I escorted the invader out of the premises with the aid of an extensible gripper and purchased a live-trap to keep in the garage.

I tried baiting the trap when I first got it, but the bait was always gone in the morning without tripping the trap.

I assume pixies ate it.

So, the trap has sat, empty and forlorn for the better part of a year.

Last week, Caz declared that There Was A Problem. He checked the woodpiles, the lawn mower, under my car and finally decided to look at the critter trap.

Really, who would ever expect a critter in a critter trap? I'll admit, after a year, I didn't expect to find anything there.

But there was a rather unhappy possum crouched in the trap. Actually, it was happy that there was a thick screen between it and the very angry dog.

Caz got put back inside, and I carried the trap out into my woods and released the possum. They can skitter pretty fast when they want to.

I'm hoping this experience was unpleasant enough that it won't want take up residence in my garage. There's no purpose to taking it further away, given the number of other possums that live within a stone's throw of my house.

What I didn't do a year ago was to put the trap on a layer of disposable cardboard or paper. Nor did the trap come equipped with a lavatory. I cleaned up the area under the trap, and sprayed it with Nature's Miracle, but Caz insists it still smells like a possum droppings.

The trap now sits on top of an unfolded Amazon box.