Sunday, March 30, 2008

Things that Go Bump in the Night

The last couple nights we've been hearing scary noises outside my house. My daughter was here the night before last, when there was some thumping against the back of the house. My back door has a window in it, so I peeked and didn't see anything.

Then it sounded like the garbage cans being bumped, and I thought of possums. Since I was already in my jammies, my daughter grabbed the broom to use as a defensive weapon and crept outside to investigate more closely. But there were no creatures in or near the garbage cans, and the coast looked clear, and we were no closer to solving the puzzle.

We heard the noises again last night, and since I was still dressed, I did the investigating. Nothing.

Then this morning, as I was lying in bed trying not to have to get up just that second, I heard a clattering against a different part of the back of the house. So I jumped out of bed and rushed to the back door window, just in time to see an overweight possum, with a tiny possum baby on her back, lumbering to the hole that the neighbor cats used to use to escape from my little dog Abby. The possum, baby and all, disappeared into the blackness of the hole.

Mystery solved.

3 comments:

Malott said...

I would be totally creeped out knowing possums were near.

But I've read that it helps if we name those things that distress us.

I think you should name her "Debbie."

SkyePuppy said...

Chris,

Possums are not rats, and for that I'm grateful.

Debbie sounds like a fine name, since I don't have any Debbie friends. Thanks for the tip.

Branddobbe said...

http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/04/01/263-functional-geography-20-france-the-ideal-household-utensil/

Saw this and thought of you.

-E