# Opossum and a Pear Tree



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

*Today I was reminded of this story. Perhaps you'll find it amusing or enjoyable.*
*
Years ago my ex-wife and I lived in a place in Berkeley that had a pear tree in the back yard. The tree bore a huge amount of delicious pears, many of which fell to the ground and fermented before we could clean them up.

One night we heard a commotion in the back yard. It sounded like my wife's cat making a mess in the dry cat food we'd left for him. I went downstairs and outside, and instead of the cat found two opossums munching on the food, walking about erratically, bumping into one another, and sometimes tripping. What was odd was that they didn't run when I came out or when the yard lights were turned on. I couldn't understand their strange behavior until I remembered the fallen, fermented pears. These critters were drunk! What a sight ... can you imagine?

You ever have something similar happen?

*


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## teamfat (Nov 5, 2007)

I can relate. Used to live in a place with a big pear tree in the back yard. I'm not fond of pears, so never bothered to harvest them, just let them fall and rot. When it was time to mow the lawn I'd collect them all and chuck them into the trash.

The pears would give off a nice, sweet scent though, which seemed to attract a lot of bees. I never worried about the bees as I picked up the fermenting pears. Those bees couldn't fly more than a few inches at a time, and certainly not in a straight line. Not much threat of being stung.

mjb.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

The movie "Animals are Beautiful People" has a scene with elephants and apes having eaten fermented, fallen fruit and getting rather drunk. They even show the next morning's hangovers.


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## maryb (Mar 21, 2008)

Does my black lab stealing beer from the cooler count? She was a real beer hound and would steal from the cooler or if a guest set a beer down it would be gone.


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

We used to have a white mulberry tree, and ditto. Squirrels would eat the fermented fruit.

Evey seen a drunk squirrel trying to negotiate a telephone wire? Quite a sight.


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