Surprise

I went out into the courtyard when I got to work this morning to feed my two squirrels and came face to face with a very fat and happy possum. I think perhaps she’s been snacking on the cat food as possums are known to do. She wasn’t at all concerned that I was there so I said good morning. She tipped her head and went back to what she was doing.

There was an article in this morning’s paper about a fawn that was running panicked through the city. Several residents were interviewed, all of which said they’d never seen a wild animal in person before. That amazed me even more than the deer wandering around downtown. Yes, Reading is a city but it is still surrounded by rural areas. I can’t imagine never having gone anywhere nearby and seen some nature along the way. Sadly, I later learned she broke her jaw during her excursion and had to be euthanized. I hope her spirit warns others away.

Something else that surprised me today was yet another individual that could not tell a flower from a weed even though the flowers are blooming. Is it just me or do you wonder how that’s possible as well?

I grew up about ten miles outside of the city. We had possums and raccoons that would come up on the porch. The bunnies, deer, foxes and wild turkeys would stroll through the yard whether or not we were in it. My parents, who were both city people, figured it out on their own and had both vegetable and flower gardens. I guess, in that way, my childhood was more fortunate than others.