The "Bored" Alien

    Recently, it seems that there has been a renewed interest in extraterrestrials, spaceships and other worlds.  I am beginning to think this is a grasp at relief from the troubles of our world.   When times get hard, people reach for anything they can as a diversion and, well, things are in a troubling state right now.  I would even venture to say that our country is in the biggest mess it has seen in many decades and this trend does not appear to have an end coming anytime soon.  That said, aliens and their spaceships have taken hold of people's brains...or at least, their imaginations.  THEY are coming!  And that is said with a giggle.  Matter of fact, an alien did visit the Bayou recently.  More precisely, it visited the Little Bayou House.  At least, Son identified it as an alien.  I had other thoughts. 

 

  Son and I have been doing some major renovations on the Little Bayou House.  The place has been in a dire need of improvements for some time now so I figured it was best to get started before the house fell down around us.  I get these harebrained ideas and he brings them to fruition.  Before he left for work, Mark bought a bunch of lumber which was just begging to be used.  So...I used it...or Son and I used it.  At one point, he handed me a board that he had just cut and said there was a "bored alien".  That is what I heard...he actually said there was a "board alien".  Sure enough, there was a pair of eyes staring at me from the plank.  Hmmm...while he insisted it looked like an extraterrestrial, I begged to differ.  It looked to me like a heron giving me the "evil eye" because I did not catch its supper of little mullet.  Either way, there was something looking at us from that board!  Alien...heron...who knows.  Ahh, imaginations are grand things!

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.

Battlefields of Thoughts....Strange

  Have you ever just let your imagination wander where it wants?  I let mine fly about the universe and back just so I am not bored.  I think this is probably a personal tics as a eccentric sort of person.  Yes, I have been labeled as eccentric and that is ok considering what folks could call me.  I suppose that I am a bit unconventional in some ways and so the imagination usually wins out when I am the least bit bored with a day. Let it fly!  It takes a grand imagination to get those creative juices flowing.

  I was flipping through some of my older photographs this afternoon when I came across one that sort of stuck out like a sore thumb.  No, it was not a bad picture by far...it was just different.  My camera sees a lot of horizons as sunrise and sunset settings seem to be ideal for meditation.  These are my quiet times so it is only fitting preserve the views.  The photograph in question is of a sunrise of a couple of months ago.  It was only today, however, that I found the picture intriguing.  In my brain, the wheels started to turn and soon the seemingly serene setting turned to one of turmoil.  The horizon was now a battlefield of good and evil.  Why?  I have no clue but it appeared that the clouds were at odds with one another and an epic clash was taking place.  Dark grey clouds barely rumbled across the pine trees while tall brilliant orange columns lunged towards each other in conflict.  The weather was at war with itself. Dragons in battle. Hmmm...what a strange thought.

  I am not sure just why my thoughts turned to skirmishing weather fronts but it did make for an interesting few minutes.  The horizon gives me a never-ending, ever-changing bit of scenery.  It is the perfect backdrop for any number of creative projects.  Lets just hope none come to being a battlefield for my thoughts.

Lost in the Universe of my Mind

  I ponder a lot of things during the daytime hours but even more by the light of the moon.  It often seems that on the nights that I cannot sleep, for one reason or another, problems loom larger or solutions seem much easier.  Other times, I ponder something that has no apparent purpose other than being an idea worth pondering.  Sleepless nights can see me solving the world's gigantic problems or firing up the imagination on an art project that has yet to be attempted.  My nighttime contemplation usually turns into a game of "Charades" being played out in my brain.  My imagination runs amok creating quite a mess of inane instances that might or already have occurred.  Experts say dreams are merely repressed memories from our childhood but I find this hard to believe.  My dreams are, more oft than not, repressed memories from just the day before.  I guess my brain has a problem digging too deeply into the dusty, old diaries and photo albums otherwise known as my memory.  

  What do all these ramblings about dreams and thoughts have to do with today's photographs?  Not a thing, actually, except for the fact that I find the first picture of the sun filtering through young pine saplings quite inspiring.  Any artist can tell you that a project does not have to be great flash of ideas to pull you into the fantasy world of creation.   Just a mere hint of mystery can jog one into a different world where bliss can only be obtained by releasing a suppressed idea. Inspiration and creativity come together as one to evoke a huge burst of exhilaration.  The conscious mind has no hold on the vividness of ideas wafting about on a sleepless night.  

  The second photograph screams of the multitudes of ideas that blast endlessly about the universe otherwise known as my brain.  These ideas trail like great comets or shooting stars through the ebony space.  Each star, each tiny speck of dust revolves in a huge vortex with a fiery core.  This maelstrom whirls and twirls around in the brain until one small artistic endeavor breaks forth.  All is put on hold while the hands try to recreate what the brain's eye sees.  Try as one might, it never happens.  The image held in the brain never comes fully to fruition but rather stays as an illusive thought just out of reach and always beckoning.  This is so like those thoughts that are pondered at two in the morning.  Always, always just out of reach, yet, so near.

  To be honest, I took neither photograph.  Mark wandered the hillside without me today.  His company being only Ms. Ez, the dog and my camera.  I spent the afternoon rambling about the kitchen with my son.  Together we prepared our evening meal.  He, doing the creative cooking and I, sometimes doing no more than being in the way,  I am sure.  As the sun started to slip behind the pines, Mark snapped several amazing shots.  One of my favorites being the closeup of pine needles backlit by a brilliant sun.  It is one of those photographs that draws me into a fantasy world of mythical beings and faraway realms.  I almost feel if I could just step through the branches, I could finally enter an up-to-now dominion.  The second photograph is a creative misstep.  He, not being familiar with the camera, forgot to remove the zoom lens while trying to get a closeup of the pine needles.  The sun bouncing backing into the lens illuminated all of the dust, grime, nicks and scratches on the glass lens.  My already overactive imagination refused to see this as a result of a piece of neglected equipment but rather as representation of an artist's universe..that vast space crammed with specks of creative endeavors yet to come.  Dreams, imaginations and creativity come smashing together as one sleepless night...one long, yet, far to short night. 

Could it be?

There is one thing that is certain about the weather this far south.  It keeps you guessing.  You never know from one day to the next what to expect.  Forget trying to create a wardrobe by the season.  There is no such thing as "packing away the winter (or summer) clothes".  One day the temperatures are in the teens, it is sleeting and the wind is blowing mightily.  Three days later, the temperatures are pushing the seventies and the sun is bearing down for all it is worth.  Then, without notice, you have days like today. (And these are quite often!)  FOG!  Thick, pea-soup type fog that makes one's mind wander off into the mysteries of werewolves and vampires!  The Londonish fog that feels like it is closing in around you.  The kind that is a bit stifling and causes commonplace sounds to echo through the Bayou and makes every tree and bush a bit eerie.  Yep, that pretty much describes today.  FOG.  Lovely, thick fog cloaking everything while making those of us with imaginations go wild.

I actually took a hike about the hillside regardless of the fact that I was getting quite drenched.  Ms. Ez was scouting out the area ahead of me when all of a sudden WHOOSH!  Something large took off through the marsh.  This was not to the dog's liking causing her to turn and hightail it back to my side.  She stood there trembling not sure just what had startled her so.  Try as I might, I could not see what had made the loud noise and tremendous splash.  The usual critters of the Bayou do not frighten Ms. Ez one bit.  Raccoons, nutria rats, otters or any of the large birds never give her any reason to be upset.  In fact, she always wishes to play with them.  (This dog so needs a friend but at this point...no way.)  I edged my way closer to the marsh to investigate.  Ms. Ez tagged along behind me now.  She was not too sure that we should be moving closer to whatever was there.  I peered into the marsh.  Nothing.  I could see nothing.  The fog blocked my view.  Only my imagination could see and that was working overtime.  Hmmm?  Has our swamp critter returned?

I am pondering the idea that perhaps the ruckus in the marsh was created by the doe that has been frequenting the front yard.  I think she might be visiting the bird feeders.  What the birds and squirrels do not eat during the day, the raccoons and perhaps this little doe eats at night. Silly dog!  Why are you startled by a deer?  Or.....was it something else?  Something that was masked by the thick fog.......ahhh, foggy, foggy mystery of the Bayou!

The Shady Nook

Have you ever wandered into a place and just felt that there was something special about it?  Some place that you have been in a thousand or more times but this time, at the very instance you step into it, it feels exciting yet peaceful.  I wander about the hillside more times a day than most people go into their kitchen.  I would rather be out and about the Bayou with all my critter friends than anywhere else on earth.  Today a stroll took me through the Wisteria Arbor and I immediately felt serene.  An aura seemed to surround the small arbor giving it a special ambiance.  It was intriguing to say the least.   The arbor felt like a secret hideaway right next to my kitchen!  A place where the imagination could run wild!

This arbor is overgrown with the purple wisteria.  The vine literally drapes to the ground on all sides reminding me that I really must do some trimming soon.  This matting almost entirely blocks out the sunshine that so brilliantly illuminates the adjoining Boysenberry Patch.  I marveled at how dark it was under the vines.      The large vines twisted and turned up one post and actually give strength to the structure.  High winds of storms had caused the walk-through arbor to list terribly to one side.  Had it not been for the sheer size of the base vines, the whole thing would have fallen.

Within those vines is a multitude of living things.  The little tree frogs love the hiding places among the leaves. A mockingbird has her nest on one of the cross bars.  In it, four brown-speckled, bluish-green eggs are waiting to hatch.  Nearby, the male sings his heart out while keeping watch over his family.  Back in the twisting vines, ladybugs, ants, cicadas and carpenter bees are busy.  These have to keep a wary eye on the green lizard that is patrolling the outer board.  Sometimes a green snake or black racer will find its way to the upper most portions of the arbor.  The snakes are on the hunt for dinner and the arbor might just provide it!  It is here that I can see critters without ever taking as step.  The thick foliage conceals them well.  It never ceases to make me smile when folks walk under the arbor unaware what lingers just above their heads!  Just knowing the critters are there would scare the bejeebies out of some folks!  Not me...I find them fascinating!

My time spent in the peaceful confines of the arbor came to a sudden halt with the onslaught of a severe thunderstorm.  Not long after I rushed inside, a huge lightning bolt struck a nearby tree.  The critters in the arbor may not scare me but being outside during a thunderstorm is not to my liking!  I was thankful for the safety of the Little Bayou House once again!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

I have a very vivid imagination. I see things a bit differently than most people which may or may not be a good thing. Sometimes very common things can take on a very different persona in my mind. I tend to see beauty even in things that others might find a bit disgusting or at least distasteful. That said, today was one of those days where my imagination soared to heights unknown.

It was another hot (very hot) day here on the Bayou. By late afternoon, I was so ready to head to the pier for a bit of fishing. The crab traps needed fresh bait which meant the usually aggravating catch of channel catfish was a welcome catch. Those plus a few gaff-top-sails rounded out our evening's catch other than one small redfish. Just before sunset, we set about cleaning the pier and putting the bait in the crab pots. I turned just in time to see the sun gleaming on the drying skin of one of the gaff-top-sails. This dead fish..now in the process of being dried by the hot sun..had become a thing of beauty. Yep..a stinky, dead fish appeared incredibly exquisite. The sunbeams that peeked through a mass of dark clouds struck the glistening skin at just the perfect angle to reflect an iridescence unlike any I have ever seen. I grabbed the camera and started snapping closeup pictures of the dead fish causing Hubby to stare at me in disbelief. I am sure he thought that his wife had already lost all of her marbles or at least had a few of them rattling around loose inside that brain of hers. When I told him that the fish was gorgeous, he looked a bit disturbed. Yep..that stinky, dead fish had captivated my whole attention..the imagination wheels were just a whirring at full speed.

Now you tell me..in the pictures, can't you just see this as some satellite picture from outer space? Maybe of a look back at Earth..you know..the ocean and waves on a sandy shore!! Or perhaps it is some fabulous gemstone..one whose opalescence is unmatched!! Or maybe it is the Aurora Borealis as seen in the northern sky! (Speaking of that..I would really love to view those Northern Lights some day!) As I said the imagination soared!

The Way It Should Be...maybe?

The older I get, more and more things readily amuse me. This may or may not be a positive thing as it could point to one of several things. One..I am entering the proverbial "second childhood" (although my kids will be quick to tell you that I never left my first very far behind) or two..that I have simplified my life enough that I now can view what is close at hand. I do not need "artificial" entertainment such as television. (Just don't take my laptop as I will not be able to write!) And then there is the third thing..the old standby of my vivid imagination. Perhaps, it is a combination of all three or maybe all three are one and the same. This trait was far too evident today as I was in the garden. I was, and still am, fascinated by some things that I found. Most people would have just tossed the whole kit and kaboodle on the rubbish pile with nary a second thought. Me?..nah..I was reeling in the imaginary world of miniature again! My brain never stops with this stuff. It is like a second nature to me to start with the make-believe explanations of the everyday occurrences. Without a little embellishment some ordinary things are just too...well..ORDINARY! Not in my yard or in my life! It just can't be left to that..so the imagination whisks off in some unknown realm.

Elf houses! There is no doubt about it, these have to be Elf houses! Maybe..just perhaps.. there are Garden Elves that are the smaller (much, much, much smaller) relations of the Garden Gnomes! These diminutive Elves built their houses in the garden to protect it from the evil Stinkbugs that attack my tomatoes! They ride on the backs of Ladybugs and slay any Stinkbug that dares to sink his proboscis in one of my delicious tomatoes. These little guys use thorns from the Kumquat trees as lances to shoo the bugs to the next county. They are the protectors of my garden area! They are like the Knights of Olde.. brave.. gallant.. heroic.. these near-microscopic Garden Elves are living in my garden. Their little town is in the big flower pot right there under the pear trees! If you examine the picture closely, you can actually see the little windows and doors that they so cleverly carved into their homes. My Garden Elves.. Yes!... or no...ummm...

Ok..I have got it this time.. Tiny beehives!!! Ohh, that is a grand thought! My discovery this morning could possibly be itty-bitty beehives! They do have the appearance of the old timey Skep Hive. You know, the ones that look a lot like a basket or a pile of rope just thrown into the garden. There could definitely be teeny-tiny honeybees living a secret life in my garden! There, they could pollinate all of the flowers that are too small for the larger bees..little flowers like the Baby's Breath or Lantanas! Now we are talking! Teensy-weensy honeybees..you know the ones that make the honey that is sold in those little sample jars that hold no more than a tablespoon at the most. Well, my goodness! Do you really think that large honeybees would waste their precious time making such a small amount of honey. Those sampler bottles of honey most definitely have to be made by miniature bees and those bees live solely in my garden where they build their own Skep Hives! There..that is settled! No???

Well..perhaps the Carpenter Ants are getting really creative? They have spent days on end demolishing wood. The Carpenter Ants are tired of just chewing tunnels through rotting wood so they have taken on a new career! These fine, dutiful Carpenter Ants started building doll houses for all of the baby Carpenter Ants and it sort of spread out into a new business. The industrious ants are now quite adept at designing dome houses as doll houses for baby ants! They have cornered the market for these dollhouses as no one can duplicate their methods. The swirls of the rooftops are unique to their designs and I really do not think those can be replicated by any other methods than whatever the Carpenter Ants are doing. Or maybe....Termites are just tired of eating wood and have started playing with their food! Out of desperation or boredom the Termites are now the Master Food Sculptors of the Universe! These little domes are entirely carved from blocks of caramel! The appendages are licorice sticks! Candy houses made by bored Termites seems to be a logical explanation, doesn't it?

Ok..ok..I can see now that I am the only one that sees all of these fantastical images! To be honest..my "find" is nothing more than the remains of Bromeliad roots. I was given a huge Bromeliad that sadly succumbed to the freezing weather last year. I had high hopes that the plant would sprout new life if I left it in the pot long enough. The hard freeze occurred mid-March last year and the plant has not shown any life whatsoever..until now. I was actually pulling the roots from the pot so I could reuse it, when I spied a bit of green. One root has a nice sprout growing on the side..and there ended my whole fantasyland of miniature beings.

We treed three!

Down by the edge of the Bayou sitting almost in the marsh, there is an old man. This old man has been sitting there for as long as I can remember. He sits there day in and day out..never moving..never changing. He sits through the heat of the summer, through the chill of the winter and through any hurricane that passes this way. He is a such a stoic! Always facing the water, his arms are outstretched as if grasping for something just out of reach. Or maybe he is protecting us from dangers untold. This old man has seen many things..many things that we will never see in our lifetime. Oh, the stories he could tell if only he could talk. I am talking about an old Live Oak Tree that is right in the edge of the marsh. Old Man Oak has been a friend to me since I moved to this Bayou. His branches have cradled my children during their playtimes and has provided welcoming shade during hot days. These same limbs block much of the hurricane winds making our home safer. During Hurricane Katrina, I watched as the limbs twisted and turned with the winds, bending to the ground at times. Then when the tidal surge came, the waves literally washed over the topmost limbs. My heart wept as I thought my dear, old friend might not make it this time. I hurt for it. Through it all, Old Man Oak stood his ground solidly, never giving an inch. Afterward, he was battered and broken but lived..he had survived where so many of his friends perished.

This beloved old tree is almost a part of our family..well, as much as a tree can be. My children played in this tree when they were small. There was, at one point, a swing from one large limb and then at another time a rope ladder that made it easier to climb. They loved this old tree..it was "their" tree..one they could climb and be anything their imagination could conjure. Some days, they were pirates and the tree was their ship..other days, they were explorers and the tree protected them from alligators, or bears or whatever. It might serve as a fort or a spaceship.. the old tree could take them wherever their imaginations demanded. And Old Man Oak held them safely in his arms. I love this old tree! (This picture was taken in 1994. My son scanned it and put it on my computer for me. The title of this post is how he labeled the picture. I thought it was so appropriate! We "treed" three! )

Imaginations at Work!

It is a strange habit of mine..this seeing of faces in all sorts of things. Back when I was younger, my grandfather used to show me "faces" in everything from tree bark to flowers. There were faces in clouds and there were faces on buttons. There were faces in my oatmeal and faces in dead leaves. At first, I could not see them, but then he would patiently point out eyes, nose and mouth until the face came into view. Now I see faces! Everywhere! Today, a small piece of plastic wrap was crumpled up in a ball on the kitchen table. The sun beaming through the window made this plastic look just like Alfred Hitchcock! Oh my! I could not get a clear photograph of Mr. Hitchcock but it made me think of another face I had recently seen in my window. This one I did photograph! It started one day when I was out near the driveway, I stood absentmindedly looking at my house. Then I saw it..or rather him. There was a man in my house! I could perfectly see the profile of a giant through the window. My goodness! I know that I have a very active imagination but there he was as clear as day..in my window. Now curiosity will always get the best of me and cause me to investigate. I walked toward the house fully expecting whatever was causing the silhouette to become out of focus. It did not. I pressed my face against the window screen and had to start laughing! It was not just one thing that was causing the silhouette but a whole slew of items. From the position that I was standing, I was actually looking through one window, across the room and through the screen door. Beside the door stood an old hat rack that had accumulated all sorts of items. Among these items was a pair of binoculars, the binocular bag, several straw hats, one cap, and a short handled scoop net used for catching minnows. They were just haphazardly thrown onto the hat rack but at the right perspective and from a distance, formed a very distinct profile. The man in my window! A giant of a man to be sure, but still he was in my house! Oh, what would we do without vivid imaginations! The world would be so boring!

While speaking of imaginations..meet Belina. Belina is the second of a series of ragdolls that I am making. I introduced you to Agatha a few days ago and thought another introduction was in order. Where Agatha is quite the tall gal at thirty inches, Belina is rather petite. She is a mere fourteen inches tall, but what she lacks in size she makes up for with spunk. With her bright orange feather boa and gleaming gold headband and necklace, she appears to be ready to walk the Red Carpet! Yes..I admit..the imagination is soaring lately!