General News
22 March, 2025
Farewell possum
Farewell old friend, you are gone now, and you will be missed.
Your beauty and stature were spectacular, and you were loved by all – no really, everyone wanted a piece of you!
Firstly, the kookaburras had a go at you – so sorry – they pecked away at your bark and dug holes in you.
Your regal elegance and glorious long fronds had sent sharp shadows across the lawn for many years.
I was proud of you.
Having you in the front yard made me feel special – a little like I was living in a Tropical resort, palm trees just seem to do that.
I was so sad to see your gorgeous enormous palm fronds die one by one.
Those kookaburras killed you.
I’m pretty sure they just wanted the highest lookout point in the garden, and to have a cosy hangout to raise a family – and they did, they raised a few batches of chicks actually.
It was kind of cool sitting in the lounge room watching those magnificent birds flying in and out of their nests playing families, with you as their home sweet home.
Some of the kookaburra babies grew up and dug a new hole in your other side, raising families there too – so you were never alone.
I did get annoyed though, when those babies deliberately dived into our glass doors making a mess, so when the bees moved in, between batches of bird babies, I wasn’t the least bit unhappy.
You seemed fairly pleased too?
I love bees, we need more of them, without bees where would we be?
I used to get a kick out of knowing all of our fruit trees, and flower bushes and strawberry plants and flowering gums were successfully pollinated by my busy friends buzzing in and out of your hand-crafted holes – I mean beak-crafted holes.
Gosh, those bees loved you, and I couldn’t get enough of your magnificent height and dignity as you silently accepted their happy homemaking.
When some honeycombs fell out from a great height I kept them, it’s not every day a beehive arrives in your front yard.
Recently, with all the noise of parties and partings, I thought you seemed to have gone a little quiet – and you had.
For some unfathomable reason the bees had buzzed off and the birds hadn’t barged back in.
You looked a little sombre and sad and we thought it might be time to let you go.
Kym revved up the Bobcat and raised its arms, then used them to gently push you over, and you seemed ready to go.
You hit the ground with a loud bang and you were gone – just like that, no fuss, no bother, no more.
I can’t say it was no surprise when a very large and energetic possum suddenly sprang from your hollow and hit the ground running, scampering away into another of our lovely trees.
Whoops, maybe that’s why the birds and the bees moved out.
Playing possum in the end.