Not to belabor the whole possum thing, but...

Don't kiss that possum--you don't know where it's been.


The last couple of day's posts for some reason or other had to do with possums. Ordinarily this blog has other priorities, but sometimes you just gotta ride that possum train.

Yesterday, a friend of mine and fellow goat herder who read the possum post sent in the following comment:

My buddy was deer hunting one year near his camp in Pocahontas county.

He came upon the edge of this field and saw a sheep laying in the edge of the field on it's side.

As he came closer he could see the sheep was on it's side violently shaking.

He raised his gun, sort of afraid that it had rabies or some other disease and in it's death throes might jump up and charge him.

The closer he got the more violent the shaking became until he was nearly on top of it and the shaking suddenly stopped and a huge possum came crawling out of where the sheep's anus had been. 

He then realized the sheep was long dead and ripe, and the possum had chewed his way into the body cavity...and was just having a nice little picnic.

How's that for an image? And on that note, have a great weekend!

Speaking of possums

Yesterday's post about possums reminded me of a little adventure from back when the Spousal Unit and I served on our local volunteer fire department. It went like this...

One Monday night, we went to our usual meeting/training session at the fire house. We could tell right away something was wrong. A climate of fear pervaded the station.

"We're so glad you came, " some of the guys said.

They weren't talking to me. They were talking to the Spousal Unit, who was regarded as something of a critter whisperer.

It turned out there was a terrifying intruder in the station that day, a savage beast that struck fear into the hearts of stalwart men who would rush to burning buildings, hazmat spills, explosive car crashes and other dangerous situations.

A baby possum under a fire truck to be exact...

To make a long story short, she put on gloves, crawled under the truck, picked up the possum, took it out back to a field and gave it some dry cat food.

The boys were in awe. I never got that kind of respect. But then, I'm not a possum whisperer.

DEFICIT HYSTERIA DISORDER treated here.

MORE ON MINE SAFETY from Ken Ward's Coal Tattoo blog here.

URGENT TINY CHAMELEON UPDATE here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Some kind of omen

Image by way of wikipedia.


The ancient Greeks and Romans, and other peoples as well, frequently sought for signs or omens in the flight of birds or actions of various animals.

If I leaned that way, I'd be searching for the message in this: early this morning the Spousal Unit and I saw something unusual while walking our boxer. First, there was a weird sound on the hill that reminded me of crows cawing. Then, in the early light, we saw three shapes moving which turned out to be possums. Two of them got into a pretty serious fight while one looked on (unless they were mating in a most unseemly and indecorous manner). Our best guess is that two males were fighting over a female.

It was quite a possum zoot suit riot. I've seen a few possums in my day, but never anything quite like this.

I wonder what the Romans would have made of it...

The only thing I know for sure is that those guys were lucky Arpad, our Great Pyrenees, sat this walk out. He has long since declared unconditional war on all such creatures and would have taken all three out in the blink of an eye.

MINE SAFETY. Here's my latest rant in the Gazette.

A DEAL has apparently been reached on extending unemployment insurance.

PLUTOCRACY VS. DEMOCRACY. The latter is the underdog.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

I don't know how they did it...but they did

I mentioned in yesterday's post that the Spousal Unit and I were going to celebrate Valentine's Day by watching a 101 year old film adaptation of Dante's Inferno. Mission accomplished.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting them to nail it. I encourage you, Gentle Reader, to take an hour or so as soon as you can and watch this eerie but amazing film. It's about as close as you can get to the spirit of the Inferno without reading it. Or going through hell with Virgil.

I am convinced that there is a hidden Dante geek within every Goat Rope reader.

Click here to watch. 

And, yes, you're welcome.

OUT DOING DANTE? Yes, it can be done. Click here to see hilarious underwater pictures of dogs.

DEAL ON UNEMPLOYMENT? Maybe.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

For the hell of it

I'm not sure what this says about the state of marital bliss at Goat Rope Farm, but the Spousal Unit and I plan to celebrate Valentine's Day by watching a 1911 silent film adaptation of Dante's Inferno.

OBAMA'S BUDGET. Here's a preliminary take by Robert Greenstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

MORE ON MINE SAFETY AND DRUG TESTING here.

ANIMAL ART, ANYONE? Click here.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Class warfare, revisited

Right wingers frequently accuse people of class warfare any time anything related to inequality is discussed, but they are the best ones at waging it. Here's just one example: due to federal budget cuts pushed through last year have resulted in Legal Aid of West Virginia laying off 15 case handlers and closing the office in Logan County.

Legal Aid served over 24,000 West Virginians in 2010.

Similar cuts are taking place around the country. Add to that efforts to restrict access to the ballot and shred safety net programs and the truth becomes a little clearer.

I'd like to be able to call down some kind of cosmic retribution on the perpetrators, but I'm afraid my clout doesn't reach that far. I guess it's up to us.

THE SAFETY NET: WHO NEEDS IT? Lots of folks.

COMFORT FOOD is the theme of the latest edition of Notes From Under the Fig Tree by the Rev. Jim Lewis (disclosure: I gave the woman mentioned in the second part of the newsletter his telephone number).

SIDESHOWS. Here's Ken Ward with more on the tenuous connection between mine safety and drug tests.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED