Many times I have been outside at night getting some fresh air when I have heard a rustling in the bushes next to the front door.  A few times it actually scared the crap out of me!  I just supposed it was one of the neighbor cats exploring the yard.  Their activities always drive my indoor menagerie nuts.  One recent night my cats were going crazy by the big windows that look out over the front lawn.  I crept up to the glass to see what all the commotion was about and observed a medium-sized possum lumbering toward the steps that lead to the front door.  Then it simply disappeared!  Investigation with a flashlight revealed where my new friend went.  Under the concrete steps was a small hole dug in the earth.  It must have made a home for itself under my front steps.  How many people to you know with a pet possum?  Of course, now I have to worry whether this particular possum is smart enough to avoid joining it's many brethren and sistren on that great highway in the sky.  Avoid the road, my new found friend! Avoid the road.

note:  spellcheck does not recognize the word "sistren".  I'm taking it back!

another note:  dictionary.com does recognize "sistren" and credits Chaucer, after whom I am named.  Interesting.