Just call us the Austin Hillbillies

Just when I thought another day would go by with nothing blogworthy happening, I looked out the kitchen window to see our cat Zoe stalking something in the backyard. I went outside to watch because it amuses me. She's always so serious when she stalks.

Then I saw the object of her hunting desires.



Can you see that thing? Here, just a sec.



Is that better? It's an oppossum. Or 'possum as we call 'em in Texas. We drop the O. It's startling to see a nocturnal animal out and about in broad daylight. He was mocking the laws of science. I feared we had a rebel on our hands. I flipped out a little because Zoe was getting pretty close. And I knew from past experience that 'possums can be fierce when cornered or threatened.

Have I told you the story of the 'possum in my closet in California? That kind of sounds like the title to a country song or something. Anyway, one night when I was living in Cali at around 2am my sweet dog Teddy started barking like there was an intruder in the house. Scared me to death. After I woke up enough to see what was going on I realized he was standing right in front of my closed closet door barking. Imagine my fright. Not only was there an intruder, but he was right there in my closet! I obviously forgot to check the closet for monsters that night. Being legally blind and without my contacts in, I cracked the closet door and saw a large furry blur skulking in the corner and it was just making the most ungodly hissing sound. I thought maybe it was a raccoon and I KNEW they were fierce when cornered so I quickly closed the door. I collected the cats and the dog and took them out to the living room. Then I put my contacts in so I could further investigate. That's when I discovered that the large furry blur was actually a pretty small 'possum. She was so scared. But she wouldn't leave the closet. So I opened the sliding glass door in my room that opened out into the backyard and put a trail of cat food from the closet to the door. Then I left to go sleep on the couch the rest of the night. Next morning, she was gone.

ANYHOO, back to our current 'possum problem. Mike put on his workboots and went out to fetch Zoe. But not before we finished the photo shoot. Turns out 'possums are pretty slow and docile. It also turns out that Zoe's hunting skills stop at stalking. She had no idea what to do with it once she had it cornered. I think she actually started bathing herself. Note to self. Take Zoe to the vet to get updated on all shots.





Here he is close up. Why do they only have four fingers and four toes? It bothers me. Does anyone think we should get rid of the compost pile in the corner of our yard? I'm convinced that's where he lives. Mike? Anyone?