A Bit of Brightness in the Midst of Drear

  It sounds like a cliche opening for a scary novel but....It was a dark, stormy night on the Bayou....but, it truly is dark and stormy.  As the winds rage outside, they are pushing the tide well up into the yard.   With the (at times) gale force winds, a drizzly rain is pelting the rooftop. Tornado watches and warnings were the norm for the day making it a fine day to straighten the craft room which has become a sort of dumping ground for anything and everything.  This chore was started a few days ago and then was interrupted by more urgent tasks.  Today, I did no more than pull the tiny room into a more organized chaos.  It is that bad.  Still, now at least I can reach my paints and canvases so I am inspired to create once again. The storming has been lingering around for the past few days making such chores a welcome break from boredom.  In fact, I do like this weather so I suppose you could call me a "foul-weather friend"!

  All of this talk about weather leads up to one thing.  Yesterday morning in the midst of all of the drear, a knock fell upon the front door.  I thought for sure this was my sister-in-law, Cynthia, since she loves to come have coffee with me during thunderstorms.  Personally, I like staying home but her visits are always welcome.  However, this was not her!  The knock was heralding the arrival of my brother from down the lane.  He will stop in occasionally just to tell me some funny story or bring the mail but not this time.  This time, he brought a smile in the form of a flower. While in reality, he brought the flower to me for identification, I took it as he brought me a gift.  It is not often one receives flowers from a brother!

  The flower in question was a camellia.  While he knew that much, he was in hopes that I knew the type of camellia.  I informed him that this was called a "Purple Dawn" and was a favorite of mine.  The name derives from the fact that as the bloom ages, the edges start to turn from bright pink to have a blush of purple. It is a lovely flower .He was extremely proud of the fact that his bush had dozens of blooms on it even though it was just a little over a year old.  He had rooted it from a bush from our aunt and uncle's place next door.  "I just did get it out of their yard in time." he informed me.  I knew exactly what he meant as I had heard the bulldozers rumbling around the place not long ago.  It saddened us both that all of the beautiful camellias, roses, azaleas and bulbs were plowed up from their growing spots.  None of the once-gorgeous yard remained. 

  Sometimes progress is just too much for me to take.  I see things like our wooded neighborhood being cut to the ground, critter homes being demolished, centuries old oak trees uprooted and decades old bushes smashed.  To me, this is not progress.  In my view, this is more destructive than most storms as this is controllable.  

  I am happy beyond belief that my brother was able to at least salvage a small camellia bush from my aunt and uncle's old home place.  I think it would please them to know that he cared.  I know it pleased me that he shared a bit of beauty with me during this dreary weather.