Bearing Fruit

Stephen of House Kragbol is our resident possum sniper. Many’s the evening he’s ventured out with his headlamp and rifle, while the rest of us tender-hearted snowflakes lurk inside, grateful that someone else is doing what needs to be done.

This summer, after two years and over 100 confirmed kills, Stephen’s extermination efforts are bearing fruit. And not just metaphorically.

An abundance of nashi pears

Apples — possibly Granny Smiths. On bare branches due to the sheep having hoovered up all the leaves.

Pears aplenty.

Literally hundreds of figs.

And this dubious looking article is a Lady Finger Banana.

The inside looks familiar. More starchy and sweeter than supermarket bananas, they are delicious.

Yes, we have bananas! A tree full of pears, where previously we had only a handful, also apples, nashi pears, and more figs than I’ve ever seen before. I knew the possums must be eating some of our fruit, but I had never realised just how much went down those furry little gullets. 

With that in mind, we all pitched in to buy Stephen a possum control assistant. A humane and self-resetting Goodnature A12 trap, which we’ve installed near the bridge into the Seven Acre Wood. So now, although I’m still a spineless townie when it comes to offing possums up close and personal, at least I feel like I’m contributing. Let’s not judge.