|| 21 June 2018

Little Black Pogo

Two baby possum (or opossum, if you prefer) have recently arrived here at Provence-sur-la-Prairie. Little Black Pogo has a much darker coat than the other baby possums that have grown up here in years past. You can really see the difference when LBP and his sibbling are side-by-side. In the photo above, the fuzziness — and the purple and blue tints — you see are the result of the photo having been taken in very low light. Acutally near dark. His color is actually dark black.

The babies usually do not arrive to eat their supper until dark. But a couple of nights ago they were a bit early. When I spotted both babies eating, I grabbed my camera, slipped out the front door and down the driveway to the patio. Unfortunately they spotted me and dashed toward the daylily bed for cover. But halfway there, LBP stopped, paused, and seemed to decide that he was hungrier than he was frightened — and came back to the food dish.

It will be interesting to see if this little possum maintains his dark coat as he grows older. And I just hope that these two babies are not one male and one female. Because if they are, we may soon see a possum population explosion at Provence-sur-la-Prairie.

Possum are edible. And have long been eaten in the USA, particularly in the southern regions. (Traditionally with sweet potatoes.) The French eat several sorts of possum-like critters native to France. A few years ago there was a popular television cooking show in France hosted by two French women of certain age (a team of French peasant Julia Childs) that featured demonstrations on how to cook these small wild animals — and other forest foragings.

Personally, I prefer to stick to more traditional French fare such as bœuf bourguignon and choucroute garnie.

be chic, stay slim — Anne Barone

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