She has been carrying this bouquet for three blocks now and she is not stopping until she finds the right person to give it to. Her tail is wrapped firmly around the stems, her opposable little feet are moving with great purpose across the moss, and her expression communicates clearly that she has somewhere to be and the daisies are coming with her. You did not know you needed someone to bring you flowers today. Josephine knew.
The Virginia Opossum
Virginia opossums are the only marsupials found north of Mexico, ancient and adaptable and almost entirely misunderstood by everyone they meet. They have opposable thumbs on their hind feet, 50 teeth, enormous dark eyes built for night vision, and a prehensile tail that functions essentially as a fifth limb, wrapping around branches for balance, gripping things they want to carry, and most delightfully, bundling up dried leaves and grasses to bring back to their dens for nesting material.
That last behavior is one of the most endearing things in the natural world if you have ever been lucky enough to witness it. An opossum toodling along through the autumn grass with a tail full of collected leaves trailing behind her, completely focused on the task, entirely unbothered by how she looks, is a creature who has her priorities in perfect order. She needs a cozy nest. She is building one. She sees no reason to be embarrassed about this.
They also almost certainly do not carry rabies. Their body temperature runs between 94 and 97 degrees Fahrenheit, significantly lower than most mammals, and the rabies virus simply cannot survive in conditions that cold. They are nocturnal, solitary, peaceful creatures who want nothing more than to clean up whatever nobody else wants to deal with and then go home to their leaf pile. They are doing important work. They deserve a bouquet.
The Piece
Her name is Josephine, because a creature who wraps her tail around a handful of daisies and carries them across the garden to give to someone deserves a name of appropriate magnificence.
Josephine is built from sterling silver from the ground up, every tuft of fur in her textured coat carved in by hand so she reads as genuinely fluffy even at this small scale. Her four little feet with their distinctive spread toes are planted firmly on the ground, mid-waddle, going somewhere with intention. Her tail curves out behind her and wraps around the stems of three sterling silver daisy heads, their petals and centers carved with the same care as the rest of her, held aloft like the most sincere offering anyone has ever made.
She comes on an 18 inch sterling silver chain ending in a heart-shaped charm and a heavy duty sterling lobster clasp. If you would like your chain shorter or longer let me know and I can quote the difference for you.
The Craftsmanship
- Pendant: approximately 1.5 inches across
- Material: sterling silver throughout
- Chain: 18 inch sterling silver chain
- Clasp: sterling silver lobster clasp with heart charm
- Edition: made to order, each one unique
One of a Kind
Josephine is made to order just for you, which means each one will be ever so slightly unique, shaped by hand in the same way but never identical to any other. She is yours from the very first mark of the tool. I have even been asked to create Josephine with birthstone gemstones in the center of the daisies. Since each possum is made from scratch, we can customize yours as you wish!
A Note from Tamara
I made this piece because I think opossums are profoundly underappreciated and I wanted to put one of them in the most charming situation I could imagine. The leaf carrying behavior is so genuinely sweet that I thought about it for a long time before I landed on flowers instead, because what if she was not carrying leaves for herself but carrying daisies for you? What if the opossum was the one trying to brighten someone's day for once, instead of the other way around? That felt right. Josephine has always known what she wanted to do. She just needed someone to make her out of silver and send her out into the world.
Shipping
Your Josephine will be made to order just for you in my little studio in the New Hampshire woods. Please allow one to two weeks for her to be created. You will receive a tracking number by email so you can follow her on her journey to her new home.