Chez Gainey in summer…
Yesterday began so well. I’d gotten a ton of house and yard work done, and took care of several things on my long to-do list. By late afternoon, I decided to go for walk before the strong storms were forecast to begin. I started to feel odd during the walk, but chalked it off to the barometric pressure changes wreaking havoc with my sinuses. By the end of my walk, however, the rain had started falling in big, splashy drops- and I realized that I’d caught Dan’s nasty cold- a parting gift from our trip to North Carolina. Perfect.
Coops, medicinal bug buddy…
I’m not good at being sick- I’m too tightly wound up in the “I-must-be-productive-I-have-things-to-do!” mode. It always feels like my body has betrayed me. Sometimes, though, the Universe says it’s time to take a break, and you don’t have any choice in the matter. Thankfully it is summer, and I’m not in the middle of a busy semester.
Before heading to bed early, I went out to the decks to check on our cat, Kasey. I saw her come out from beneath the deck stairs as she often does and called to her. I was confused, as she quickly turned away and crawled back under the deck. That’s when I realized that the gray creature wasn’t our sweet gray cat- it was a giant possum. We have our own veritable Wild Kingdom right in the middle of the city. At least this one was on the outside and not inside the house as we’ve had in the past (I kid you not- we’ve had possums and squirrels come in through the chimney and surprise us…). Kasey walked up beside me, her eyes as big as saucers, and I scooped her up into my arms. I was thankful that I hadn’t tried to pick up the possum and snuggle it in my head cold haze. It could have happened.
This morning I woke up to my throat feeling like a hot poker had taken residence. I’m not fighting it. Instead, I’m going to focus on resting and healing, reading, and enjoying spending a quiet day with the animals. A chill day is a gift in itself- head cold or not. And a bonus – HGTV has a ‘Fixer Upper’ marathon going on. Life is good.
The View from Here 
Erkk !! possums have such vicious claws and teeth ! You were lucky to avoid a lot of damage !
I think the possum was just as intent on getting away from me as I was it. :))