Wild animals are just as confused as people are now. You've got toxins in the water, oil, sewage, all sorts of things.
Jack Hannah
I made the rounds with the dog this morning, We have a regular route, he has things he likes to sniff and see if there are any messages there for him. It gives me a chance to check out the yard and I make mental notes about what I need to do. I listen to the birds. Sometimes I find an owl feather, occasionally a pile of feathers. Hardly ever a dead body. This morning after we had circled the house and were walking out from under our huge fig tree. I found a dead possum. About five feet from a faucet, near a huge saucer I leave out for water and only twenty five feet from the house. The flies were buzzing around but it didn't smell. It wasn't a huge old possum, but more like a young adult possum. It;s eyes were open. The dog didn't seem in the least bit interested, which I found odd, but I took the dog into the house anyway. I grabbed a shovel, dug a hole and buried it. I put some logs over the grave. Poor thing. It had a small hole on its underside, so something probably got it, but I also thought maybe it ate some poison. I said a little prayer for it's soul. Yes, I think animals have souls.
Possums are interesting creatures. From a distance they look like a big rat. As I was carrying it to it's final resting place I had time to study it. Assembled by committee. Their little hands ( paws or claws ) are brown and leathery, with padded bottoms and formidable claws. Nasty sharp little teeth. The tail is very much like its smaller cousin but it has bands of dark and light. But what really struck me as odd were its ears. They reminded me of those little leather ears they stick on stuffed animals. For such a large animal, they were small: an inch and a half at most. The same dark brown as the feet and hands. The body is covered by course light and dark fur. But the ears look like they were put on last - the committee ran out of money for the ears and that was all they could afford.
I see them dead on the road often. Sometimes waddling across the road. I drive slowly at night for exactly that reason: small animals. They probably are confused. Why in the world would they understand a car? As a rule I don't think a lot of people give a hoot about how what they do affects the animals around them. I live on a very pesticide and herbacide free piece of property. The Sacramento River is just outside my back door. My Landlord had the well water tested, there is the average stuff, and an increasing number of not so great things. I leave water out for the animals, but it is only filtered by the rock and soil of the land surrounding the well. If they drink straight from the river who knows how much oil, and gasoline, and sewage they get.
So today, no pictures, just a few words for one of the small creatures that I share my space with. May this one possum rest in peace.
Jack Hannah
I made the rounds with the dog this morning, We have a regular route, he has things he likes to sniff and see if there are any messages there for him. It gives me a chance to check out the yard and I make mental notes about what I need to do. I listen to the birds. Sometimes I find an owl feather, occasionally a pile of feathers. Hardly ever a dead body. This morning after we had circled the house and were walking out from under our huge fig tree. I found a dead possum. About five feet from a faucet, near a huge saucer I leave out for water and only twenty five feet from the house. The flies were buzzing around but it didn't smell. It wasn't a huge old possum, but more like a young adult possum. It;s eyes were open. The dog didn't seem in the least bit interested, which I found odd, but I took the dog into the house anyway. I grabbed a shovel, dug a hole and buried it. I put some logs over the grave. Poor thing. It had a small hole on its underside, so something probably got it, but I also thought maybe it ate some poison. I said a little prayer for it's soul. Yes, I think animals have souls.
Possums are interesting creatures. From a distance they look like a big rat. As I was carrying it to it's final resting place I had time to study it. Assembled by committee. Their little hands ( paws or claws ) are brown and leathery, with padded bottoms and formidable claws. Nasty sharp little teeth. The tail is very much like its smaller cousin but it has bands of dark and light. But what really struck me as odd were its ears. They reminded me of those little leather ears they stick on stuffed animals. For such a large animal, they were small: an inch and a half at most. The same dark brown as the feet and hands. The body is covered by course light and dark fur. But the ears look like they were put on last - the committee ran out of money for the ears and that was all they could afford.
I see them dead on the road often. Sometimes waddling across the road. I drive slowly at night for exactly that reason: small animals. They probably are confused. Why in the world would they understand a car? As a rule I don't think a lot of people give a hoot about how what they do affects the animals around them. I live on a very pesticide and herbacide free piece of property. The Sacramento River is just outside my back door. My Landlord had the well water tested, there is the average stuff, and an increasing number of not so great things. I leave water out for the animals, but it is only filtered by the rock and soil of the land surrounding the well. If they drink straight from the river who knows how much oil, and gasoline, and sewage they get.
So today, no pictures, just a few words for one of the small creatures that I share my space with. May this one possum rest in peace.
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