Tag Archives: Possum

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Craig Tooley wrote, "This Little possum is one of those creatures I don't often get the opportunity to see and even less of an opportunity to photograph. Some people don't care for them, but as I was brought up on Dr. Seuss it reminds me of characters of my childhood. I managed to get a few pictures of it as it was foraging around some landscape lighting, much to my delight!

Opossums are marsupials and they quite beneficial in the environment. They prey on cockroaches, rats, and mice, and...THEY EAT TICKS! One Opossum can eat 5,000 ticks a season. You can read about their role to play at this link to the National Wildlife Foundation: https://blog.nwf.org/2017/06/opossums-unsung-heroes-in-the-fight-against-ticks-and-lyme-disease/

Thanks to Craig for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is the link to his website: http://www.ruffimage.com 

Craig's photos are featured in our book, Mendonoma Sightings Throughout the Year, which is available at the Four-eyed Frog Books  https://www.foureyedfrog.com/ or on the homepage of this website. It's a beautiful book that will bring you visually to the Mendonoma Coast.

ooo, today is just a beautiful day. The birdsong this morning was a balm. We are at 75 degrees, light breeze and nothing but sunshine today.

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On most holiday weekends there is a fair at the Gualala Arts Center. Memorial Day weekend was no exception. This baby Opossum was seen and photographed by Walt Rush.

Here's what Walt wrote, "At the Gualala Arts Fine Arts Fair we encountered an art enthusiast of a different kind. This little baby possum was munching away on some shrubbery next to where Susan was sitting next to my jewelry display. Thought your readers would get a kick out of this. He was a friendly kind of guy; he didn’t seem to be afraid of people as I was able to get a couple of feet away when I snapped this picture.”

A female Opossum gives birth to as many as twenty babies in a litter and they are no bigger than a honeybee. Fewer than half survive. Those who do survive crawl into their mother’s pouch while they continue to grow. As they grow, some will fall off the mother. That may be what Walt and Susan Rush saw.

I thank Walt for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To see some of Walt's beautiful jewelry, here's his website: http://www.rushstudio.com/