Possum Posse shirts available NOW

OK...this is the shirt that I designed and got screened for the Wildlife festival in Blue Ridge the weekend of Sept 19th-20th. Please come see us there: www.braea.org. Also, my good friend Lara will be there with her red tail hawk talking from 1-3 at our booth. The shirts will go do fund wildlife education and outreach in the Blue Ridge area.

Birds and the bees

This one is purly for pleasure. These are my sun flowers I grew at my house in the mountains. I could not believe how big they were this weekend. Time to harvest them for the birds for winter.

Deer Diary...

"Dear Diary, today I found a great spot to rest and relax and eat some yummy apples.....what a find. I will keep it to myself. I try really hard to come out when no one is looking but today it did not work. Some person came strolling by with two of those other funny looking four legged things and they stopped and stared. Don't they know how rude that is and how that hurts my feelings".

Yes, here is a deer that took a break one hot July afternoon to eat some apples from a neighbors tree right here in Berkeley Lake. She proceeded to go across the street and lay down in an abandoned house's green lot to take her afternoon nap. It's not unusual to see wildlife out during the day when the weather is hot. They are doing what they need to do to survive (get some form of food, hydration). Unfortunately she's also not so street smart and that is the demise for quite a few deer that dwell among us in suburbia. This one took of as soon as she had her fill. Funny thing was I walked by her with Dudley (my Great Pyr) and she did not even move...so she still knows how to "strike the pose"

Good citizen to the rescue

I got a cooter in my car. WHAT I say to the caller? She says again, a giant cooter that was hit, I picked her up, she's in my car, are you the turtle vet? Hold on I say....you have a injured turtle? Yes...someone told me to bring it to you. Can I come now? Yes I say. Not knowing what the hell I was getting, this is what showed up....a slider! Look at this magnificant baby (well this is most likely a mid to elder, based on his size). He had a few scuff on the bottom, and was way ready to be released back to the wild. Since he was picked up on a very busy highway, I released him back to the creek which adjoins the lake near where I live. Happy again to be away from the concrete jungle

Ester Williams hangs on

This is little Ester. Found in a swimming pool filter having held on for most of the night, she was found just in time and brought to me. SHe's recovering but not without some strange issues. Her biggest issue is related to the mysterous patches she's got on her tail, as well as the fact that she's not gaining weight. It's possible that she's got Metabolic Bone Disease as well...as she looks slightly deformed, but us able to walk and respond like a normal little Possie. I will give her a few more weeks of good food, rest and relaxation and then evaluate her for her ability to sustain herself in the wild. Cute little thing wet or dry (she prefers the dry side).

Did you know that opossums are excellent swimmers? They use those amazing tails like rudders too and those back legs are like little motors. Do they prefer to swim...hard to say. Rarely do any of us see them do it. I had an instance where my neighbor released one of my rehabbed possies on her aunts acres of land with a pond. That possum headed right to the water and swam across the pond and came out on a branch/downed tree. They said they all stood there without breating until she reached the other side only to sun herself on the log. So...we all know now, like to or not, in the event of an escape route, they will certainly take to the water if they have to.