The Blue Dot

   Earlier, the sun hit one of the prisms in the window at an odd spot and, instead of the normal rainbow of colors produced, a single blue dot of brilliance hit the wall.  I was at the right angle to see the dot whereas Son sitting across the room could not.  Why did this blue dot strike a chord with me?  Simply because over the past few days I witnessed some pretty spectacular events yet no one else could "see" them.  No one cared.  Even when I tried to share the experiences, I was met with blank stares, no responses whatsoever or "So?".  To be honest, it hurt.  I am not sure why but it did.  Perhaps that bit about being alone is not bad but loneliness is terrible has come to settle in around me.  No one understands.

  First, there was the tiny ribbon snake that lives near Puddle Pond.  It is no secret that the tiny snake is there as it can often be seen slithering through the hyacinths in search of baby frogs.  What made the sighting meaningful was that the snake was the prey not the predator and it sought my help.  A black racer was also at the pond and had spied the ribbon snake.  Had the smaller snake not wormed its way next to my foot, it would have surely met its end.  The black snake was not as confident about being next to a human as the ribbon snake was so the chase ended rather quickly.  I gently moved the tiny snake to the hanging plant on the arbor and shooed the larger critter along its way.  Just knowing the wee thing trusted me was thrilling...at least to me.

  Next, a hawk alit on a limb just a few feet from my head while I was out watering the dying plants this morning. The poor bird was looking longingly at the droplets.  I ever so slowly turned the spray toward the limb and thus on the bird.  The hawk was not afraid and actually started fluffing its feathers as if to soak up each droplet.  The heat and drought was obviously being harsh on the bird and it needed cooling as much as the plants.  After a few moments, the hawk flew to a nearby oak tree and watched as I continued my chores with my heart aflutter with excitement.

  Then, that blue dot of light which meant nothing other than the insight it gave me into how others cannot see what I do.  The brilliance aptly depicted my enthusiasm over the other events and the fact that Son could not even see it from his position nailed the attitudes of those not caring about the simple yet exquisite things around us at any given time.  Son and I discussed the reasoning behind the lack of response from people.  Either it has come to the point where others have lost the ability to marvel in the simple things in life or I have gotten to the point where each event (no matter how mundane) is extraordinary.  Perhaps this is due to the fact that life is short and becoming shorter with each day.  I am determined to cram as much "life" into what remains of my time here on this earth.  Folks, never...ever...lose the enthusiasm.  Live in wonder.  Take each day and view it in awe.  Trust me when I say there is never enough time. 

Light Explosion!

  Well, our first day without fog nor rain and I cannot make it outside for a hike.  I was busy cleaning house starting at 5am.  You know...gotta have that house tidy just in case somebody shows up for the holidays.  The fact is...if you clean house, nobody will come.  Leave it messy and everybody and his brother will make an appearance.  Maybe that is why I cleaned....ulterior motive...no guests.  But, still, the sun peeped out and made things outside bright and merry.

  Just as the sun was peeping over the tops of the pines near the marsh, I was vacuuming the living room rugs.  I looked up just in time to see the sunrays shooting through the window where my crystals hang.  Oh, my!  While there was nary a rainbow dancing on the walls, the golden light exploded through the crystals.  A golden aura engulfed the room like never before.  The camera was within reach so I snapped a few photos before the sun shifted.  Golden rings, shooting rays and red orbs were captured.  The unusual image sort of speaks volumes about my mood this holiday season.  I will make it...I will make it.

Cold and Gray

   I was out at daybreak trying to cover and secure things for the hard freeze tonight.  I knew I had to get it in gear and get it done before the rains set in for the day.  After covering the garden the best I could, filling the woodbins with a hefty supply of logs and cutting enough kindling to keep those fires going, I felt that my tasks were about complete.  I headed inside to bake.  To me, there is nothing more satisfying than baking on a cold, rainy/sleeting day.  The rain did turn to sleet for a good bit of the time but the oven going was a happy thought.  Cream cheese croissants and broccoli/mozzarella rolls were being turned out like clockwork!  Amazing aromas were wafting from the kitchen!

  Along about midafternoon, I noticed something strange.  The "quiet noise" of the sleet stopped and the windows started brightening.  Aha!  Perhaps the nastiness was just going to turn to cold now!  Wandering into the living room, I noticed the crystals hanging in the window.  There were no "rainbows" shooting around the room.  In fact, there was gray.  Things looked gray just like outside.  It looked cold.  Well, time to close the curtains, turn on the lamps and make things at least look cozy!  Stay warm, folks.  Mother Nature wants to see you wear your heavy coats!

The Beauty Of Hardware Cloth

  Living on the Bayou has its ups and downs.  Some might say there are more troublesome things than positive but it seems that for every woe there is a fix.  Like most homes down here, we have screens covering our windows.  This is meant to keep the hordes of bugs from entering the house.  Sleeping with the windows open is a natural thing as it lets in the cooling night air.  The bad side of this is those mosquitoes (roaches, moths, gnats, midges, etc) which aggravate the stew out of a person trying to sleep.  The window screens work well to guard against the bugs but...what happens when larger critters take a liking to the inside of the house?  We have had times where raccoons, 'possums and even feral cats have tried to rip the screens to get inside.  This is not good so Mark came up with the idea of not only using screening but layering it with hardware cloth.  This has worked fine against the marauding critters!  There have been no more torn screens nor attempted invasions.  While some folks may think it is a tad strange...those same folks don't live amidst the critters.

  It was that hardware cloth that brought a smile this morning.  Our never-ending fog was particularly heavy overnight.  It was so thick, in fact, that it sounded more like rain than fog!  The stuff coated everything including the hardware cloth covering the south-facing windows.  These are the windows that have dozens of crystals that normally catch the morning sunlight and cast rainbows over the entire room.  Since there was no sun, there were no rainbows but that did not stop the beauty.  The fog droplets started running in strings down the wire of the hardware cloth making the entire window appear to be covered with crystals!  Hundreds upon hundreds of the droplets caught any light available to give of the slightest twinkle.  To be honest, it was breath-taking!

  There are those who may think I am a bit daft (and I do not contest this at all) but I figure you should find beauty where you are.  There is absolutely no point in having to search for grand things when they are all around you.  In my case, Mother Nature decided to add her charm to my window crystals by adding a multitude of her own.  It seems the hardware cloth is now a favorite for yet another reason.

The Dance of the Crystals

  Hanging in the south-facing windows of the living room are dozens upon dozens of crystals.  These dangle on fine strands of fishing twine and sparkle with the bright sunshine.  The crystals are my newest additions to the crystal collection.  Previously, I had only about ten in a neat frame that Son made for me one year.  Those still are my favorites but now the windows are filled with the happy pieces.  This morning when the sun finally broke through the clouds, the crystals all sparkled at their best and sent rainbows dancing about the room.  The sight made me think of my little granddaughter.  Mary Ruth loves to make the crystals "dance".  She very carefully touches the each one until they gently swirl casting rays of color as they spin.  It is magical to her and her glee is magical to me.  Oh, how I miss that sweet girl and wish she could be back on the Bayou.  A year is far too long to go without seeing the grandlittles.

  As I age, I find beauty in the oddest things.  While the rainbows cast by the crystals are beautiful, the prisms, themselves, are works of art.  Each cut...each facet is precise.  It is that precision that causes the sunlight to be shattered into the brilliant colors.  Without those, the glass would not sparkle nearly so much. 

  While looking at the crystals this morning, I could not help but make them dance a bit.  Rainbows happily decorated the walls and ceiling.  They bounced off of furniture and the old dog.  They even made the floor look special.  In the midst of it all, I felt a bit like Pollyanna. 

A "Bright Idea"!

   Well, it is getting along that time of year that the Little Bayou House will be transformed into something entirely different than it usually is.  September starts to see the change taking place and, by October 1st, the place will look remarkably different.  Why?  Well, October is the month of the Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou, of course!  So, about this time of year, my brain starts to come up with all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas of how to decorate.  Each year, the theme is unique so the decorations have to be done from scratch.  A few items may be reused but not many.  Everything will be moved around, flipped upside down and generally in a state of discombobulation  For the entire month, I will live in a fantasy world of clue hunt mania! 

  This year, we are solving a murder!  It seems that our hostess, Lady DeadMadame, has met her demise at the hands of an evildoer and it is up to the clue hunt team members to solve the crime!  This whole ordeal takes place at a masquerade ball so just guess how the Little Bayou House will be decorated for the next couple of months!  It should be fun...I hope! 

  Since it was a rainy day, I figured it was a good time to get started on the decorations.  The dining table will be in use for the clue hunt but I did not want to use my standard lighting so a "chandelier" of sorts was needed.  Last night, I had a bright idea!  I would create a cascading chandelier of mini lights and crystals.  I had everything on hand to make this thing now I just had to do it.  A strip of 2 inch wide board (52 inches long) was stained to match the beams above.  Then cup hooks were screwed into the board at 2 inch intervals.  Now came the fun.  Stringing the crystals and other "sparkles" onto fishing line and attaching them to the hooks.  A few strings of fairy lights and there you have it...one funky chandelier!  

  Now to get the thing hung from the beam above the dining table and at least that chore is complete.  Between working on decorations and props, the storyline and clues all have to be created and set into place.  There are no written clues but rather the team members have to use their wits to find "evidence" and tools to help them along the way.  Son has been busy building puzzles, locked boxes and otherwise creating enigmas for our team members to solve.  Oh, what fun we have on the Bayou!  I love October!

Things Seem A Bit Dimmer

  First, let me say that it felt really weird last night.  We lost Internet and for the first time since I started this blog way back in 2010, I missed writing a post.  I waited until midnight and still no connections so I finally gave up and went to sleep.  It did not feel right.  It still feels strange as I look back on the posts and see one missing.  Hopefully, that will not occur again even though I doubt too many folks even noticed.  

  Now, another strange feeling.  I have a great emptiness inside me.  After a full week of having my son, daughter-in-law and grandlittles here on the Bayou with us, they have headed back to their home in Georgia.  The place seems too quiet...too empty.  My heart is breaking.  Mark and I have been wandering around in a bit of a daze.  We miss the hubbub of family.  The chattering, laughing and even the baby fussing made the Little Bayou House seem alive. Not now.  It just seems empty.

  Earlier today (before our daily thunderstorm), I wandered through the living room to see the sunlight streaming through the east window. This window was a favorite of the grandlittles as there are a dozen or so crystals hanging by tiny chains and threads.  When the sunbeams pass through the crystals, thousands of rainbows fill the room.  During their visit, I showed the tots how to gently touch the prisms to set them swinging.  This caused the colors to dance about the room.  Each morning Mary Ruth and Mark Charles would rush to the window to make their rainbows dance.  It delighted them which delighted me.  

  Today, however, the rainbows did not dance.  In fact, they did not even seem as bright as they were this entire past week.  They made their mandatory appearance thanks to the sunshine but did not bounce around the walls, floor and ceiling.  If possible, I think even the crystals missed the tiny fingers reaching up so lovingly to touch them.  Strange how things change.  I sure miss my family.  Things around here seem a whole lot dimmer without them here.

Looking for Rainbows on a Cloudy Day

  As of late, the weather here on the Bayou has presented us with more than our share of rain, clouds and fog.  It seems that even though we are not experiencing winter-like cold, we are having plenty of gray days of the season.  It suits me fine.  Give me a good foggy or stormy day and I am plumb happy.  Occasionally, however, I need that sun to pop through the gloom and shine brightly.  This desire is for one, and only one, reason.  

  In one of the living room windows of the Little Bayou House, there sits a oddly made frame that is the home of a dozen or so prisms and crystals.  They dangle from tiny chains and, when the sunshine hits them just so, the entire room is filled with rainbows.  Today when I saw the sunshine beaming through the curtains, I threw them back to reveal the crystals.  Immediately, the room was dancing with rainbows!  I felt a little like Pollyanna and her prisms. I smiled. 

  Sometimes in our darkest hours, we are sent rainbows to let us know that everything will be right again soon.  In my case, I needed to see the rainbows filling the living room.  I needed to see them dancing on the walls, the ceiling and the floor.  I needed to find the rainbows. Occasionally, we all do.  Keep looking.  When you need them the most, they will be there.

 

Dancing with Rainbows!

  I have always been fascinated by light and shadows.  Throw in a heaping amount of rainbows and I am downright ecstatic!  In the living room of the Little Bayou House, there is a handmade stand that houses a dozen or so crystals that keep me plumb happy.  The collection began with a single Austrian crystal that my sweet uncle gave to me.  Uncle Alfred and Aunt Marie had the large round crystal hanging in their large picture window for years and when it came time for him to move, he presented the thing to me.  I guess this was a result of my habit of always complimenting the thing and the colors that bounced around the whole room.  Now, I  have collected a good many through gifts and thrift stores.  

  To be totally honest, I had forgotten about the collection as it had become covered by the curtains that I hang to keep the winter chill from entering.  My sweet daughter-in-law, Joanna, mentioned it on the night before they headed back to Georgia.  Oh, my goodness!  I could not let the grand princess go home without experiencing the beauty of the rainbows!  That night, I prayed that the sun would shine at least a little bit the next morning.  Before dawn, I found a screwdriver and moved the stand to a new window where I knew it would get optimal sunshine at an early hour.  

  After she finished her breakfast, I brought her out to the living room and pointed at a few of the rainbows on the ceiling.  Having seen these before, she was happy but did not display the emotion that I had dreamed she would.  Then, I pointed to the prisms and let her hold the tiny chain that connects the crystals to the stand.  As she wiggled the prism, the lights went crazy!  They danced about the room and the tiny girl dropped the chain to join in the happy jig.  Immediately, she had to corral the entire household and explain how the prisms made the rainbows and that her wiggling the chain made them dance.  Everybody oohed and ahhed over the beautiful rainbows and her talent in making the dance.  

  Children are wonderful.  Their innocence, their imaginations and their ability to find elation in simple things is something we should all strive to revert to ourselves.   What a beautiful world it would be if we could only see it through a child's eyes.  Yep....MawMaw needs to find more crystals so the grand princess can have a few at her house!  At some point in life, everyone needs to dance with rainbows.

Rainbow Mornings!

It is a marvelous thing to awaken in the morning and be able to smile. We should all embrace the new day with as big of a smile as we can muster and then maybe, just maybe, we would realize just how blessed we really are. My husband's grandmother used to always tell me she loved the mornings because when she opened her eyes, she knew she had been granted a new day. My morning began with a very big smile today! The sun was just starting to peek though the pines surrounding the Bayou as I wandered into the living room. In the darkness of the room, I was greeted by hundreds of rainbows bouncing everywhere. It was as if the room was alive with color.. almost like I had stepped into a kaleidoscope. These rainbows were being made as the early morning sun passed through a dozen or more crystal prisms that are hanging in the window. They are hanging in a weird sort of frame and I usually move this from window to window trying to catch the sunbeams. This morning, however, it must have been in exactly the right position to cause the beams to be shattered and scattered all around the room. It was sort of like Machu Picchu in Peru..the temples are said to be aligned so the sun goes through certain windows at the Summer Solstice and then again at the Winter Solstice..only not like that at all since mine are just haphazardly placed prisms creating irises and is in my living room not Peru! (So maybe that was a very poor example..or maybe I was a tad over excited about this Light Wonderland.) But anyway, the whole point of this rambling is that a small intangible thing like a beam of light can bring happiness. Our blessings may not be large and earth shaking events..they might be something we cannot even hold in our hands..but we are blessed just to wake and see a new day. I highly recommend that everyone place prisms in their windows so that they can experience their own "Rainbow Morning"! It will definitely bring a smile to the face!