The downgrade from fully detached to semi detached is underway. House 2.0 is now up and running. Larger front door, comfy bedding, new driveway and all fully secured to the side of the main house.

I guess it might be my pommy-ness that makes our local ring-tailed possums such a joy to watch. Most Australians seem to see them as vermin but unlike the brush tailed, our ring-tailed are quite small and mostly pretty quiet with only the occasional scamper across  roof top interrupting sleep. Otherwise they stay in the the trees or walk the tightrope of the electricity wires.

Last year we had a couple nesting in our ornamental pear trees, the deep foliage and bendable branches coupled with a few sprigs from the next door neighbour’s cosy looking fern making a sumptuous treehouse. Our dog went absolutely nuts. This was when I made house 1.o from an old  crate. The possum ignored it but we raised a couple of families of birds. The onset of autumn and then winter saw the tree bound possum (a very well hung male) sitting all alone on bear branches. Eventually he gave up and left for more suitable lodgings.

This year the pear trees have been severely pruned down. Lower hopefully meaning, denser foliage to screen the neighbours and errant possum being put off by being closer to ravenous dachshund/kelpie.  Our plans were scuppered a week ago as another possum is now happily back in another tree. Hence house 2.0. Here it is.

Tonight I’ll tempt the move with some juicy bits of apple. Stay tuned.

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Update December 2015

The possum house is very much in demand. As far as I can tell its been occupied constantly since about two months in. Occasionally a little critter pokes his head out when I move the bins out on a Tuesday night. We’ve had no possums in the trees since its been up.