Trashy Treasure?

  Living on the water gives us no end of items that have either been lost or tossed by hapless people.  All sorts of things wash up to the pier or into the marsh.  While I try to "fish" out most of the things simply to keep the shoreline clear, it is a never-ending process.  It is understandable during stormy weather as the tidal surge wreaks havoc on the opposite shore causing our side to be the recipient of whatever has fallen to the wrath but the everyday stuff is a tad confusing.  Just outside of my reach is (or was, at one time) a perfectly good tarpaulin.  (Yes, I am still one of those folks that use the proper name for the covers.  Most call them "tarps".)  It washed into the marsh and has since been ripped to pieces.  On the other side of the pier, someone obviously lost their shirt.  A white T-shirt wafts proudly like a flag on a clump of marsh.  Hopefully, both of these items will either rot away quickly or shift to be within my reach so I can fetch them as they are now useless...not that either one would have much more than garbage.  Still, it would be nice to get both out of the marsh.

  The other day, however, Mark was able to retrieve something of use!  As we ambled down the pier before he headed out in the little skiff for a morning of fishing, I spied something bright red hung up in the marsh. "Please, please go get whatever that is before you head out to fish!" I begged him.  He did and was pleasantly surprised to find a brand new gas can!  This thing still had tags attached and had never been used!  He carted it to the pier and I lugged it up the hillside to be cleaned for future use.  Score!!!

  Before I left the pier, however, I noticed that the nozzle on the can sure looked like some sort of odd critter...perhaps some quirky pup or maybe a strange duck complete with a monocle and a bright green hat!  Yep, that overactive imagination was at work here but, in all fairness, if I have to lug other folk's castaways up the hill, I might as well make light of it!  I wonder if anyone else has noticed the odd noggin on this gas can???  Nope?  Oh, well...

Distracted by a Shadow

   There are those who see everything just as it is.  I, on the other hand, have this warped way of viewing things that allows me to see things that are not really there.  I see...things.  Pareidolia is the ability to see shapes or figures in random things but, most of the time, refers to seeing faces.  I do that, too, but the imagination plays enough that I can envision "random things" in shapes...if that makes sense.  All things are viewed as they are not.

  With yet more carpentry work being done on the Little Bayou House, it has become my task to paint each piece of siding before it is installed.  This is because the work is being done on the dormer windows that sit high on a very steep roof.  Son has nixed my climbing around up there to paint so it is being done before installation.  Thankfully, he is doing that part.  It was while painting that I started seeing things!  The sunshine was bright so shadows were being cast on each piece of plywood that was being painted.  One such shadow struck me as being quite lovely.  In fact, it reminded me greatly of some exquisite orchid!  At first, I thought it was merely the sun filtering through the pear leaves but something seemed off.  I needed to find out what was making my shadow orchid!  When I did, I was astounded as the object looked nothing like my imaginary bloom.  Dangling from what used to be my clothesline frame was a short cable that had two clips.  This was used by Son when he was moving some huge timbers to the pier.  The cable was hung on the crossbeam and forgotten until the sun "brought it to light".

  It is fascinating how from nothingness comes beauty.  Light and darkness...shadows upon the blank wall...hauntingly beautiful...time forgotten.  The light may be noticed but shadows are far more intriguing.

Tree Fish!

   I have a friend who is one of the most amazing photographers.  His eye for beauty and his ability to capture the moment is uncanny.  We have never met in person but share an interest in preserving nature and recording what is there before it is gone forever.  I stand in awe of his ability.  He is also highly interested in "seeing" things in his photographs.  He introduced me to the word..."pareidolia" which is a fancy word for seeing faces (or other objects) where there are none.  While David taught me the word, my granddad had long before taught me how to see the things hidden in plain sight.  I really had no idea there was even a name given to this.

  Yesterday morning, I found the perfect spot to photograph the eastern horizon.  From where I stood, the skyline was perfectly framed by trees.  The contrast between the pitch black area under the trees to the softly illuminated opposite shore was nothing less than enchanting.  All sorts of things flew around in the brain.  There were stories to be told about the Bayou simply from this point of view! 

  It was not until I viewed the photographs a bit later that my eye caught the "fish" in the trees!  The leaves of the hickory tree were quite eaten by caterpillars but it was the placement of the holes that was intriguing.  A lot of the leaves resembled fish!  I had a whole school of little fishies in the treetops!  Yep, this pareidolia is contagious!

  Just a little background here.  Years and years ago, seeing faces (or other objects) where there were none was actually thought to be a symptom of psychosis.  In other words, if you went around seeing things that were not there, people thought you had lost touch with reality.  Then, it was found that it was a pretty normal thing and became widely accepted as just human nature.  Since I am one who sees a lot of things that others do not, I am glad to hear that it is pretty normal.  (It may be the only normal thing about me!)  Anyway, I am glad to know that I am not the only one that does this and I am glad to know it has a name.  I am also glad the caterpillars ate the hickory tree and not my cabbage plants!

Cute, Little Possum Face!

   It was a tiring day with not much of a break to go hiking about the hillside. With a few more days of cold weather settling in around us, cutting more firewood was in order.  This is all good because it "kills two birds with one stone".  (Not that I go around killing birds or even throwing rocks at them.)  With still lots of limbs and trees down from Hurricane Zeta, the firewood gathering, not only provides us warmth, but clears more debris.  It has been a slow go with that cleaning but this is helping tremendously. 

  It was my chore to haul and stack the wood.  Mark cuts, Son splits and I stack.  I am ok with this as it gives the mind a chance to wander around in the dark corners of the brain and pull out any thoughts that have been hidden.  I was in deep thought as I unloaded an armload of firewood.  I was taken aback when I saw a face looking back at me from the woodpile!  No, there was not a living critter there but rather a figment of the imagination.  As a toddler, Granddad had taught me to "look for faces" in just about anything and everything.  Well, I found a cute, little possum face in a chunk of firewood.  Or, maybe it is an aardvark...only we do not have those on the Bayou...so possum, it is!  

  I was so tickled by the cute little face that I had to show Son.  He is very obliging but still sighs deeply and says, "You are certainly easily amused".   Perhaps this social distancing and self isolation thing is getting to me.  The social interaction with people has started causing me to find entertainment in odd places.  But...I do see it!  Cute, little possum!  You just have to love pareidolia! 

Cougar at the Frog Pond!

   It is often quite amusing to check the photographs that I take during the course of a day.  Most of the time, there are a few that I deem "keep-worthy" and many that are discards.  When taking the picture, you are never quite sure if the lighting is correct, if you may be wobbling a bit or if what you think is a great photo-op is really just a dismal failure.  Then there are the times when something unintended jumps out at you.  More oft than not, I see faces in my photos.  These can be human-type faces or critter-type faces or even make believe-type faces but they are faces, all the same.  Believe it or not, there is a name for this phenomenon.  It is called pareidolia.  I sort of think of it as an "art" in itself.  In fact, Granddad taught me to look for faces in most everything.  We actually would go "face-hunting" when I was a wee tot.  To give Mom a break from having to deal with yet another lively youngster (I have 4 older siblings), my grandparents were often given "kid duty".  Granddad had to think of fun things to do, so face-hunting was introduced.  We hunted faces...in flowers, wood-grain, clouds, mudflats...anything and everything.

  Back to the photography of nowadays.  My attempts at recording oddities of the Bayou often do not turn out as expected.  What I may think is a fantastic subject may be a big no-go. Then, again, no-gos take on a new light when looked at with a skewed sense of reality.  What should be deemed as a flop, sometimes reveals a FACE!  Recently, I threw a photograph of a rock that was near the little Frog Pond on social media and the consensus was that a face was, indeed, to be seen.  This time the face was a critter...a cougar to be exact. (Use that thing called an imagination.  You do have one, you know.)  How exciting for me to have others see the same thing that I found when I first examined the photograph.  As for a picture of a rock, the photo was not extraordinary but as a bit of pareidolia it was wonderful!

  Folks, pareidolia can help you look at things a whole lot differently and can, most assuredly, improve your photography skills.  When you go about "face-hunting", you actually slow down enough to thoroughly examine items.  You will pay closer attention to what you are seeing and therefore may just find more subjects to photograph.  It all goes back to what I have been saying for years.  Folks, slow down your pace and really "see" things for what they are.  Life is better that way.  Happy face-hunting!