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Tuther day as I rounded the house to the backyard I encountered an opossum and oh, what a possum. It was as big as a small dog and was headed for the heated birdbath we keep on the ground in the back. The lack of moisture plus the cold temperatures that freeze any water available to birds and critters makes the ground-level bird bath very popular.
It was mid-morning so I don’t know why this gnarly old devil was out and about, possums being mostly nocturnal, unless it just got thirsty. It was covered with scars but I didn’t see any open wounds. Since possums usually move slow and have a pained expression, I couldn’t tell if it was or hurt. Since it seemed apparent it just wanted a drink of water, I went on about my business and let it go about its. It left after drinking some water but I was in the garage and didn’t see which way it went.
All winter we have had a hawk in the neighborhood. It is smaller than a Coopers hawk which we see from time to time and bigger than a sparrow hawk. Chris snapped this picture of the hawk perched on the garden gate one late afternoon. He said it had been harassing the chickens when he first saw it but I think that was just wishful thinking on its part. Though I’ve glimpsed it many times over the last few months, I’ve never gotten a good look at it. The Audubon bird field guide says Merlins 
like the treeline of foothills next to a prairie but will winter south of this normal range. We’ve got the treeline next to the prairie so maybe that’s what it is. A Merlin is also called a pigeon hawk. We have plenty of doves around, which would work just as good as a pigeon, I’m sure, and every once in a while we’ll come across a pile of dove feathers. Circumstantial evidence, I know, but something is dining on dove so we will pin it on this fellow.