Mar 5, 2009

Backyard National Geographic!

It seems that Hubby and I have recently been host to a strange list of wildlife - and why, oh why, couldn't any of our visitors have been cute little bunnies?

Last week Hubby and I were watching a little television in our family room. Our poor old arthritic 16 year old kitty suddenly went crazy attacking the patio doors. The great hunter had scouted out a (hideous) white possum peeking in at us! They are just never, ever cute! We are still having very cold weather and evidently Mr. Possum was trying to find a warm place to spend the night - guess I can't blame him for that. Here he is, the poor homely guy - kind of looks like a giant rat! I just hope Mr. doesn't have a Mrs. and a brood of little visitors!





Just the day before the possum visit, Hubby discovered a HUGE hawk on our back yard fence. I managed to get within 6 feet of him while taking a picture before he flew away. I was surprised that he let me get so close to him until I noticed the enormous claws he sported. I think he knew he could take me! He was already grasping some poor little creature for lunch - yuk!


The next one takes the cake. Our next door neighbors moved out of their home due to foreclosure almost two years ago. They were never very concerned about the condition of their house or yard, but since the house has been vacant it has sunk to new lows. Take a careful look at the picture below. This mostly dead tree is in the yard next to us but it hangs over our fence and garden. See the EIGHT sets of glowing, yellow dots? They're raccoons! Once again, my poor old kitty nearly keeled over with heart failure early one evening. When I went to see what he was so upset about I was greeted by a tree FULL of raccoons! I stood staring in amazement and the furry creatures stared right back. I don't know. I'm almost afraid to see what Spring brings.

14 comments:

BECKY said...

Wow!! Nat Geo backyard for sure!!
You got some great shots!! We have had armadillos, bunnies, racoons, and even a little fox, but no pics!! Oh well!!

Never a dull moment in your backyard, huh??

Have a great day!!
Blessings,
Becky

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

First of all I remember those possums and they are ugly! Good thing it couldn't get in!
That shot of all the racoon eyes...that is too funny. It looks like a page from a kids halloween novel. I really can't believe it turned out so good!

pam said...

Okay, that raccoon picture is CREEPY. Our back fence line of our last home was right on the city limits and there were mostly fields and tree clumps behind us. We had the most fun assortment of critters. Never saw a possum or raccoon but we had turkey, quail and the cutest little red fox. Oh and we could hear an owl really close but never saw it. I just let the dog out and it is already gorgeous. We're headed to the 70's today and then snow could come back next week....aren't you ready for spring. I am!

southerninspiration said...

Wow, I never knew raccoons grew on trees!!! Oh my gosh! :)

Suzanne

A Hint of Home said...

I have never seen anything like the tree pic. They must be breeding in the house next door. SCARY!
You guys may have to set traps or get help from a professional.
Stay warm and cozy up there in the north.

Heather said...

oh my goodness! the possum was killing me! i would have screamed bloody murder if i saw that looking in my door! lol. and hawk is awesome! and the raccoon eyes, yes screaming bloody murder again! lol

Just A Girl said...

Oh how fun! I love little critters to visit my yard...especially the possums. I think their darling! Weird, I know, but I still love them plus they eat slugs and snails. That's an added bonus!
Hope you're haviing fun!

Sweetie said...

Kathy - what a great post. Possums probably are one of the more hideous creatures on the face of the earth. I have taken photos of hawks but never captured what you have. The photo is remarkable. I think that hawks are frightening.
Sweetie

Cindy said...

Ohmygosh...LOL....a tree full of little yellow eyes. I bet that did scare your kitty kat. LOL. Wow...

c

Brittany said...

Oh that possum is very creepy looking! I love the picture of the hawk though!

Maryjane-The Beehive Cottage said...

Oh my goodness Kathy! Those are some crazy pictures! Wow! My favorite is the little guy looking in! Great pics of the night!

Hugs,
Maryjane

Danette said...

Oh my Gosh Kathy!
You're surrounded by critters. I hope your sweet old kitty is strictly an indoor one. If not, watch those racoons. I have a 3 pound chihuahua I have to watch out for. We have possums run through our yard due to a house 2 doors over that was abandoned also!

Nicole ~ said...

How my goodness that is a lot of wildlife for one backyard!!!

I have a co-worker who is having WWIII with a few skunks. So, I am hearing these stories a lot lately.

I feel for you, I would have had a heart attack if I saw that possum on my patio!! I hope you have a good, wildlife free weekend.

Neabear said...

I have fallen behind in blog reading. Today I am catching up on yours. I noticed I had not seen this post yet. What a bunch of excitement you had then! We have had a possum around our place before. And a big fat raccoon once too.