Take Me To Post Comment Form I pressed the watch stem and lit the face, so I could see what time it was. 3:31.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz. Again. That was the sound that woke me.

Would it go again? I laid there, waiting.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz.

I hauled myself out of bed, greeted by The Corgi, who was far more eager than I, turned on the light, shoved my feet into shoes and grabbed the necessities for a nighttime expedition.

There was a nasty suspicion in my mind that a cow critter had slipped the surly bonds of electric fence and was munching its way along the west driveway, where the motion sensor had been triggered.

So, off we went, Corgi and Human. The Corgi, leading the way, was quite enthusiastic. The Human was muttering imprecations.

Hmmm. Nearing the potential scene of the crime, there were no typical sounds of bovine escape -- that whole "crashing through the underbrush" thing.

Swinging the flashlight's beam down the driveway, I saw nothing. Nope, no calves, cows or horses to be seen. No coyotes. No cats. Nothing.

Based on prior experiences, my next thought was the owls. There are two very large owls that live in the barn. They, of course, hunt at night and have set the motion sensor off before, by swooping after a rabbit or other unfortunate prey.

But, no, there was not the usual indignant comment made when their hunting or dining is disturbed by our appearance, nor was there the eerie swoosh of wings above my head.

Double-checking, I looked through the cedars along the shelterbelt to see if any of the cattle had bedded themselves down there. Nope. All was quiet.

Back to the driveway I headed, in the direction of the post where the motion sensor resides.

At the base of the post, I noticed two eyes shining in the flashlight's beam. There was a pale, furry body still clinging there, looking like it had just come back down to the ground. A sharp nose, small pink ears and that tell-tale prehensile tail.

Yep. The possum dunnit.

Gathering up The Corgi, I headed back to the house and the warmth of bed and blankets.

So, why am I writing this? Because it's five in the morning and I can't get back to sleep, thanks to marauding marsupials and wandering the farm in the wee small hours. I envy The Corgi, she simply laid down and went right back to sleep.

Sigh.