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It's opossum, Brandon. I opened my back door a few nights ago, and my German Shepherd darted through the opening toward a opossum that was hanging out in front of the garage.

Believe it or not, true to form, the opossum flipped over onto its back, stuck its feet up in the air, and looked dead as Uncle Fester. Opossums have sharp teeth and claws, so I was hollering at Loki--my dog--to come back inside. Surprisingly he did, perhaps because he thought the opossum was, indeed, dead. I shut the door, kept my eyes on the opossum, and fifteen seconds later, it flipped over and trundled beneath the fence into my neighbor's yard.

The thing I wound up curious about, is how did natural selection convince the opossum that playing dead was a good defense mechanism? I mean, wouldn't most animals rip into the warm flesh whether the opossum was dead or not?

Then again, Loki the wonder dog didn't seem terribly interested, and immediately retreated when I called his name. And, I'm embarassed to admit, he isn't exactly what one would call well trained.

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Originally posted by Bain

. . . The thing I wound up curious about, is how did natural selection convince the opossum that playing dead was a good defense mechanism? I mean, wouldn't most animals rip into the warm flesh whether the opossum was dead or not?

Then again, Loki the wonder dog didn't seem terribly interested, and immediately retreated when I called his name. And, I'm embarassed to admit, he isn't exactly what one would call well trained.

Several years ago, I spied a opossum ambling in the clearing between my house and shop so I called the kids to come look at it. As the four of us approached, the opossum started to stagger sideways and foam started to come out of its mouth. Its eyes rolled back in its head and it fell over with its feet twitching in the air. Then smelly stuff came out of its butt. The kids were thoroughly grossed out. I was sure that the thing was rabid. Then our dog came running toward us to see what was up. I was afraid that he'd go after the body, but when he saw it he stopped and walked away.

I walked to my shed to get my shovel (I was planning on putting the thing out of its misery) but when I returned I was just in time to see the opossum scurrying under the shop floor -- no foaming mouth, no rolled back eyes and no sideways staggering.

It was a performance worthy of an Academy Award .

- Jim Katen, Oregon

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Speaking of opossums... I'm sitting on my family room couch messing with the computer, and suddenly get the feeling I am being watched. I looked out the window to find this guy staring in at me.

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It gave me a little start as my face was only about 2' from the window that the opossum had it's face pressed up against. He looked kind of curious so I opened the window (no screen) and said hi. He spoke back with a hiss and a toothy grin (?) but just hunkered down and stood his ground. By the time I got back from my truck with the camera, he was making his escape through the pile.

I tried to wake up the better half by barging into the bedroom and flipping on the light. Whatever you do, don't do that........[:-paperba

While I was typing this he came back for more......weird.

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Originally posted by Brandon Whitmore

The cobbler's son has no shoes.

Don't even come to my place.

I can't tell you how many times I have had a client say " man , your house must be dialed in" after tearing apart the house. It actually makes them feel better when I tell them my house has more issues than the one they are looking at..........

The next time you roll by a BMW or Mercedes dealership, drive around back to the employee parking lot where the mechanics park their cars and see what kind of stuff is parked there. You'll be amazed at the crap some mechanics drive around in.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

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Originally posted by Les

.......you guys must all be having problems with your staff and servants. Wood stacked up nice and neat. Too much time on your hands.

You mean instead of looking like this?

wood.jpg

There's eight cord out there laughing at me. I'm hoping that this will be the year it will stack itself.

Hmmm....

Cheers!

Caoimhín

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