P-o-s...possums!

P is for the possum that looked at me.
O is for the outrage that is inside of me.
S is for the skibbies they give to me.
S is for this is living in Sydney!
O is for ordinary, but not to me...
M is for marsupial, one of Aussies many.
P-O-S you know what that stands for,
S-O-M stay over me, and don't come down further!

So another week begins and we continue to cohabit with the possums as it has been too rainy for The Possum Man to come do the roof work at night. I can bend my mind around the possums, at least they are just here to sleep and I hear them sneaking in like teenagers at 315, 430 and sometimes 5 something each morning.

It's the rats..Drat. I honestly have put myself on a mental block on that one because it will just not be good if I go there. The roof work will help with both issues, thankfully.

The owners came last Thursday as the wife was insistent she wanted to see what was going on in the attic for herself. I should have said no. For whatever reason she thinks she can detect them and she thinks she would see them. But they hide and as I may have already mentioned, it is not likely for them to be seen, even by the expert. I am an internet possum expert and it didn't take much to be more schooled on possums than soemone who has lived here for some time and seems not to mind that they are living in her home. Let me try to make a long story short...

The owners are leaving and I am walking them out. John looks up to this spot on the front of the house where a wood shingle is askew and states, "That wasn't a rat!" I do believe he believes me, but not the wife. Even though their own exterminator would not come based on my description, the property manager, The Possum Man staff, my inter webs research all pretty much concur that what I hear are possums. Could they be using our rooftop as a landing strip and lift off? Yes! But seems they are inside,too. I can't control their outdoor shenanigans and really don't care about it, but the indoor stuff must end. Soon. Very soon!

FYI-
-Possums are protected in New South Wales and a fine of up to $5000 is given if you are caught killing or relocating them.
When relocating, these terrorial marsupials do not allow the other possums to live in their 'hood. They usually die in a short period of time. Ummm...not sure if I care. We are not supposed to share a house with a possum or possum family, whatever it may be.
-NSW suggests providing "possum boxes" for them to live in in a tree in your yard rather than in your roof. I had intended to state to the owners that they could erect one if they wished but I never sent that email after they found out from the realty that I called crying and upset. Hellooooo??? Anyone? This has been weeks. I have been wayyy patient, IMO!!
-Although we are a mere 5k from the Central Business District(CBD) we have much Bush land around us and we are near Lane Cove River and Park.
-Don't forget we saw the biggest bats ever in the city, Hyde Park, and sleeping in the neighboring Botanical Garden by day. Also, rats in the evening. Big, nasty ones.
-One good thing is rabies does not exist in Australia, thus the reason they are stringent in pet quarantine when bringing your pet to live with you...Dear Zeus would never have survived all that...but I have heard of someone borrowing their neighbours dog to yap it up in the attic by day to scare them away every 3 months or so. Also, leaving a light on in the attic and placing moth balls inside.
-Driving around looking at houses, it seems we are unique in not having a tile roof. Though the spot in front that the owner saw (I had already discovered it) is just one entry point...


P.S. Parenting and blogging is not recommended simultaneously. Muffin hit buttons several times and sent this to publish several times while it was being drafted. My apologies. I got a few free minutes when I gave them both cookies and milk put Huckleberry in his saucer and put on an episode of Sesame Street. Parenting at its finest, indeed.