Opossum!

In March and April of this year, I decided to set our box trap in the woods down by the creek. I wanted to see what I could catch. After baiting the trap with a little dog food, I left it there for the night. The next morning, I went down to see if I had caught anything, and as I got near the trap, I saw a clump of white fur sitting in the trap! As I got closer, to my excitement. I saw that it was an opossum! I picked up the trap, then I noticed something hanging out from under the opossum. Wondering what it was I saw, I looked and to my surprise the opossum had a pouch full of babies!

I took the opossum up to the house and asked Dad if I could keep it for a while. After getting his permission, I went down and fixed up one of the rabbit cages for the opossum’s new home. After putting her in, the opossum walked right into the nest box I had prepared for her.

Every day I gave the mama some dog food and filled her container with water. I never got to see her eat because opossums are nocturnal animals and come out at night. Even though I did not see her eat, the food was still gone every morning.

Every day the babies were getting bigger. Sometimes I would go down to check the opossum, then I would see the babies out of the pouch, and some days I would not see the babies at all. Baby opossums leave their mother’s pouch after 60 or 70 days. They still go into the pouch when the get cold, or when they’re hungry. Eventually they got too big to fit in their mother’s pouch, then they started exploring their cage. That is when I knew it was time to let the mother and her babies go.

I released the mom, and her eight babies down in the woods, but I kept two to raise for a while. The two babies are now big enough to eat dog food, and other things. 

An opossum has more front teeth than any other animal. These teeth are used to hunt other small animals. I will keep the two opossums for a while, then let them go.

I am glad I caught and kept the mom opossum. It was exciting to watch her babies grow. 

I enjoyed learning new things each day, and I hope to learn a lot more as I watch them grow and change.

~Jonah

Post script-  Jonah's possums have since been released into the woods.  

My Exploration Buddy

We sat quietly, scarcely moving. The deer lifted its nose and sniffed the air. There was no noise. Everything was quiet. The deer waved its tail twice, then very slowly it turned and walked deeper into the woods. We continued to sit quietly, and soon the birds began singing again. The squirrels also returned to finding nuts.

My partner was eager to get to our destination, so after sitting for a while, we continued down the path. As we began to move, the squirrels all ran up the trees, and the birds stopped singing. We heard the deer in the woods give a loud snort and then run off. We could see its tail waving as it ran through the woods. Once we arrived at our destination, I led my buddy to the barn, unsaddled him, and gave him a good brushing down. My exploration buddy is our mule, named Spanky Hank.

Spanky is a full-size mule. He is about the size of a full-size horse. Spanky likes to travel through the woods. He also likes walking on the roads. He has a white patch on his back, and a little white on his face.

      

I like riding Spanky through the fields and woods. Everything looks a little different from the back of the mule. You can see a lot farther, and you can get a little closer to the wildlife. I enjoy following the creeks, or riding around the trails. I like scouting around our property looking for small critters and other cool things. I can cover a lot more ground with my exploration buddy.

Not too long ago, Spanky and I went out to the backside of our property to do some exploring! Spanky enjoyed walking along the top of the big hills. He got excited when we turned off the main trail and crossed the creek. Spanky likes to walk inside the creeks and follow them.

I am very thankful for Spanky; it is more fun to ride while exploring. I can’t wait until the next time I head into the woods, with just me and my exploration buddy.

~Samuel