Skunk!

Monkey was barking, barking, barking back by the chicken coop, so I knew some creature was back there. Then I smelled skunk, thought "Oh, shit!" but stopped to grab my camera before hustling to get the dogs. Luckily the skunk was facing off the dogs from the other side of the short chain-link fence that divides our yard from Travis and Preston's. It seemed just as curious as the dogs were and stuck around long enough for me to take a number of pictures. It never did turn around to spray us.

The Possum and Buster in the Peach Tree

Monkey was wildly barking in the chicken coop, so I knew the dogs had discovered another creature there. I assumed it was a rat, so I said "Are you ready? Ready, ready?" as I prepared to pull out the nesting boxes and expose the rat so they could get it. Buster dove in as I pulled the boxes out, but there wasn't the usual run and scuffle. He had something, but it didn't run and it was big!

Too big for a rat, but small for a possum...it was a teenage possum.

I took a bunch of pictures

but wanted a more natural setting, so I put the possum up on a branch of the peach tree

and took some more pictures

Then I noticed some motion off to my left and was surprised to discover another creature in the tree:

Buster's extreme prey drive turned him into a tree-climbing dog!

Over and over, he climbed the tree, trying to get that poor little possum.

Buster got better at climbing the tree (more video of Buster practicing climbing and jumping out of the tree at http://gallery.me.com/joellenarnold#100080) and I was enjoying the show, but suddenly, the possum fell out of the tree! Of course Buster lept down and grabbed it again, but I don't think any more damage was done to the possum. I picked it up and put it back in the box and we all got in the car to take it to the river. I left the open box on its side in a bramble of ripe blackberries and wished the possum better luck.