A Close Encounter of the Marsupial Kind

 

 When the holidays are over, I like to leave the garland upon my deck.  I replace the colorful Christmas lights with white ones and switch out shimmery lavender bows for the red Christmas ones.  I call it my “winter deck.” 

My winter deck at night

The other night when I went out to turn off the lights at bedtime, the overhead deck light turned on because it is on a motion sensor……and what to my wondering eyes should appear but a big, fat possum munching on something on my deck!   

Our two-second, silent conversation went like this:  

“Whhaaattt???” 

“Whhaaattt???” 

“You gonna hurt me?” 

“No, you gonna hurt ME?”

“No, but what the hell are you doing on my deck?”

“Oh, well, I’m just helping myself to some of this lovely stuff the birds left here.” 

“I see. Ok, then, carry on.” 

“Nah, I’m outta here!”   

And with that he was gone.  Strange.  

 I’m glad neither of my little-old-lady cats was there to witness the encounter, because if one of them had been there, our conversation would probably not have been so civil. And somebody might have ended up with a wound.