February saw winter come to Arkansas and much of the country with a vengeance. Locally, the temperatures plunged into sub-zero territory for the first time in a decade and night wind chill reached -20 one night. Believe me, we are not prepared for that kind of weather. Our house and our daughter’s family were fine, but there were a lot of frozen pipes and power outages for several days. My back yard bird feeders were kept busy as you have seen from previous posts, but one evening we had a new visitor to the neighborhood.
Late one afternoon I looked out the back window and saw this critter on the neighbors fence. From a distance, he kind of looked like a cat. As soon as I figured out it was a possum, I grabbed my camera and headed out the door. “Opus” let me get very close to him for the portrait shoot. He watched my every move, but made no attempt to escape and there was no hissing involved. I captured the images posted here and went back in the house. A short time later Opus was gone and I haven’t seen him since.
As you can see, Opus is colored more like a raccoon or cat than what you normally think of a possum. He was really very cooperative and I think I actually got a little smile out of him.
Monday’s Music Moves Me
This week our assignment at 4M is to build a playlist of Johnny Mathis songs. Johnny Mathis was a favorite of my mother. Mom liked Dean Martin, Perry Como, and Andy Williams as well, but she was not a fan of Frank Sinatra nor Tony Bennett. So on with the Johnny Mathis picks. First up is a recording that became the signature song of The Carpenters. Yes, “Close To You” was the title cut of a1970 album which is the same year The Carpenters had a mega hit with the same song.
Driller's Place 
Opus certainly did cooperate, which is a good thing. We have a possum that sometimes hangs around our house, and Coda dog cornered it once. Thankfully Coda came away when i called and the possum skedaddled.
Thanks for the fine music selection!
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Opus was not in Lucy’s line of sight or there might have been an incident.
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That little bugger was smiling at you. So cute.
Love your playlist today. You and I love the same kind of music.
Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week, my friend. 🙂
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I was as shocked as anyone to see a smirk on Opus’ face. Have a blessed week.
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You picked some good Johnny Mathis songs here!
When we first moved to Atlanta, we saw possums all the time, usually in their “road kill” stage. I don’t see them often now; I can’t tell if that was because we ran over all of them or that the remainder wised up.
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Same here in Northwest Arkansas. Opus is the first I’ve seen in a couple of years.
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Brrr, so many frozen pipes out there right now. Yes, cold is challenging when your house isn’t built for it, like ones where I live are. I’ve never seen an opossum “up close and personal”. This one looked so cute. Johnny Mathis brings back memories for me, too. “Close to You” was a surprise.
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They’re only cute when they aren’t defensive and hissing.
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That one was a new one to me. Amazing little guy
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Once Opus decided to leave, we haven’t seen him since.
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Great shots of the possum, especially the smile! We don’t see them much, but they are around here as well. I wonder why the tops of the ears are pink? Hope you enjoyed a real cold spell and happy you didn’t have any issues with freezing pipes or electricity.
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Everyone has commented on his pink ears but I don’t have an answer. I don’t mind the snow, but sub zero temps is a different story.
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I’ve seen some possums in our neighborhood, usually at night, on the street. Not on a fence. I think he kind of liked you.
My mother was a definitely a Frank Sinatra woman along with Mario Lanza. Dad loved Dean Martin. I had forgotten how smooth Johnny Mathis was. A great voice. Great songs you picked!!
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My mother loved Perry Como, Dean Martin, and Andy Williams. Dad was more of a Bob Will and the Texas Playboys kind of guy.
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Awesome possum photos and wonderful music (when music was music, me thinks.)
Living moment by moment,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
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Opus will probably be the only possum I will ever photograph.
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Awwsome photo shots! Especially the smile! Made me chuckle! Have a lovely week and keep on snapping!
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I didn’t notice the smile until I downloaded the images onto the computer, then I got a little chuckle too.
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Opus is certainly a cutie, and so eager to pose for you!
I love your playlist, too.
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I think Opus was just happy to see me go away.
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Great playlist and nice new visitor.
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Glad you enjoyed your visit.
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I didn’t know possum could climb like that. WOW! We have a couple of these that scurry around in our yard usually at night tripping our security camera. But, I’ll never forget when our girls were really small, maybe 2 and 4, the oldest screamed through the house one day, “MOMMY, there are two rats in the backyard fighting!” As you might have guessed, the rats were two possum no doubt fighting over territorial rights. To this day, when I see a possum in our yard I think of that moment in time. Incidentally, you did a fabulous job capturing this critter and I think I do see a grin on Opus’ face. Excellent job and thanks for joining us the 4M crew on the dance floor with your wonderful Johnny Mathis song picks!
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PS: I took the liberty of adding your URL to the 4M linky party. 😉
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There was still snow on the ground when Opus came for a visit. I think he was just trying to keep from freezing his feet. Nobody likes cold feet. But, yes, possums are excellent climbers. Have a blessed week.
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