possum - Sounds like wish

10 November, 2012

Ailsa's photo challenge: Soft

Ailsa’s photos of soft things are excellent pieces of photography. She found something soft that’s normally scratchy and hard-edged: grass. You must see it: http://wheresmybackpack.com/2012/11/09/travel-theme-soft/

I, too, found a photo of something soft in a hard place.

Finding a soft thing in a blokey shed is rare. When we found this possum curled up on top of an old wardrobe cum tool cupboard, we tempted him with his favourite food, fruit, and he kindly sat up and took the piece of apple for our photographic benefit. My husband took this excellent shot.

I have to confess that though his fur looks soft, I can’t confirm it. Possums are vicious; it’s wise to put the piece of fruit in front of the cute ball of fur and quickly withdraw your hand.

7 May, 2012

366 unusual things: days 124-128

3rd May – A student sent me an email that seemed blank until a few words caught my eye on the far right of the screen. Her computer was set for Arabic.

4th May – The restrooms in a trendy shopping village have blue lighting which makes your skin look blue. Found out today this makes finding a vein impossible.

5th May – When a police car arrived outside the Housing flats opposite us, an old guy doing some gardening stood up with both hands in the air. I was relieved to see them all laugh.

6th May – Tonight there was a Super Moon: the orbiting moon came the closest it gets to the earth. My husband and I took photos – I shot the moon and he shot the possum. With a camera.

7th May – Had my hair cut by a hairdresser who said ‘beautiful’ every time I spoke. I liked it. At first.

28 February, 2012

366 unusual things: days 54-58

23rd Feb – Driving in blazing sunlight, I entered a short tunnel and my eyes didn’t adjust. Everything went dark and I had to trust my knowledge of the road for a few seconds.

24th Feb – Discovered that Google makes finding a Justice of the Peace easy. I gave it a suburb and it listed the local JPs in order of distance in metres from my house, though I hadn’t given an exact address. I like the knowledge Google has but I hate it knowing where I am.

25th Feb – This afternoon I read about Shepheard’s Hotel for two hours so I could write a factual paragraph for the Indulge challenge. I began the weekly photo challenges with just pictures in mind; now the writing matters.

26th Feb – A black crow picked up a white cockatoo feather, flew up onto a fence, held the feather under its claw and tore it to shreds, the white scraps catching in the breeze and blowing away.

27th Feb – When I asked a woman in a quilting shop to tell me the difference between cotton and polyester thread, she said, ‘Well, this one’s cotton because it’s cotton. It’s made from cotton.’

Several weeks ago we found a possum in the tool cupboard (see post of 16th Jan). Now there are two.

Possum mother and baby in the tool cupboard

28 January, 2012

366 unusual things: days 24-28

24th Jan – A visitor arrived at the Housing flats but, before getting out of his car, was assailed by a tenant spewing the loudest tirade of abuse yet heard in this street. It was about money paid as maintenance for her 2 granddaughters – $50 a week. Her vocabulary was quickly exhausted, so for about 10 minutes she repeated two obscene words several times in each sentence.

25th Jan – I noticed when I knock on a door gently to wake someone, only the knuckle of my middle finger does the knocking.

26th Jan – A manuscript appraiser suggested I break up my translated text using a dinkus.

It’s a tiny design dividing otherwise undivided text. I like this one.

And below, here’s one in place.

Dinkus in ‘Almost French’ by Sarah Turnbull

27th Jan – My breakfast-on-the-deck was better than usual: I saw a possum curled up in a corner of the roof guttering. Turned out she was hiding something…

28th Jan – As I drove onto the bridge to cross the lake, I had to slow for 15 horses and riders and a black and white sheepdog in my lane.

18 January, 2012

366 unusual things: days 14-18

14th Jan – I tried to tear up some poorly framed photos I’d had printed for 10 cents each. How disappointed I was to feel the photos resist my cranky hands. The Kodak XtraLife II paper has a top layer of plastic that won’t be torn. To destroy it, I had to go in search of a pair of scissors and then cut, cut, cut. Where’s the satisfaction in that? Tearing up a photo, especially of an unpleasant face, is one of the great pleasures in life.

15th Jan – Watched Gone with the Wind for the first time in 30 odd years. In the hospital scene, some long dark shadows cast onto a wall didn’t move exactly as their owners did. The shadows seemed to have been filmed and attached afterwards.

16th Jan – My husband uses an old wardrobe in the shed for tool storage, and the possum uses it as a hideaway:

Jan 17 – I received a letter from Germany in an envelope made from a paled scan of a letter I’d written myself.

Jan 18 – My lady butcher’s hands are red, like she’s had them deep inside an animal’s flesh. But they are that colour even when clean. I said, ‘Your hands have been working hard,’ and she said ‘Yes, I have ugly hands.’