A Christmas Eve Convention

[Harold Pickens]

I keep a large platform bird feeder with hanging tube feeders, wire baskets, and suet feeder just across the flagstone courtyard from the kitchen window. Unfortunately, its dark when I am eating breakfast, and I dont get home until after 5, so I dont get to enjoy it much. I have an army of red squirrels
(pine) that come to the feeder and an occasional fox squirrel. Thats ok, they are fun to watch. The racoons come in at night and just destroy everything, chew up the plastic, and even the metal baskets. So, I keep a box trap set under the feeder, and, well, those sub sonic .22's work well in my H&R revolver for this. Christmas morning, I had a huge possum in the trap. I do not harbor the same malovolance for possums as I do the racoons. They are such ugly, prehistoric creatures, that I kind of like them. So, I opened the cage door and 20 minutes later, he was still trying to get out the back side. i dropped a piece of ham a foot in front of the trap and he finally poked his head out of the box trap and left. He went over to our patio door and looked thru it, and then went up over the hill.

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by Harold Lee Pickens

I keep a large platform bird feeder with hanging tube feeders, wire baskets, and suet feeder just across the flagstone courtyard from the kitchen window. Unfortunately, its dark when I am eating breakfast, and I dont get home until after 5, so I dont get to enjoy it much. I have an army of red squirrels
(pine) that come to the feeder and an occasional fox squirrel. Thats ok, they are fun to watch. The racoons come in at night and just destroy everything, chew up the plastic, and even the metal baskets. So, I keep a box trap set under the feeder, and, well, those sub sonic .22's work well in my H&R revolver for this. Christmas morning, I had a huge possum in the trap. I do not harbor the same malovolance for possums as I do the racoons. They are such ugly, prehistoric creatures, that I kind of like tco our patio door and looked thru it, and then went up over the hill.

Harold, the raccoons around here are not only destructive, but also aggressive - they have charged at my wife and me as well in the yard - the sub sonic loads in a revolver (Ruger single six) is my solution as well - Possums are aggressive in driving the barn cats of their warm & dry shelter so here at least I have to treat them the same -

the one varmint i used to clear out but no longer do is woodchucks - when we first moved here I fell into one of their tunnels while mowing the yard so tried to keep them at bay- but have noticed they have become quite efficient at cleaning up the bird seed on the ground around the feeders. That waste was a big draw to skunks. since I have let the woodchucks do the clean up- the skunk intrusions have been reduced significantly

[edgarspencer]

Opossums carry their young on their back. When I was a kid I watched one waddle off carrying about 9-10 babys and one fell off. Try as I would, I couldn't get momma to take the baby, so I raised it, and it was a very friendly pet for 5-6 years. She would purr like a cat when she sat in your lap. Their fur is very soft. My wife always hated them bec ause of their rat like tail, but she has her favorite that lives in a window well.