The Lady is gone...

Something..or rather someone..is missing from the hill above the Bayou. A steadfast friend has gone missing. Mysteriously, the Lady of the Tree has gone away can not be spied on the hill anywhere. It makes me a bit sad to know that I will not come face to face with her as I make my trek to the house from the pier. No..I am not talking about "Black Water Hattie" from the old Jim Stafford song nor about some mythical creature that hung about in the mosses of the old, oak trees. The Lady of the Tree was merely my attempt at caring for a Black Gum tree that was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina. This particular tree, along with many others, was smashed by debris that was in the flood waters. The bark had been ripped from tree trunk up to about five feet in height. I was told that perhaps a coat of paint might seal the inner layers and help to keep the tree borers from infiltrating the heart of the tree. So I painted..only instead of just painting a good coating of a single color like I suppose I was directed, I let my creative side loose. That day, the full five foot tall figure of the Lady of the Tree came to life. She was lovely! Her dark tresses framed her tanned face and her green eyes were a perfect match to the long flowing gown that she wore. Such a beauty! (Actually, it was rather difficult to paint anything that closely resembled a lifelike person due to the lumps and bumps of the wood and the width of the tree itself. So, I opted for more of a fantasy type artpiece.) Anyway, my Lady brought gasps as an unexpected find in the garden. For many days, she stared out over the Bay waters that had come in so violently and damaged her tree. Those who ventured to the pier were greeted by her sad eyes as they came up the board path.

Sad to say, the Lady in the Tree has passed from this Earth. She is no more..gone..gone forever. After a number of years the wear and tear of the weather..high winds from the Bay..beating rains..freezing sleet of Winter and searing heat of summer..her days came to an end. The wood borers and grub worms took hold. The woodpeckers brutally attacked the bark and ripped piece after piece of wood from the tree trunk. My Lady suffered a humiliating end.

I miss this Lady of the Tree and, suddenly, I have a hankering to do more "tree art". There are many trees that are possible "canvases" for future artistic ventures. I have no exact plan as to what will be borne from the next attempt but some magical, mystical creature will no doubt rise from this endeavor. There will be another surprise waiting to be encountered by an unsuspecting visitor to the Bayou! It will not bear resemblance to the "Lady in the Tree". She was unique. She lent her charm to the Bayou for a far too brief existence but lives on in memory. Now it is time..time for a new entity to inhabit one of the trees of the Bayou!