Peering into the clouds

   For the longest time, I pondered how my elderly neighbor claimed to see people in the clouds.  I understand that the cloud formations can give the idea of something or someone but he claimed that he saw people...real people...only they were all dead.  His exact words were..."real dead people".  It was a scary thought.  He never explained whether he saw real people who had died or if they were just really dead people.  For a while, I was scared to look at the clouds in case I saw really dead people.  It is not that I don't see things.  I do.  In fact, my imagination is probably a bit wilder than most folks. In my brain, I can twist and turn things to be most anything.  It's a gift!  Not really.  Just trying to justify having a weird sense of reality.

  With all of the heavy cloud cover lately, it has been hard to visualize much of anything but rain.  A few days ago, the hike was drippy.  The slight drizzle would have kept most folks inside but I have had enough of confinement.  I braved the cold and wet to head to the unfinished pier.  A thick layer of clouds was divided from the horizon by a thin line of clear skies.  Once the sun rose behind the cloud ridge, magical things began to happen.  I started seeing things!  Lots of things!  Like I said, my imagination is strong and this time it ran amok.

  I took lots of photos and then checked them to see if I actually saw what I thought.  Hmmm, there it was right smack dab in the middle of the photo!  I will leave it up to you and your imagination.  Hint...at least, it is not a dead person!  (If you look at the tags, you will see suggestions from a few of my friends.)

Queens and Fiery Dragons!

  When you are starved for adventure and have no way of exploring for it, you create it.  If you truly wish, most everything can be turned into something different than it really is and even the most mundane find can become that long-wished adventure.  That is what occurred today.  

  While out surveying my queendom better known as the Small Gardens, I came across a fiery dragon!  This was no foul being, however, as this was one of my subjects. As Queen of the Small Gardens, I get to pick and choose who shall be deemed friendly and who shall be considered an enemy of the queendom.  This dragon shall serve a purpose and that purpose being the added protection from enemies of the queendom.   The dragon, albeit still a babe, will fight to save the Small Gardens from attack!  It pays to have such brave subjects!

  A wee babe of a green anole was seeking an equally small insect to have as breakfast.  It climbed about in the potted chrysanthemum plant.  Wow!  This tiny tot must have just recently hatched as it was only about four inches long!   It made me happy to know that it was hiding among the thick leaves of the plant a there were plenty of birds, larger lizards and even a few snakes in the garden that would have gobbled up our sweet friend.  After allowing me a couple of photos, the little one scampered down beneath the plant stalks!

  My fiery dragon will protect the queendom of such things as aphids, caterpillars and even mosquitoes!  The Queen jubilantly welcomes all dragons to her realm!  And so ends today's magnificent adventure of one with limited access to the outside world.

The Fire Breathing Dragon of the Cupboard!

  There is a dragon in my cupboard!  Yes, indeed, and it is a lovely dragon as far as dragons go.  While the thing resides in my cabinet, it is not mine.  I cannot lay claim to the critter nor can I discourage it from dwelling there. It just has to stay for the duration of about three more months.  Then the thing can go home.  It can journey back to its original domain and I will be free from its rule.  Not that I mind.  The dragon has been relatively well behaved and its stay has not been overly stressful for either of us.  To be truthful, I hardly realize it is there except when I wander through the dining room.  BUT!  I would not trade it for the world!  Even though, as I have said, the dragon is not mine to claim, it is meaningful to me.

  The dragon in question is none other than a small figurine.  Back a few months ago, a lifelong buddy of Son's came to visit.  He smugly presented me with the dragon.  "Here!  This is to help you stay in the spirit of the clue hunt!" he said as the dragon was passed to my hands. You see, the theme of this year's Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou is "Save the Alchemist" which is set in Medieval Times.  Since no decent Alchemist is without a dragon somewhere in the whole realm of things, I obviously needed one to keep me in check.  Now, whenever I start getting a bit bogged down and "clueless", I have a reminder that keeps me striving to complete the task.  The dragon is to return to its original home after the final day of the hunt.

  This evening, I took a photograph of the dragon and was at first distressed about the reflection of the flash on the glass of the cupboard.  Then after staring at the thing a bit, I thought that it was rather appropriate after all. If you really squint your eyes and use a great deal of imagination, perhaps the dragon is "breathing fire"!  Sounds good to me!  Its funny how things work.