So Long Scurvy!

{since I like to start the post with a pretty picture!}

It has been rather hectic and crazy in my neck of the woods these last several weeks, so I haven't been doing a very good job of posting. I took this past Friday off from the day job to concentrate on work for an upcoming show, but unfortunately was derailed thanks to Scurvy, an uninvited guest who took up residence in my basement. I have had many run ins with opossums before, but not inside my house!

Now, opossums can be pretty cute ~ as long as they stay outside and away from the dogs. Scurvy seemed to be one of those cute ones at first, but it didn't take long for him to bare his teeth and show his true personality.

Dick called me at work on Thursday to tell me that "we had a problem" in the basement ~ a nice addition to an already stressful workday! When I arrived home that evening, we sat down and hatched a plan to catch the varmint ~ it involved Dick trapping him in the box that he was sitting in, then scooping it into the tub that I would be holding. Seemed like a good plan, but when we tried to reposition the box for optimum scooping, Scurvy jumped out and found a new spot up on the edge of the foundation. At that point, it was obvious that we needed a Plan B, so remembering that our neighbor has a have-a-heart cage/trap, we borrowed that, filled a lid with peanut butter and dog food and placed the whole thing high on the shelf next to the box where he had been sitting.

Not much else we could do at that point except wait ~ of course, all night I kept hearing noises, so I didn't get the best sleep! By morning Scurvy had fallen for our devious trap and was caught ~ here he is, looking happy and content ~ I guess he must have enjoyed the peanut butter.

Initially, we decided that we would take Scurvy to the local park when Dick got home from work that night ~ but the more I thought about it, the more I didn't really like being in the same house with him downstairs. So, I decided I would take him to his new home that morning ~ all by myself. Mustering up my courage, donning a pair of gloves and sequestering the dogs out in the backyard, I headed down the basement stairs. As the cage with Scurvy in it was on the top shelf, I realized I needed a step up, so went back to the kitchen for my trusty kik-step. The minute I grabbed the handle of the cage and began to move it, Scurvy freaked out ~ I guess he really didn't want to go to a new home. Somehow I managed to go back up the stairs and outside, where I had a tub waiting in the car ~ I put the whole business in the tub, got things locked up at home and took off for the park.

About halfway there it occurred to me that I wasn't really too sure how sturdy that cage was ~ I crossed my fingers and hoped he wasn't going to escape in my car ~ after all, it was Friday the 13th ~ it would be my luck to end my days in an opossum caused car accident! Plus, no offense, but Scurvy smelled ~ I happened to notice that shortly after we took off ~ glad I thought to use the plastic tub!

Once arriving at the park, I found a nice clearing in front of a forested area ~ seemed like a decent place for a new home. I thought it might take awhile for Scurvy to leave the cage, but the minute I started trying to figure out how to open it, he was chomping at the bit. In fact, he got out of there so quickly, I didn't even have time to take a photo....

After great food and lodging AND a trip to the forest, this is the final look I got from Scurvy ~ the last I saw of him was his pink foot-long tail slithering into the shadows of the forest. So long Scurvy!