As I survey my vast (ok, minuscule) domain of the Small Gardens, I seek out the oddities that can bring a moment of distraction to the boredom that is playing out in my brain as I am isolated here. With limitations on what I can do, how active I can get and where I can roam, I now live in a sort of "Make-Believe World". Trust me when I say, it is not all fun and games. This fantasy world is whatever I can dream up about the mundane sights I see over and over again in my realm of the Small Gardens. As Queen of the Small Gardens, I have that privilege. I can glorify a pile of sand to become a dune, a bent weed to become a lofty palm tree or a trickling gutter can be a roaring river. Whatever I want them to be....
Speaking of roaring rivers and gutters, before my affliction, I was working on the gravel gutter drain. I had grand ideas of turning it into a water feature for the gardens, In fact, that may have led to my undoing. (I am not sure if my medical experts would agree on that or not but it rambled about in my mind recently.) Instead of waiting for Son to help me, I created a fountain on the high end of my "creek" by making use of a huge concrete urn. This thing weighs well over a hundred pounds and, well, I lifted it and positioned it as I saw fit. I figured "Hey, if I can shovel a huge load of gravel, I should be able to create a fountain!" I did. It is awesome! Speaking of that gravel before I get too far off track, that is where my brain found today's magical pieces!
Regular old driveway gravel is not what one could call beautiful or even exciting. It is mundane, to say the least. It serves a purpose and does a good job. BUT! If that gravel happens to have water trickling over it for any length of time, it begins to take on a life of its own. The grime is washed away and soon vivid colors can be seen. Wee ridges, cuts and imprints are visible as are tiny fossils. Each pebble is turned into a variable gemstone of intrigue! Among the cobwebs in the nooks and crannies of my brain, I vaguely recall Granddad mentioning that many times, the "gemstones of life are often overlooked as simple pebbles." I know he had a message in there somewhere as he often spoke in parables when trying to teach me as a small child. Sometimes, those lessons flew past my understanding and went straight to the back of my mind. Now, as I am older, I can dust off those tidbits and they suddenly seem to be brilliant.
So, the Queen of the Small Gardens has now decided that pebbles are gemstones whether in parables or drainage ditches. With that in mind, I am rich beyond compare. It is amazing how royalty gives you these insights! Either that or the brain is still fuzzy. Probably...
The hard work is paying off. I am finally starting to see results from about a week of shoveling gravel, digging holes and running tubing. I had decided to dig out the gutter drain and turn it into a "fake" creek with a small pool at the end. Since we live on a hill, getting the water to run into the tiny pond was easy enough but digging the gravel drain to put in a liner was a ton of heavy work. Old ladies should not be doing heavy work. I found out this after just the first day! Every muscle in my body was sore! Even muscles that I did not know I had were sore!! The days after that initial go were not too bad. I guess I became used to hurting and did not feel it as bad.
All of this hard work came about because of a sweet friend. Ann came by with a gift of a garden sign dubbing the place "Ruthie's Refuge". Well, you cannot have a sign calling something a refuge without it at least being a soothing place to be. I have long wanted my little "babbling brook" back ever since it stopped flowing several years ago. The liner went bad in what I called "Puddle Pond" and I had no time nor energy to replace it. Ann's encouragement kicked me in gear and things are getting accomplished finally.
Now, all that is needed is the aesthetic touches that will bring this part of the yard to life. A bit of lighting, some flowering plants and maybe a pretty bird feeder are next on the list to find their way into the "Refuge". Then, I can pull up my comfy wicker chair and enjoy being in my own little happy spot.
Most of my photographs are strictly of the flora and fauna of the Bayou. Mother Nature provides the settings and I just point the camera. Until recently, nothing has been staged. If my photograph had a grasshopper sitting atop a frog, it truly happened. (Yes, there is that actual photo on the blog and if you wish to see it, go to this link. https://msbayoulady.blogspot.com/2016/09/in-real-world-frogs-eat-insects.html ) But like I said, recently, I have "staged" a few experimental photographs.
This morning as I was meandering through the gardens, I noticed a handful of stones in the birdbath. It is my habit to place pretty stones there as I find them. The water washes them clean and causes the stones to sparkle. The birds do not seem to mind the extra perches in the bath so all is good. It was those stones, the rising sun and an old piece of driftwood that gave me a bright idea. I placed the driftwood on the ledge of the arbor and balanced one of the stones on top. Shoving the wood over to where a tiny sunbeam came through a small nail hole in the arbor wall, I, then, positioned myself behind the stone. Wow!! The pink stone was gorgeous! The sunbeam flowed through the nail hole and lit up the stone! I tried another. Yep, same results. Absolutely stunning!
Who knew a couple of dirty rocks, an old piece of wood and a bit of light could create something like this? Not me. (Keep in mind that these are no special stones but are just finds in the gravel of our pathway.) I have always taken the "lazy" approach to photography and let things just fall into place as they may but, now, ideas are flowing! Then again, maybe this is a "sign of the times" that I am getting too old to be traipsing about in the marshes and mires of the Bayou in search of things willing to be photographed.
