Playing Possum

Saturday evening, I went outside to put the lawnmower away. I noticed some movement on the top of the fence. It was a possum. I stopped suddenly, not sure what it would do. ( they are so big and ugly) The possum remained motionless, not even moving it's head or eyes. It was like a statue. I stood there for a long time, just watching. After about ten minutes I went into the house and watched from the sliding glass door. It remained still until I had been in the house for about ten minutes. It began to move along the fence and I went outside again to make sure it didn't get into the shed and as soon as I opened the door, it stopped and remained motionless again. I decided to leave it alone and after a while it moved on. I guess this is what they call playing possum. I have never seen this before. I don't like possum, but this was interesting to see.
Mom