Possums. I know I've talked about possums before. You can't take the kiwi out of me, even in Australia, where possums are protected and rescued and classed as a cute cuddley koala like animal, to me they will always be roadkill.
So we have a possum on our roof. I need to make this clear as possum removal people (they trap them and take for a drive over water so they can't return - there is no high powered, extremely toxic poisons involved with possum removal in Australia - AS THERE SHOULD BE) will not remove possums ON a roof, only INSIDE a roof. OK, so our possum lives on top on the roof in an alcove thing and nightly runs along the roof, sounding either like a large rat (during the lean winter months) or a small man (when fat on all the spring growth and with a baby possum in it's belly). getting grossed out?
The alcove thing is above my clothes line, which I spend a lot of time at with 3 small dirty boys and my own cleaning fetish, and I noticed that the possum seemed to be collecting a lot of twigs, brush etc. OMG it ...is...building...a...nest!!!!
Worse yet, one day when hanging out washing and looking at the growing pile of shrub, I noticed a pink ear among the brush, and it was twitching.
Time for action.
For a couple of days I started my own version of Possum Guantanamo Bay. I banged a broom against the wall as close to the twitching ear as I could, I hosed the shrub and alcove in the vain hope of flushing it out and I did this whenever i could remember.
Now I married The Husband for a reason. I mentioned Possum and Nest in the same sentence, and he was up a ladder finally confronting our issue. He told me to "get inside". No need to tell me that twice. And all we could hear was a large man and a very small man scampering around on the roof (pregnant possum being the small man just to make it clear we didn't send one of the boys up to help Dad).
Being ever cautious and slightly paranoid, I had noticed that the ladder The Husband had climbed was precariously and very dangerously balanced. I popped my head out the door and asked "do you want any help getting down", at the same time The Husband yelled "get inside!!!!" just as a small possum can running at me, about to jump to where I was standing. Pink eyes, pink snout, pink twitching ears, fat tail - forever etched into my memory. I screamed, ran, the possum jumped, situation over? Nope, The Husband said there was two up there and the old fat one wouldn't budge even under the assault of a hose in the face.
Hanging out my washing yesterday I noticed a new pile of shrub appearing on the roof. Wildlife #6?
A slice of life, whimsical look at just about anything with a teeny focus on living a purposeful life. Love it, live it!
God you are funny. I have what sounds like squatters living in, on, around our roof, in the walls and goodness knows where else. They too run the length of the house and we here them squealing (apparently a girly telling the who that she's up not for it tonight), scratching and sliding down the roof, the walls etc. They also get into the trash EVERY night (I love garbage day so I can put the bin down the hill away from the house and get something resembling a full night's sleep). Rob was putting a whole heap of stuff in the garbage one night and threw it all over the carport when he opened the bin to see a possum looking at him. I think we'll have to move house because I can't see the possums going anywhere...
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