Possum's Moon Dance
Overall, Possum’s Moon Dance is 29″ tall, 12″ deep, and 12″ wide. Mist has a solid wool core with a blend of merino wool, silk, and plant fibers for the topcoat. I had received a variety of plant fibers as a Christmas gift and I had been saving them for something special. Two of the plant fibers, rose and hemp, were perfect for this joyful possum. The rose fiber is on the legs and blended into the long blue fur. The hemp is the wild, stiff fur on and around Mist’s belly. The mushrooms are made from core wool and blue wool batts, the moss is dyed locks and natural golden chrysalises which were included in the fiber gift. The stump is holly from a fallen tree in my backyard.
One of the questions I get the most is, what are the teeth and claws are made of? Answer: Wool!
My husband generated a fun AI bluegrass song for Mist and friends that hit just the right note. It’s posted below, so grab your banjo, fiddle, or tin cans on a string and join the jamboree!
Possums Dancin’ in the Moonlight
(Bluegrass breakdown – fast 4/4, key of G, with clawhammer banjo, fiddle, mandolin chops, and a slapped upright bass)
Verse 1
Down by the crick where the old pine bends,
Moonlight’s drippin’ like sorghum on the fence.
Old man possum crawls out from his log,
Grabs his woman by the paw and cuts a little jog.
Chorus
They’re possums dancin’ in the moonlight,
Tail rings flashin’ like a silver knife!
Heel-toe, swing your partner, do-si-do,
Under that big ol’ Texas moon aglow!
Yee-haw! Possums dancin’ in the moonlight!
Verse 2
Mama possum’s got her babies in a line,
Little ones twirlin’ like a clothesline in the pine.
They’re stompin’ up dust and a-whoopin’ so loud,
Even the hoot owls are clappin’ from the clouds.
Chorus
They’re possums dancin’ in the moonlight,
Tail rings flashin’ like a silver knife!
Heel-toe, swing your partner, do-si-do,
Under that big ol’ Texas moon aglow!
Yee-haw! Possums dancin’ in the moonlight!
Break
(Fiddle tears it up, banjo rolls like a freight train, mandolin chops on the off-beat – everybody holler “Possum!”)
Verse 3
They dance till the whippoorwill calls the dawn,
Stars gettin’ jealous and the fireflies are gone.
Come mornin’ they’ll play dead in the tall grass,
But tonight they’re livin’ like there ain’t no tomorrow, y’all!
Final Chorus (louder, faster, half-step up)
They’re possums dancin’ in the moonlight,
Whole dang holler full of possum delight!
Heel-toe, swing your partner, do-si-do,
Under that big ol’ Texas moon aglow!
Yee-haw! Possums dancin’ in the moonlight!
(Shout) One more time for the possums!
Tag (slow it down, let the banjo ring)
POV:
(Yeah, they’re possums dancin’… in the moonlight. Grab your five-string, rosin up the bow, and holler it loud – this one’s made for a front-porch jam!
Mist isn’t wearing silver rings like the possums in the song, but I can totally see beer tabs working for this!)