Possum in my Poultry Yard

Look who's always up in my poultry yard every evening when I go to lock up my chickens. He's always there, and doesn't seem to be too afraid of me at all. He just lumbers off a ways, climbs up a tree, and watches me until I leave. He comes after the left over grain in the chickens' feed station. Well, as long as he leaves my chickens alone, I suppose he's doing no harm.

Snowfall 12-13 Feb. 2010

Yesterday and today we had what passes for a snow storm down here in north central Alabama. It was a "wet" snow, and left much ice on the roads and bridges, creating dangerous driving conditions for Southerners who don't get much practice driving on ice and snow. It also afforded a most delightful and quiet interlude in the hurry and scurry of "normal" daily life. Down here when it snows, schools close, businesses close, groceries close, and there is a frantic rush to the store for "milk and bread." For us it provided a chance to sit back, build a fire in the heating stove, take walks through our woods, look for animal tracks, and just listen to the quiet and look at the beauty of it. It doesn't last long down here, thank goodness. While I was out this morning, I noticed where the raccoons come down the hill, through the fence into my poultry yard, and where they stopped and went back when the motion detector was activated. I noticed where the neighborhood tomcat came out of the woods and across my front yard and back down the driveway. Further up the hill behind the house, I saw canine prints. They went on for just a short space. I suspect the coyote, because I suspect a coyote back there, followed along under the trees where there was no snow, and left prints only where he had to cross a snowy patch.

We don't get much snowfall down here, and many times it isn't enough to stay on the ground, so when we do get a couple of inches, I'm very glad to learn what comes around my house, and how close it comes, during the night and early morning hours.

My Little Hisser tomcat didn't know what to make of the snow. I don't think he remembers seeing it last year. He did everything he could in order to keep his little "toesies" out of that cold, wet stuff, including climbing straight up the deck railing and nearly falling off! When I went outside, he got up his nerve and followed me around. Aren't pets just the most wonderful things? I'm so glad God grants us the occasional blessing of a brief snowfall down here. It gives us a chance to take a break from the routine and actually hear the quiet stillness that we should be attending to more often.