The "Return of the White Trees" or the "Floating 7"!

  While not quite as enthralling as the original "White Trees' tale of long ago and the repeating episodes thereafter, today's White Tree was unique.  The tree contained a "Floating 7".  Now the mystery broadens!  As you may recall from a post several years ago, the White Trees are a sort of eerie incident that has occurred often in this general area. It usually involves wayward kids that are snooping around in places where they should not be.  My first recollection of the Trees was when my brother and I happened upon a portion of the woods that was creepy and, yet, compelling.  As preschoolers, we were chasing a piglet that had escaped the confines of its pen when we came across a dark "tunnel" of sorts that opened into a glen of white trees that were seemingly lit by some unseen force.  It frightened us.  Although something told us not to enter the area, we were almost lured there by the sight.  Later when we told Pop about the incident, he used it as an example of not "going where you do not belong".  That was all that was said of our frightening experience.  Years later, my own sons experienced the same thing and were shaken by the sight.   Then...later still, my oldest brother finally opened up about being scared by a similar sight as a kid.  All of these sightings (whether real or figments of our imaginations) occurred nearly in the same place.  Sort of eerie to know we all experienced the same feeling of angst with the vision.  To this day, no one has given me a satisfactory explanation as to what we had all experienced.

  The "White Tree" of today was a thing of beauty not a thing of trepidation.  While out on a hike with the old dog, Mr.PJ, I noticed dark clouds to the north.  The sky was quite ominous and made my steps a bit quicker.  As I rounded one corner of the path, I looked back at the clouds and saw that the setting sun had caused a black gum tree across the Bayou to almost gleam.  A White Tree!  I stood in awe of the beauty.  It did, however, bring back memories of a time long ago.

  Perhaps the angle of the sun explains all of the other White Tree episodes.  Perhaps the minds of youngsters wrapped up in wild imaginations accounts for the incidents. Perhaps there actually is some weird, unearthly and almost sinister scenario that can only be seen at certain times and by certain people.  Who knows?  This "White Tree" has a "floating 7"!  Maybe that means something!  Yeah, I know.  There is just a dark spot on the branch but it sounds much more fun to be a floating 7.  The mystery broadens and the plot thickens.

Brilliant Deduction!

There are constant reports of odd sightings of one sort or another.  Big Foot was sighted in Washington...Nessie made another appearance in Scotland..Chupacabra was seen in Texas.  I sometimes wonder if any of these are real critters or just some figment of overactive imaginations.  I, personally, have an extremely overactive  imagination!  I can see all sorts of great visions in mundane objects but these other sightings leave me puzzled.  I admit that most of them could be possible..plausible on the other hand?  Maybe not.  It is, however, easy to understand how someone could make a mistake and think they truly saw some legendary being!  Take today for example!  I was out pushing that lawnmower again.  When I do this, I occasionally look out over the Bay just to remind myself that the sooner I get this grass cut, the sooner I can go fishing!  One time when I looked out at the pier, there was a humongous swirl in the water!  Oh, my goodness! That must have been a gigantic fish!  Perhaps the dolphins were in closer than usual or maybe one of the monster gars was chasing mullet. I was just about to call Michael and tell him that this lawnmower was broke and we should head to the pier!  We needed to catch that huge fish!  Then....I saw the boat.  I felt slightly humiliated that I thought there was a giant fish under my pier when all the commotion was caused by a boat motor.  It is a good thing that I had not called Son as I would have never lived down this mistake!  Oops!  No giant fish..just a boat.  Still, it just shows how easy it would be to make an assumption without evidence.

This all brought me back to an earlier incident.  A few months ago, Mark and I were sitting on the pier when suddenly near the eastern marsh edge, there was a brilliant gleaming in the water.  Some glittering object seemed to be just beneath the water right against the marsh and whatever it was..it was growing rapidly!  The sun was setting behind us as we sat staring at that beautiful but almost blinding oddity.  I guess that I jabbered enough about just what this could be that Mark decided to calm my curiosity.  He jumped in his boat and headed that way.  Nothing!  There was absolutely nothing there!  Confused by the anomaly, I insisted that something surely was beneath the water!  Nothing.  He searched the area for me but found nary a thing.  My "unexplained phenomenon" would remain just that..unexplained.

Mark was quite sure that the brilliant spot in the water was a reflection of the sunset...I am not so sure!  That overactive imagination insisted that it must be some enigma of the Bayou!  Some inexplicable riddle that occurs only at sunset and only on my Bayou! Perhaps this shiny object was an alien ship that sank beneath the surface of the water!  Perhaps this was some huge glowing sea monster like a gigantic electric eel!  Perhaps it is a portal to another world!  Yes!  That is it!!!!  Hehe...or it can be a reflection..that all depends on how imaginative you are!  Perhaps my imagination runs amok at times!