Secret Agent Squirrel

Polly At Myrtle Beach Bike Week 2012

tangen1_marie — Sat, 19 May 2012 22:54:03 +0000

These are pictures of Polly enjoying her beach front views. She also enjoyed looking at all the bikes. This was Polly’s last get-away. As of now, I plan to stop coddling her and get her acclimated to the wild. I’m going to miss my little travel buddy

Coleman….The weather was hideous! You didn’t miss a thing. I did some flashing, but didn’t get any beads. It was a tough crowd

Break’n The Law Break’n The Law

tangen1_marie — Mon, 14 May 2012 05:07:42 +0000

Technically, Polly is a Virgina Opossum. So I felt it was only right to take her there to visit. Here we are at Mount Vernon. You can see George Washington’s Mansion in the second picture.

Then we were off to Ohio to visit The College of Wooster. Polly is one smart marsupial!

My New Helmet

tangen1_marie — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:47:47 +0000

This is my new helmet. I really like it a lot! It even has built in shades. The shades are down in the first picture and up in the second. Now I don’t have to worry about always having multiple sunglasses on hand when I’m on a ride.

I’m A Biker Nerd D:

tangen1_marie — Tue, 08 May 2012 10:25:51 +0000

I had no idea I looked like such a dork out on the road. Oh my gawd! The only thing I’m missing is a pocket protector. Normally I go to Talbots when I need help dressing appropriately, but I don’t think they can help me with my biker attire (or lack thereof)

I ordered a new helmet right after I saw these pictures. Hopefully it will help.

Turtle Crossing

tangen1_marie — Sun, 06 May 2012 17:42:49 +0000

Yes, it’s that time of year again

My former and I were on our way to a charity auction when I spotted a turtle trying to cross Rt 64 in heavy traffic. I had no idea I could run so well in heals and a dress. I even amaze myself sometimes. I was able to relocated the turtle to a safe area the next morning. She wasn’t big into the slugs I tried to feed her.

Apparently slugs like to eat cat food….who knew?

Born To Be Wild

tangen1_marie — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:44:21 +0000

I’ve had Polly for two weeks. She is eating on her own and is now up to 217 grams

6) Baby opossums are called Joeys

7) In the wild they usually live only one to three years; mortality is particularly high during the first year of life

8) They are almost always resistant to venomous snakes and rabies. They do not harbor diseases such as distemper, parvovirus, or feline hepatitis

9) They have a lower body temperature than other mammals, normal temperature is between 94 and 97 degrees

Technical Support

tangen1_marie — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:56:51 +0000

I have now officially had Polly for a week now. She is up to 139 grams. This is a picutre of us early this morning trying to get internet access.

By the way, I’m allergic to Polly. My epipen, prednisone pills and benedryl are all on stand by.

Fun Opossum Facts…

1) Opossums have 50 teeth

2) They have opposable thumbs on each of their hind feet

3) They have a prehensile tail, which can be used for grasping like a hand

4) They are the only marsupial found in the US

5) Opossums give birth to 16-20 babies, only 12-13 days after mating. Newborn opossums are about the size of a grain of rice. Most do not survive the journey into the pouch where they must find one of her 13 nipples. Those who do not find a nipple wont make it.

More interesting opossum facts to come!

Slow Down Daytona!

tangen1_marie — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:50:59 +0000

Daytona is now outside in one of my release cages with his four squirrel buddies. He is a speed demon wild man! I could barely get a decent picture of him

Polly Day 6

tangen1_marie — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:32:54 +0000

Apparently I can’t tell a male opossum from a female opossum *rolling eyes at myself*. I realized something was askew when Polly wasn’t urinating from his penis. I had to e-mail the zoo with descriptions and get opinions from my local police department to figure out what was going on for sure….so embarrassing. Polly has a little pouch for future babies. It completely threw me off.

Polly gives the best neck massage in town, maybe even all of NC

I normally pride myself on not handling and coddling the wildlife I harbor, but Polly is so cute!!!!!!!

I Expect More Of People

tangen1_marie — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:22:21 +0000

This morning, right in the quaint downtown area of my small town, a mother opossum was hit and killed in the road. As all her babies struggled to run to safty, cars ran them down. Not one person stopped to help get them across the road or swerved to miss them.

A woman, on her way to work, discovered the carnage and stopped to move all the dead bodies to the side of the road. It was then that she discovered the one and only live baby opossum shivering along side the curb. She picked it up and brought it to work with her.

I’ve heard of people purposely hitting animals trying to cross the road. It’s something I can’t grasp what-so-ever. I expected more of the people in my community.