Tree Fish!

   I have a friend who is one of the most amazing photographers.  His eye for beauty and his ability to capture the moment is uncanny.  We have never met in person but share an interest in preserving nature and recording what is there before it is gone forever.  I stand in awe of his ability.  He is also highly interested in "seeing" things in his photographs.  He introduced me to the word..."pareidolia" which is a fancy word for seeing faces (or other objects) where there are none.  While David taught me the word, my granddad had long before taught me how to see the things hidden in plain sight.  I really had no idea there was even a name given to this.

  Yesterday morning, I found the perfect spot to photograph the eastern horizon.  From where I stood, the skyline was perfectly framed by trees.  The contrast between the pitch black area under the trees to the softly illuminated opposite shore was nothing less than enchanting.  All sorts of things flew around in the brain.  There were stories to be told about the Bayou simply from this point of view! 

  It was not until I viewed the photographs a bit later that my eye caught the "fish" in the trees!  The leaves of the hickory tree were quite eaten by caterpillars but it was the placement of the holes that was intriguing.  A lot of the leaves resembled fish!  I had a whole school of little fishies in the treetops!  Yep, this pareidolia is contagious!

  Just a little background here.  Years and years ago, seeing faces (or other objects) where there were none was actually thought to be a symptom of psychosis.  In other words, if you went around seeing things that were not there, people thought you had lost touch with reality.  Then, it was found that it was a pretty normal thing and became widely accepted as just human nature.  Since I am one who sees a lot of things that others do not, I am glad to hear that it is pretty normal.  (It may be the only normal thing about me!)  Anyway, I am glad to know that I am not the only one that does this and I am glad to know it has a name.  I am also glad the caterpillars ate the hickory tree and not my cabbage plants!