I will be the first to admit that my eyesight sure isn't what it used to be. For the past ten years or so I have had to wear reading glasses. Then as the insurance people required, I had an eye exam and was told that I needed bifocals. Well, that was purely a waste of money! Not only could I not read with those glasses but I felt nauseous when I walked while wearing them. Nope. No way! I refused to wear the glasses. A year later, I was required to go to the eye doctor once again. This doctor said that my eyes were ok and I did not need prescription glasses. She took my reading glasses, wrote down the "prescription" and sent me back to the dollar store to get another pair just to keep on hand. Now, sitting in the desk drawer is a nigh on $300 pair of useless spectacles and I am back to wearing a $1 pair of reading glasses full time. Perhaps some day the others may come in handy but, for now, they are just clutter.
The eyes can, however, play tricks on the mind. You are always seeing the infamous "dress" or "shoes" on social media asking "What color do you see?" Or a weird photo of a cat looking upwards with the caption of "Is it a bird or cat?" In the real world, things are about the same. For instance, a few days ago, I was on the pier and photographed what appeared to be a jet-black dragonfly. This amazing find would have thrilled me had I not already known the identity of the critter. This was a Slaty Skimmer and is not actually all black! The male dragonfly is actually blue with a black head. The overcast skies made the critter appear black. It is a common mistake folks make when trying to find the identity of the Slaty. "I found a solid black dragonfly! What kind is it?" is a common question presented to entomologists. Then, it is often hard to convince the discoverers of the "black dragonfly" that they were merely being tricked by the lighting. On bright, sunshiny days, the male Slaty is a powdery blue and not even that dark! (Females are sort of brown with a dark stripe and black head.)
The Slaty Skimmer is one of the most common of all dragonflies and can often be seen sunning themselves in marshes, near ponds or even pastures. The male and female will mate in flight then she will lay her eggs in a nearby bit of fresh water by skimming and dotting the surface. Be on the lookout for Slaty Skimmers and try to view them in both sunshine and shade to get this crazy coloring effect! You eyes may deceive you!
I will be the first to tell you that my vision is getting weak. What started as just needed reading glasses has now developed into a full-time spectacles wearing adventure. This aggravates me somewhat. I miss being able to see things as clearly as I once did. Weird thing is...prescription glasses do not help. Wearing cheap reading glasses constantly seems to have filled the need. I asked the doctor about this and she simply replied that it might be all in my head. Well, she has a point. My eyes are in my head and whatever helps them must be ok...prescription or not.
This morning, however, I noticed something. While my vision may be blurred at certain distances, miles and miles away, things seem mighty clear. Mr. PJ and I sat on the ground near a path heading to the back of the property. The old dog had decided this was a good resting spot so he and I took a few moments to relax. As the dog stared into the bushes at some unseen critter that was scratching about in the leaves, I stared upwards. I COULD SEE FOR MILES! Yep, just look upwards and marvel at your eyes' capabilities! Think about it for a moment. The treetops were clear. The clouds were clear. Planes passing overhead were clear. Things were clear with a $1 pair of reading glasses!
Speaking of treetops and clouds, have you ever thought just how many little fluffy wads of water droplets pass above us unnoticed every day? How many birds, planes, bugs, dust particles and other things zoom past us without our ever looking up to see them? I say when things get a bit foggy down at eye level, look up! Great things are up there as far as the eye can see! Sometimes our vision is not what we see but how we look at things.
There is something to be said for failing eyesight. No, it is not fun by any means but you deal with it as it seems to be a common part of aging. Without my glasses, things seem blurry and out of focus so I depend upon those things. But...without them, things are brought into a different perspective. Objects that appear to be one thing can prove to be something quite totally different. This has actually made a difference in my days here on the Bayou.
This time of year, snakes are out and on the prowl (or crawl, as it may be). One has to watch every step as an old cottonmouth moccasin might just be underfoot in any given area. I have found them as far from the house as the marsh edge but as near as the front step. They are hard to see. I do not depend on my eyesight to find these critters. I go back to that fine skill that Pop taught me so long ago. He always said that it was easier to smell a moccasin than to see one and he was right. Still, any snake is not fun to come across on a daily hike. Even a nonvenomous one can scare the bejeebies out of you if it is stepped on unawares. It is best to be wary...which brings me to today and my poor eyesight.
I was out pushing that lawnmower again when I noticed my brother waving at me. Stopping my machine, I had a nice chat with him before cutting the conversation short with "I need to get back to work." As he turned to walk back down the lane, he gave a bit of a start and then said "Uh, oh!" That did not seem to good so I held off cranking my mower. He was pointing up under the azalea bush at what appeared to be a rather large snake. Well, now! I figured it could not be anything too dangerous unless the sweet aroma of the orange blossoms was masking the stench of a moccasin. We drew a bit closer to check out just what type our slithery visitor was. At this point, we both had a good laugh. Our snake turned out to be a perfectly snake-shaped stick! It even had its "head" raised about six inches off the ground. Wow! What a good impostor!
After another round of chatting (this time about our "snake"), he headed home and I went back to work. My cutting took me far down behind the peach orchard and into an area dotted with palmetto clumps. These are a favorite hiding place for snakes and being as I was only wearing leather moccasins, I needed to watch my every step. The recent "scare" of the stick snake might have been a good thing. My wariness was already on edge. I was alert. I was careful. Sometimes we can become so caught up in our thoughts and chores that we become careless. Perhaps that stick was put there as a reminder that I need to watch my step. Had I been wearing my glasses, I would have surely seen that it was just a stick and had never made me more cautious. Sometimes, we have to see things a bit blurred to see them more clearly.
