Just Lucky

I'm posting early in the day, but I figure it won't get much better than this. I was sitting on the back steps, putting on my beach walking shoes and idly staring at the backyard, soft focus, not really looking at anything. That's the best time for seeing--I became aware of a small movement in the vines on top of the arbor. Too slow for a squirrel, not a cat. Not a bird. Not the wind. Something low and silent--a somewhat bedraggled young opossum! A bit rare around here, although I've seen a couple over the years. This one was very conscious of me and the distance between us. With him snaking around in the leaves, I had a hard time trying to make a photograph until at one point he just emerged from the tangle for a few seconds. I probably watched him for about a half hour, hoping he would come down to ground level. At one point I realized there was a second animal, about twenty feet away; it knew the minute I saw him, and melted away behind the compost pile. My guess is that it was the mom, and the guy on the roof was one of her brood, as he was smaller. It was amazing to see how quickly and quietly they can move--not a peep or a rustle. Makes me think I'm looking at them every day and not seeing a thing.  Don't you love his little fangy smile?

I finally finished putting my shoes on and had a nice walk on the beach. Tides are still strong and high, eating up most of the shore. I ended up coming back along the wooden walkway of the amusement park, as it was too sloggy in the wet sand. Lots of color photo ops with all the bright graphics of the park, but nothing tops wildlife in your backyard!  And all this before breakfast!