What a year it’s been with so many things to worry about! From Spotted Lanternflies to Murder Hornets, things outdoors lately also seem kind of scary! Unfortunately, there’s a garden invader most of us have, but many do not know about- a creature worming its way through North America!
Hello Readers! 2020 is dragging on, but there is some “light”. Hats off to summer! The year is not turning out like any of us expected, but we’re making the best of it. Life’s still pretty good.
WOW! What a couple of months it’s been! So much has happened everywhere in the world – many have lost loved ones, lost jobs, or cancelled celebrations. Everyone’s lost something during the pandemic. One group that’s missed out on a lot is the graduating high school class of 2020. My daughter is a senior this year. It’s hard realizing what they’ve missed – the fun and celebration marking the official end of childhood, the last carefree bit before being an “official” adult. I admit, I was feeling pretty sad about it, but then something truly magical happened!
Hi Farmgirls! Wow! What a month it’s been! How are y’all doing? We’re hanging in there. We live and work in one of the hardest-hit areas of Covid-19, but are happy to report we are all healthy!
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! I hope you are finding some “happy” amid all of the worry that’s weighing on everyone’s minds recently. Spring is coming, with greener days ahead. Take a break from the heavy, and visit with me a spell!
February brings thoughts of love, so this post gives some adoration to an often misunderstood creature. Come meet my recent “visitor”!
Recently, we had a breach in “Foul Knox”, our chicken run. It was a not-too-cold evening, and we were taking our dogs out before heading to bed. Odin, our large brindle hound, started “pointing” at the hen house. Something was inside the run! We put the dogs inside and grabbed a flashlight, fearing a raccoon or fox had infiltrated the coop. However, inside the run was the cutest, fluffiest, round fuzzy opossum!
I wasn’t too concerned for my chickens; I’d locked up the henhouse earlier. The visitor was small and young. It wasn’t fearful of us, but more interested, or curious.
It peeked out from behind the waterer, then scaled the back fence, a very agile climber. It looked a bit confused, like it wasn’t sure how to get back out or why we were there.
I keep a small radio playing inside the run, the idea that the sound of voices keep predators away. I’ve often wondered how the channel changes overnight when I return in the morning to open the henhouse. Mystery solved – the opossum decided to lounge across the radio awhile, changing the channel from the “lite” station when it climbed on top. Maybe I should switch to heavy metal!
Apparently, my visitor is a Debbie Gibson fan.
We left the big gate open, checking often to see if the opossum had left. When we returned, it walked over, climbing the inside of the front fence. It never showed its teeth or hissed. (We were always on the other side of the fence, at a safe distance).
OH! That face…so cute.
It was so fuzzy, with thick soft-looking grey fur, an adorable face with a pink button nose, and cute little ears and paws with opposable thumbs. I was smitten.
“It’s so FLUFFY!!!”
The next morning, our furry friend had departed. I was shocked by how many people don’t like opossums, suggesting it should be trapped or killed, that it’d kill my chickens, carried rabies, or was an overgrown rodent. I decided to find out the true facts.
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
Stephanie Safarik, a well-known wildlife rehabilitator, is an angel for opossums. She had always worked with animals, and wanted to be a vet, but her life changed course. Seven years ago, she says her health “failed miserably, with a perfect storm of disaster”. With a cancer diagnosis and facing several surgeries, life was going to be at a slower pace for awhile. She’d always wanted to be a wildlife rehabber, so she decided to see what was needed to follow that dream, thinking, “Maybe while I’m in recovery, a couple animals can be rehabilitated, too”. Through the Connecticut DEEP, she took the course, received veterinarian backing, mentored with an experienced rehabilitator, completed the needed state application to work with wildlife, and created a haven for sheltering animals to recover. She didn’t expect to become the “opossum person”, but is thrilled to give a voice to these docile, often misunderstood creatures. Stephanie says nowadays her health’s not completely ideal, but is much better, crediting the opossums she saved with her improvement. They pushed her- when she wanted to stop she couldn’t because she had little lives depending on her. First working with three baby opossums whose mom was hit by a car, Stephanie has now saved a few hundred opossums.
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Safarik
While there are 100 opossum species worldwide, in the USA, we have the Virginia Opossum. Opossums are not rodents, but the only marsupials found in North America, carrying their babies in a fur-lined pouch. Calling these critters “possum” is also a misnomer; a “possum” is an animal of a different species found in Australia.
Stephanie says opossums will try to avoid people at all costs. Opossums are often mistakenly blamed for the havoc that clever raccoons wreak. Our visitor probably came before, as opossums tend to keep to a “routine”.
“Why, what a big mouth you have…”
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
While they have large mouths with fifty sharp teeth, they rarely kill prey like chickens, unless they’re starving. They prefer “easy” meals, such as eggs and dropped, rotting fruit from trees. They don’t kill for sport. When wildlife comes into our yards, we shouldn’t be upset; it’s our responsibility to protect our domestic animals. I’m actually grateful having learned that my chicken run had a weak spot.
Opossums are the “waste management” of nature, keeping “rot” down by eating dropped fruit or carnage. They’re also the only truly “natural” defense against ticks. My whole family, including one of our dogs, has been affected by tick-borne illness. Opossums are cat-like in that they groom themselves often (why our visitor was so fluffy)! Because they’re low, with their little tummies touching the ground when they walk, they’re “tick magnets”. They then ingest hundreds of ticks (part of their nutrition) when grooming, thus keeping Lyme disease down. They also eat mice, rats and insects such as beetles.
An opossum prefers to flee than to fight. They’ll defend themselves if cornered, hissing, showing the fifty teeth in their big mouths, and releasing an odor (like a dog’s anal gland odor). Finally, they’ll “play dead”, actually an involuntary action. The frightened opossum will fall over in a comatose state, like in shock; its heart rate goes down, and it mimics the scent of a dead animal. This can last for an hour.
Opossums rarely get rabies. In Connecticut, they’re not even considered a rabies vector, as a healthy opossum’s normal body temperature is actually too low for rabies to breed. For an opossum to contract rabies, it has to be a “perfect storm”: they must be sick with a fever to raise their body temp, be attacked by a rabid animal, and then survive said attack.
Opossums, however, unfortunately do not have long lives; males live an average natural lifespan of two years, and females two to four. A full-grown opossum reaches 7 – 8 pounds.
Though it’s speculated they’ve been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth, these little “underdogs” were not meant for cold conditions, even though they can be found as far North as Canada.
These feet are not meant for winter!
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
Often developing frostbite on their hairless tails, paws, and paper-thin ears, many opossums die in winter, especially if under five pounds. Others are hit by cars or attacked by larger animals.
A poor frost bitten nose…
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
Ouch! Frostbitten paw.
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
How do you know if you need to call a professional wildlife rehabber like Stephanie? If an opossum is orphaned, sick, injured, or has flies buzzing around it, call a wildlife rehabilitator. If an opossum is circling, it may have head trauma from being clipped by a car.
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
An opossum has 13 nipples inside her pouch, and can give birth up to 20 babies at a time, though not all usually survive.
“New” babies, or “pinkies”
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Safarik
Warm and safe in Mama’s Pouch.
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
Found babies, or babies whose mama has passed (they can live up to a day and a half in the pouch after the death of the mom) always need a rehabber. While they’re good mamas, they won’t come back for a baby the way a mama squirrel will. With so many babies riding on her back, Mama Opossum may not even realize she’s dropped one!
”Motherhood can be exhausting!”
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
A spotted opossum, like most wildlife, really just wants to be left alone and do you no harm. If you do see one, let it be. “Cat shelters” can provide a warm place for them to avoid frostbite, and leaving scrap fruit or veggies out, especially in winter, is okay. They need lots of calcium, so hard boiled eggs with the shell on, cut in half are a great snack, too.
*** Follow Stephanie and her sweet rescues on Facebook at Persevering for Wildlife.
Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
As for our little visitor, we see an opossum every once in awhile in the driveway, though not since our last encounter. I hope we see “Radio” again soon.
Wishing everyone a very Happy Valentine’s Day! Drop by again for the next Suburban Farmgirl Blog, “live” March 17th.
Please remember to leave a comment below so we know you dropped by! Photo courtesy Stephanie Safarik
Until Next Time…Farmgirl Hugs,
Nicole
Happy New Year! It’s hard to believe it’s January again- a new month, year…DECADE! I’m wishing everyone the best year ever! ! 2020 is going to be a memorable one for our family…
“It’s better to give than to receive.” Have you ever found THE perfect, extra-special gift for someone? A gift you were so excited to give to that you could burst from anticipation? Last Christmas, I found such a gift- something special that truly made me feel like Santa Claus!
Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. Last October, my family and I visited a place in Connecticut that appeals to all ages, with visitors that come from all over the world. The Witch’s Dungeon Classic Movie Museum is a real treat!
Having forever been an “old soul”, I’ve always loved “old things”. Even as a child, my favorite treasures were vintage – the older the better – like a 1940s Nancy Drew book or an Edwardian-era bracelet, my very first flea market purchase (made in the third grade). As an adult, my adoration for vintage grew stronger. Things were made better, and with charm, to boot! From glassware to dishes, clothes to decor, I’m drawn to items with a past life. My favorite things are beautiful and serve a useful purpose. At home, my favorite part of the house is the kitchen. For as long as I can remember, I’ve longed for an antique Hoosier (kitchen) Cabinet.
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
calls herself a knitter, jam-maker, and vintage enthusiast who "never met an antique sewing machine she didn't like." Born and raised in the great state of Texas, she now resides in suburban New England in picturesque Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York state.
Married for over twenty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields and has been a world-traveler, entrepreneur, and homemaker, but considers being a mom her greatest accomplishment of all. In addition to blogging, she also teaches knitting professionally and is a Certified Master Gardener. Loving all things creative and domestic, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “bloom where you are planted.”
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