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Where We Left Off:
Cat detectives, Gus and Ollie, shared part of their dossier on the stray cat called Savile and his murderous ways.
Independence Day:
July 4, 2026 was not an observance the cats and I wanted to acknowledge. It’s too bad. The 250th celebration from tyranny would have been noteworthy had it not been for the fact that we merely have a different kind of tyrant—elected instead of born to a throne. Gus, Ollie, the Butler, and I planned to carry out our day as normal. I had the cats out for their morning adventure and to distribute the birdseed.
This day was special for an entirely non-political reason. Gus, Ollie, and I were hanging out on the outskirts of the Well House and Gnome Grove which is an excellent spot for observing creatures and making notes for our files. The red squirrels were not in their Well House laboratory. That left Gus to sniff around the bushes and search for any underground critters.
“Ollie,” I noticed he was looking into the distant corner, “why aren’t you talking to the blue jays or the squirrels?”
He sat up in his buggy holding a determined stare away from the critters right in front of him. “There’s someone here. Be silent.”
Gus came over when he heard his cousin’s surprising declaration. Our yard has been a welcoming safe haven for all kinds of beasts. This summer, we haven’t seen the bears, coyotes, and foxes much or at all. They show up occasionally on the trailcam footage. The individual who now had our attention was a night creature. What was it doing out at 06:00 AM? Sure, the sun had only risen less than an hour prior, but humans tend to get scared when a night creature is seen in the sunshine. I was cautious, but not alarmed. Seeing the beast stirred curiosity in all of us watching.
“Move slower, Auntie,” Ollie said in hushed firm voice.
“I’m trying,” I crumbled more to myself than to him.
Gus was the wild card here. I didn’t have a hold on his leash and needed to continue my creeping walk to get closer to him. He observed the creature’s eating behavior. It was carefully snacking on the seeds scattered on the ground.
I accidentally startled it again and it waddled quickly to hide in the border shrubs. Two different female Jersey devil-deers, Deerdra and Hazel, came to the grove as well. The three of us did what we could to monitor our three visitors. Fortunately, the night creature returned once I had Gus’ leash and weren’t walking.
“We know that’s an opossum,” Ollie said. “Veronica is one and she’s one of our freelancers. Quite pushy about getting work.”
“That doesn’t smell like Veronica,” Gus said. I could tell he wanted to get close to the strange opossum, but those are critters that I suspect have sharp teeth and claws.
Ollie heard my warning to Gus. “As Sun Tzu wisely said, the greatest battle is one that can be avoided. I’m paraphrasing, of course.”
“Yes, Ollie, I would like all of us to avoid confrontation,” I said. “I don’t think this opossum has rabies which would be a huge issue for all of us here. He’s acting normally. He’s just eating. The only odd thing is that the sun is out.”
“Daywalker,” Gus whispered with his eyes glued on the visitor.
Oliver ignored Gus and corrected me. “Opossums have a natural resistance to rabies. Technically, they can contract it, but the virus doesn’t live in their lower body temperature.”
“Huh. The more you know. Maybe we can just talk to him,” I said. “Or have one of other friends here do the questioning so he isn’t scared off again.”
I squatted low to the ground knowing my knees would hate me later, but there were photos to take. It’s a trade-off. We had to add this fellow to our files and having photos was a key element in that.
While I peered through the camera lens, I got to see extra details. “Look at those cool ears. They have white tips like the bobcats. All four legs are black. This fella is a bit wet, but the fur pattern on his back looks like pinstripes of a dark grey. His throat has an interesting contrast that looks like a pale brown or rusty-ginger almost. I wonder why his neck isn’t off-white like the rest of the main coloring.”
“He’s got beady black marbles for eyes,” Gus said.
“Sure, but he’s a night creature. His eyes will be different,” I said even though I had no knowledge of the opossum’s eyesight.
Ollie tapped his carriage demanding more treats. Of course I had to juggle my camera, two bags, and my umbrella while squatting in order to get to the zipper bag of treats. He ate three before continuing his observation. “I can see how they’d be mistaken for cats from a distance, but that rat tail is a distinctive feature. And, anyone watching an opossum in action would see that they wiggle and waddle. They don’t move like us at all. Not to mention, my nose is far cuter than that.”
“You do have a cute nose,” I told Ollie.
“That’s it,” Gus successfully pulled away from me while I was trying to keep my legs from falling asleep by moving around in my squatted posture. He didn’t go far, thankfully. “Jane Addams is in Gnome Grove with her mother and sister. I’m going to talk to her. I bet she’ll know this creature’s name.”
It took so much effort for my legs to lift me back up, blood rushing back to my muscles, my vision going black on the sides, then finally standing well enough to see Gus backtrack towards the patio. From there, he circled around and headed to Gnome Grove passing fairy friend, Sienna. He greeted the gnomes: Grover C. Land, Raphael, Sherlock Gnomes, and Gnome de Plume. Gus quickly advised them to take notes on the visitor and submit their reports to Gnomez Addams when they were done.
Jane Addams Moon, not related to Gnomez, is a red squirrel with strong beliefs on saving habitats for wild animals. Jane was born in the Spring and has made an impact in that short amount of time. She and her sister, Mollie Beattie Moon, are energetic critters. They’re frequently chasing each other up and down all the trees of Gnome Grove. Their competitive spirit also applies to their scientific research.
Ollie and I could hear the high-pitched chattering from the squirrels when Gus got close. Squirrels’ speech appears to be the opposite tempo of Tree Ents. After a rapidfire conversation, Gus exited the grove on the west side and circled back to us.
“All those red squirrels are crazy. You know that, right?” he said.
“They’re different. I think they have a touch of the Speed Force.” I squatted down again and offered Gus a treat. “Anyway, what did she say? Does she know this opossum’s name or anything about him?”
This ended up like a game of Telephone. Since the squirrels loved to sleep at night, they didn’t personally interact often with night creatures. “Jane said she heard from a blue jay who heard from a raccoon that he might have been Veronica’s mate at one time,” Gus said.
Code Name: Indy
Species: Didelphis virginiana
Residence: In the woods surrounding the Raccoon House
Threat Status to Others: Low
Coexistence: Appreciated for their diet of ticks and other insects
Case Findings:
Gus, Oliver, and I (the human biographer) had a rare wildlife encounter. An opossum showed up to partake in the breakfast buffet of birdseed at the same time as the squirrels, birds, and deer. The night creature exhibited normal behavior. It retreated when startled, but returned when it felt safe. We learned that opossums are not a threat regarding rabies because the virus can’t live in them long enough to be passed on.
There are also a few reasons why an opossum would be out in the daylight: searching for food, having its shelter disrupted, or, if it’s cold and they need someplace warmer.
Our visitor was given the code name Indy and posed zero threat.
Case Status: Closed