Illumination!

Sometimes things require a bit of illumination so one can see them as they truly are. Everything appears differently in the moonlight versus the early morning, glittery, sun versus the shadowy, setting sun. Indoor light..well, that is a whole different story. By the light of the moon objects take on an almost ethereal appearance. The mysteriousness of the night takes hold and each object is subjected to secretiveness and obscurity. Things loom much larger than in reality and a simple dead tree limb can quite believably turn into a monster! The late afternoon sun similarly casts long shadows that set fire to that imagination and again lend an eeriness to the forest floor or the Bayou marsh. Once free, that imagination can create all sorts of wild and fun entities that might inhabit such places! But..the rising sun..there things are clearly beautiful. The world is awakening from slumber and all seems to possess a certain beauty. Life is good.

The other morning, I was down under the grape arbor on the east side of the house when I spied such beauty! On this part of the Bayou, there stands an old, abandoned pier. Only a few posts remain and those are rotted and dilapidated. The pier itself is not a thing of beauty but I leave it stand. It is good for only one thing..a perch for herons, egrets and kingfishers. This morning, an egret reigned over the old pier. As I stood watching this fine specimen of a bird, the sun peeked over the horizon and sent rays of golden sunlight beaming through the marsh. The bird was illuminated with with a magnificent brilliance! Oh, my goodness! It was breathtaking! I stood watching this lone, sparkling-white bird for a good while. I was entirely agog at the sheerness of its plumes and the graceful outline of its body. Beauty that could only be seen at the break of dawn. I stood in amazement of a mere bird.

Then to add to this enchantment, one of my orphan mockingbirds, Shelby, flew in and landed on a branch near me. Her feathers immediately lit with the morning sun. She sat preening her feathers as if to make herself even more beautiful..to prepare for the new day. She fluffed out her feathers and stretched this way and that. Sweet Shelby..dear sweet Shelby!

After watching both birds for some time, I was almost disappointed that the sun continued to rise and bring a harshness to the world around me. Gone were the beauty illuminating beams..my birds were now just birds. The egret went on to find its breakfast on the mudflats and Shelby, well..Shelby still brightened my day as she followed close by me as I continued my walk. She definitely brings a smile to my face!