hi Marydon,
This unusual occurance is quite entertaining for us. He (she?) was here for about an hour. The birds sat on tree branches, patiently waiting for him to leave.
Balisha

Balisha said...

Hi Lona,
I heard one hiss like a cat as I said. I felt lucky to be warned that night...or my hand could have been bitten.
Balisha

Amber Star said...

One evening when our kids were still here and we had several cats I was walking past the patio door and thought one of the cats wanted in. I had seen out of the corner of my eye the upturned face that meant "please let me in the house". I was talking to one or more of the kids and when I looked down to see which cat it was..well, it wasn't. It was possum and it did not get house privleges that night.

Yours is a cutie. Our squirrels are voracious eaters of bird seed. I have no idea why we continue to call it a bird feeder.

Balisha said...

Hi Melissa,
I went to your blog and read about your book. It sounds just wonderful. How exciting to write a sequel. I may have to buy it.I love children's books and especially Christmas ones.
Have a safe trip.
Nice meeting you today. Balisha

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

Balisha, that is what dug a huge hole under the foundation of my air conditioning unit :)
Caught it in a cage and wild life people took to another area...

Balisha said...

We'll keep an eye on this. It's back right now...just eating away. Shows no fear if I tap on the window or turn the lights on.I can go right up to the window and it just stays and shows no fear.I wouldn't want to meet him out in the garden. He's interesting to watch, but could be a pest...I know.
Balisha