The Glorious Light

  I often claim that my predawn time on the end of the pier is my escape.  I can meditate, ready my mind and body for the day's chores and then sit back to enjoy the sunrise.  It is my "me time".  It is the time when the whole world seems at peace.  I enjoy this habit and make no excuses for keeping such odd hours.

  This morning, heavy clouds blocked out most of the sun's attempts of giving one of its glorious performances.  Instead of the kaleidoscopic array of colors, there was dark grey.  Instead of sunbeams shooting across the horizon, there was one momentary "hole" that let the bright rays spill out of the inkiness.  That "hole" was mesmerizing even though fleeting.  It almost appeared to be a doorway to a much more beautiful place than this world could ever offer.  The urge to step through that entryway was tempting the body and soul. 

  Bat (the cat) and I watched the brilliance for the few moments it appeared.  Then...total darkness engulfed us again.  Our chance to "escape" had slipped from reach and now we had to settle in to face the day here.  No problem...he and I started our day with happy ideas bouncing around in our minds...his of exploring the rooftop of the greenhouse and mine of springtime plantings.  Life goes on so we might as well make the best of it.  

Looking through the storms...

  Ok, so being limited in where and when I can go is about as bad as being fully quarantined, as far as I can see.  I feel tethered to the Little Bayou House, and while I love my place, I am about to go stir crazy!  I want the freedom to roam the marshes, creek bed and woods.  I want to watch the sunrise from the pier.  I want to feed my heron friend.  I want to traipse the hillside.  But...that is not happening, at least for the next two months.  Folks, stop your whining about having your actions a bit curbed by the pandemic.  What freedoms you have can very quickly come to a halt.  

  At daybreak, I was in the kitchen making coffee when I noticed that it was not raining (yet).  Thinking that the sun might just be trying to give us a glorious horizon, I peeped out the back door.  Well, it was NOT raining...but the sun struggled amongst the clouds.  Then!  It peeped through just enough to set the world aglow!  And....I was stuck to the confines of the Small Gardens.  Well, there was nothing to do but make the best of it.  

  The pathway that wanders on the north side of the house was fully overgrown by the citrus trees, nandina bushes and a few errant wisteria vines.   Since all yard work has come to a screeching stop, everything is vastly different than just three weeks ago.  Still, this leafy bower was gorgeously lit with the sunbeams that filtered through the oak trees.  This gave even the darkest green leaves a golden hue.  I could not help but wander here.  (Yes, this is allowed in my list of rules.)  A slight rain started to drizzle down upon me but it mattered not.  I could not pry myself from the path.  Going back indoors seemed to be a horrible fate at the moment when such mystique was surrounding me!  I ventured onward and soon came to the deteriorating vegetable garden.  It saddened me to see it in such condition.  Had I only the strength...

  From the southern most corner of the vegetable plot, I was able to peep over the grapevines to view a small portion of the Bayou.  The sun was doing its best to provide me with my much sought after sunrise.  The golden glow from the citrus trees had spilled over onto the calm waters.  My mind drifted off to other sunrises...other morns...seemingly eons ago.  Will I ever be able to return to those days?  Hopefully, hopefully.  In the meantime, I shall continue to find happiness wherever it may be.  

Rollie Pollies Are Smart!

  I was pondering something today.  With all of the stress that has been suddenly added to my life (ailing family member and aging dog being the most prevalent), I figure I should seek some sort of refuge where I can escape now and again.  It does not necessarily have to be some exotic place or even some faraway place.  It just needs to be a "me" place where I can close myself off from the worries of the world for a few hours.  This would allow me to regroup and face dilemmas with a renewed energy.  I need the proverbial "she shed".  I really, really need this!  A place like that would be ideal as I could literally run and hide. The shed could come equipped with a sign that says something to the manner of "No One Allowed!"  It then occurred to me that some critters have built in "she sheds" where they escape from the reality facing them.

  Armadillos were the first critter that I thought of when I was thinking "portable she shed".  These critters can roll up in a little ball and escape whatever is not to their liking.  Of course, my mind wanders a lot so I started thinking how pill bugs are so like armadillos.  The ones around here even have reference to that in their big, ole fancy name Armadillidium Vulgare!  I have always (like most folks) just called them Rollie Pollies!  It is a much easier name to remember and, well, I need easy things to remember at my age.

  Rollie Pollies are actually crustaceans that have made the trek to land and decided that it suited them fine.  So..there they stayed.  They feast upon rotting vegetation and roam about the place unnoticed...at least until something wants to eat them.  Then, they roll up in a tiny ball hoping the predator will either lose interest and go away or have trouble eating them.  When things start to get a bit rough, I am going to roll up and hide! Sounds good.  Real good.