Kids today, I dunno

I don't have any kids of my own, just two grown up stepdaughters. That's a learning experience in itself, but nothing like the learning experience of having your own babies.

Now, you could consider having orphaned possum joeys as having your own babies. It's certainly a learning experience.

I was sitting out on our back verandah with the laptop where it belongs, on my lap. I had a glass of Riesling beside me on the table and had just stubbed out a cigar.

Donna brought Lucky out and let him wander round on the table to explore. Explore he did, everything was a new experience, the Dolphin torch for watching the fruit bats in the tree, the binoculars for watching birds during the day and the aircraft inbound to Brisbane airport, (not for watching the neighbours, honest). He even started to climb the brick wall part of the way and if there'd been any geckos around he might have had a taste.

Then he noticed my glass of wine.

I learned two things at that point. Don't tempt young critters with alcohol (actually, that applies to homo sapiens too), and Lucky is teatotal.

Now, if you're a carer, you may be thinking that's terrible me letting him drink alcohol. Actually I suspect someone with no real experience of looking after young critters would be more offended. He didn't drink it, he merely tasted it and didn't like it, and no other animal in our care will ever get the opportunity to taste a good Aussie Riesling like that, let alone the cheap rubbish that was in my glass. And it wasn't really a case of letting him drink it, it was more like, "Oh shit, get out of my glass".

While we're talking about possums, I have a theory about Mogwai's toilet habits. I think he's quite regular and his normal toilet time is around 9:15pm. That's around about the time he got me twice, and Sarah had to change her pyjamas around about that time last night after he peed on her.

No one was game to test the theory tonight.