Meet Tank,

our resident possum...

Tank came to us as a baby after he suffered head injuries as a result of being knocked into, and subsequently fished out of, an industrial tank of water at a metal finishing shop where my son worked (hence the name, "Tank").

In all fairness (and apologies to rodents everywhere) I should say that at the time there were lunches and other things going missing at the shop, and it was thought that the culprit could be a rat, and that this particular mistaken-identity "rat" was likely the guilty party, so there were no friendly thoughts whatsoever about dispatching him. But the resulting soggy and slightly bloody little furry creature inspired a surge of remorse and sympathy, and so he was put in a bucket and brought home for nursing. It was only upon closer inspection that we determined the pretty odd-looking rat was really a baby possum, and I went searching the internet for help in treating him. That's how I found www.opossum.org.

I've since gotten to know a dozen other rescued possums by name and they, along with Tank, have been kind enough to pose for photographs and illustrations.

Tank lived to be three years old, about average for possums in captivity, but not nearly long enough for us. At first we kept him in a cage outdoors, which was quicky enlarged. When he got sick as a youngster, he moved to a cage inside, but then it turned cold and he sort of never moved back out again. Eventually we realized he wasn't going to attack us in our sleep and it became apparent that there was really no need to keep him caged up. For the next couple of years he had the run of the house and eventually accumulated four cushy beds so that there was a convenient spot close by whereever he decided to set up camp.

We catered to Tank, and rearranged the whole house (and our schedules) around him. He ate better than we did, adhering strictly to NOS guidelines. He wore out two excercise wheels and the third one was just about ready to be replaced when we lost him unexpectedly to heart failure during the early morning hours of March 9, 2005. He had made his potty run in the proper place like a good boy, and I heard him around midnight start to make his rounds downstairs to finish off the best bits of dinner that I always scattered nightly around the house—the closest to hunting for his food Tank ever had to get. He left the bowl of veggies—they were always last to go—then he climbed back up the stairs and died in his favorite bed.

Tank was the best possum in the world—and I often told him so.

I sure miss him.

With a few minor exceptions (i.e. the stickers are sent out for printing), all artwork, writing, and production is done by Charlotte Terhune, Semi-Serious Artist. Books and cards are printed on 50% recycled papers, made with 20% consumer waste.

A percentage of every purchase goes to benefit National Opossum Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitating of possums. It is because of them that I was able to keep our head-injured possum, Tank, in relative health, and because of the great pleasure that he brought me that I'm sincerely happy to have this opportunity to help support NOS. Any profit is kept in a vet fund for our second rescue, Matilda, who I'm sure will be the subject of more illustrations and much joy to come.

Payment is routed through PayPal—it's free to the customer, and most people find it a convenient way to use any major credit card through PayPal's secure site. Plus it saves me the costs of maintaining a secure credit card site myself. If that won't work for you, click here to contact me with your purchase information and your mailing address, and I'll work out the shipping costs and let you know where to mail a check or money order.

Optional Card Boxes—For a perfect gift, just add a note to your order to request packaging in clear plastic boxes, labeled and sealed (possum-related boxes are sealed with a possum footprint). Boxes hold up to a dozen cards and envelopes.

8 x 10 Prints ($20 each)

Slightly bigger than 8 x10, so they'll fit in the opening of a standard size mat. Printed on heavy-weight felt-textured stock and individually signed. Sold separately.

$20.00 — "AJ" A fellow possum lover sent me his photograph, teeny and tiny, just a handful, and he was so irresistible, I just had to draw him.

$20.00 — "Matilda" Matilda is, no offense to Tank or AJ or anybody else, just absolutely the sweetest little girl possum in the world.

12 x 12 Possum Xing sign ($25) ——ONLY TWO LEFT!!

Twelve inch square "Caution Yellow" powder-coated aluminum with external grade black vinyl image. Drill your own signpost mounting holes or use adhesive for wall mount.

$25.00 — Possum Xing sign

"THERE'S A POSSUM IN THE PILLOWS" BOOK

 
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Children's book—the true story of a real possum who spends his days snuggled in the pillows of the author's bed. Illustrated with pencil drawings and sprinkled with possum facts in addition to the story. Printed on heavy-weight felt-textured stock.

$12.00 — "There's A Possum In The Pillows"

BALANCE CARDS ($2.50 each or 5 for $10.00)

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White felt-textured 5-1/2" square cards, featuring a quote from John Mellencamp beginning on the front with: "I know there's a balance...." and finishing inside: "I see it every time I swing by." (Warning: square cards require extra postage.)

$2.50 — Single Balance Cards

$10.00 — Five Balance Cards

BUTTONS NOTE CARDS (6 for $12)

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Six tan fiber felt-textured 4.25" x 5.5" blank cards with cream envelopes —2 each of 3 pencil illustrations with possum sensibilities (right to left):

(Walking) "For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake.The great affair is to move." (Robert Louis Stevenson)

(Chasing Chicken) "Wild animals are not always gentle, and not always kind—they're not always even pleasant, to our way of thinking—but they are—always—impeccably innocent, for they never attemp to be something they are not."

(Sleeping) "Opossum, oh possum, give me your opinion, is sleeping the days away ever a sin in the eyes of the Nocturnal Animal Kindgon—and how would you know, since you're never awake in 'em?"

$12.00 — Checkerboard Blank Note Cards   

CHECKERBOARD NOTE CARDS (6 for $12)

Six white felt-textured 4.25" x 5.5" cards—2 each of 3 pencil illustrations.

$12.00 — Checkerboard Blank Note Cards    

POSSUM FACE NOTE CARDS ($2.50 each or 5 for $10)

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Single white felt-textured 4.5" x 6"card with watercolor illustration.

$2.50 — Single Possum Face Blank Note Card  

$10.00 — Five Possum Face Blank Note Cards                          

QUOTE NOTE CARDS ($2.50 each or 5 for $10)

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Single brown recycled paper 5" x 7" illustrated cards with quotes—select from the options below and indicate your choices in the Notes section when you Add to Cart.

• "Compassion" Schopenhauer: "Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character; and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man."

• "Fate of Animals" E. Zola: "The fate of animals is of greater importance to me than the fear of appearing ridiculous; it is indissolubly connected to the fate of men."

• "God's Creatures" Saint Francis of Assisi: "If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."

• "Moral Duty" Thomas Paine: "The moral duty of man consists of imitating the moral beneficence of God manifested in the creation toward all His creation. Everything of persecution and revenge between man and man and everything of cruelty to animals is a violation of moral duty."

• "Respect for Life" Dr. Albert Schweitzer: "The ethics of respect for life makes us keep on the lookout together for opportunities of bringing some sort of help to animals, to make up for the great miseries men inflict on them."

$2.50 — Single Quote Blank Note Card

$10.00 — Assorted Quote Blank Note Cards                                      

POSSUM TOWN CHRISTMAS CARDS ($2.50 each or 5 for $10)

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Single felt-textured 4.5" x 6" cards with watercolor/pen& ink illustration. Inside: "Merry Christmas from our neck of the woods to yours" and signed with a possum footprint.

$2.50 — Single "Possum Town" Christmas Card 

$10.00 — Five "Possum Town" Christmas                        

"STARRY NIGHT SPOOF" CHRISTMAS CARDS ($2.50 each or 5 for $10)

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Single white glossy 4.25" x 5.5"cards with mixed media illustration. Inside: "See this Starry, starry night, Asleep in heavenly peace. Here all is calm, all is bright; Could every night be like Christmas, please? " and signed with a possum footprint.

$2.50 — Single "Starry Night Spoof " Christmas Card     

$10.00 — Five "Starry Night Spoof " Christmas   

POSSUM SYMPATHY CARD ($2.50 each or 5 for $10)

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Single 5" x 7" card printed on paper with flecks and sparkles, coordinated with nature-flecked envelope. The possum version features a winged possum floating heavenward (also available without the possum image). On the front is a quote from an unknown author: "Everybody's born so they can live a good life and love others...but animals already know how to do that, so they don't need to stay as long". This card is also available without the possum image—add to your card the no-charge "Without Possum" option..

$2.50 — Single Possum Sympathy Card      

$10.00 — Five Possum Sympathy Cards                        

$0.00 — Without Possum

"POSSUMILITIES" POST CARDS ($2.00 each)

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Tank, our resident rescued possum. Some people find the teeth intimidating, but look at that face—isn't that just the cutest thing in the world!
Front: "Consider the Possumilities" with a photograph of our resident possum, Tank.
Back (in small print): "Opossums...the friend you never knew you had: Opossums are far less of a health risk to you or your children or pets than nearly any other wild animal. By eliminating the opossums, you may create a niche that will be filled by a less desirable species. Rabies and viral diseases (e.g. distemper) are practically unheard of in the opossum". Space for your message and mailing address.

$2.00 — "Tank Possumilities" Postcard  

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Bruiser is another rescued possum—he was found as as orphan with an attitude that far outweighed his size!
Front: "Consider the Possumilities" with a photograph of rescued orphan, Bruiser.
Back (in small print): "Opossums...the friend you never knew you had: They do not "attack" anything that is not a food source, and is not threatening them. If you keep prey animals such as birds, rodents, or rabbits, you must keep them secure in their enclosures from any wild animal. Adult cats and adult opossums generally get along together, or ignore one another. Dogs are a serious threat to opossums, but not vice versa". Space for your message and mailing address.

$2.00 — "Bruiser Possumilities" Postcard         

CHIEF SEATTLE & NEZ PERCE QUOTE BOOKMARKS

($2.00 each—sold individually)

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Quote by Chief Seattle: "All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth."

$2.00 — "All Things" Quote Bookmark   

Quote by Chief Seattle: "If all the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit, for whatever happens to the beasts also happens to the man.

$2.00 — "All the Beasts" Quote Bookmark  

Nez Perce proverb: "Every animal knows more than you do."

$2.00 — "Every Animal" Quote Bookmark

MARK TWAIN QUOTE BOOKMARKS

($2.00 each—sold individually)

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SOLD INDIVIDUALLY  

Quote by Mark Twain: "Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out."

$2.00 — "Heaven" Quote Bookmark

Quote by Mark Twain: "Of all the creatures ever made [man] is the most detestable. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain."

$2.00 — "Pain For Sport" Quote Bookmark   

Quote by Mark Twain: "The fact that man knows right from wrong proves his intellectual superiority to other creatures; but the fact that he can do wrong proves his moral inferiority to any creature that cannot."

$2.00 — "Right From Wrong" Quote Bookmark   

POSSUM TAIL QUOTE BOOKMARK

($2.00 each—sold individually)

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Illustrated with a watercolor possum tail and a quote from The Devil's Dictionary: "The possum said, 'I'm great—behold, my tail is lithe and bald and cold!'...Each reckons greatness to consist in that in which he heads the list."

$2.00 — "Possum Tail" Quote Bookmark                                     

BUMPER STICKER ($3.00 each)

2.75"x15" durable vinyl with the website address for National Opossum Society

$3.00 — "Give 'Em A Brake" Bumper Sticker     

PIGLET QUOTE STICKER ($1.00 each)

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3" x 3" glossy sticker with pencil illustration and a quote by Piglet from Pooh's Little Instruction Book inspired by A.A. Mine: "It's hard to be brave when you're only a Very Small Animal."

$1.00 — "Very Small Animal" Quote Sticker      

OTHER CARDS

They may not be possum-related, but NOS gets their percentage just the same. All the cards are created from my original watercolors, with the exception of the Quiceda Creek Christmas card. You can save 50¢ a card by buying five or more. Sets of five are available in most case--or if you prefer to mix and match from the different groups, please email me, and I'll figure out your pricing, since the calculator I have set up for this site isn't smart enough to figure out all the possibilities.

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Single white felt-textured 4.25" x 5.5"cards with watercolor illustration

$2.50 — Single Bunny Blank Note Card                            .

$10.00 — Five Bunny Cards                        

SQUARE BLANK NOTE CARDS

The 5-1/2" square cards feature the title of the painting on the front and a paragraph or two of interesting tidbits about each painting on the back. Printed on felt-textured stock to simulate watercolor paper, the unusual shape is a definite attention-getter—but be warned, they cost a little more to mail. Sorry, no boxes for this size, but if you drop me a note, I'll tie them up in a ribbon for for gift-giving.

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His real name is Dash--he doesn't belong to me, but he was too cute to resist painting. And he didn't really make that puddle

$2.50 — "Sit. Stay. " Single Blank note card    .

$10.00 — Five "Sit. Stay." Cards                        

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 Mom sneaked a tiny plant into my garden years ago, and it took over--I've transplanted some of its seedlings to my sons' homes.

$2.50 — "Bleeding Hearts " Single Blank Note Card

$10.00 — Five "Bleeding Heart" Cards                        

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CHRISTMAS CARDS

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This beautiful photograph was taken by my late father-in-law in the fifties (through the magic of modern technology, I've added his signature), a view of the creek that ran through the farm where the family lived. The 5" x 7" card features an unusual format, folding at the top.

Inside: a quote from Helen Steiner Rice: "Peace on earth will come to stay When we live Christmas every day. Bless us, Lord, this Christmas with quietness of mind; Teach us to be patient, and always be kind."

$3.00 — "Quilceda Creek" Single Christmas Card

$12.50 — "Quilceda Creek" Set of 5 Cards

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There's no such place...quite. The house does exist in Iowa (or maybe Nebraska) and my parents have often admired it. I planted it in a snow-covered countryside from my imagination, along with the birches and feeding deer. The artwork on this 5" x 7" felt-textured card wraps around to fill front and back completely, with a quote from Norman Vincent Peale on the front: "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."

Inside: quoted from John Greenleaf Whittier: "Somehow, not only for Christmas but all the long year through the joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you. And the more you spend in blessing the poor and lonely and sad, the more of your heart's possessing returns to you glad."

$3.50 — "Dream House " Single Christmas Card

$15.00 — "Dream House " Set of 5 Cards

All contents are copyrighted by Charlotte Terhune.