Potential!

   Most folks probably look at me as a hoarder.  I keep anything with potential!  Whereas others view things as trash and immediately toss them in the garbage bin, my brain says "You can make something with those!"  I usually do.  I keep a "well-stocked" craft room full of everything imaginable just because of that supposed potential.  My "clutter" is basically ideas that have not come to fruition yet....but that potential is there so the clutter stays.

  Just recently, I found some glass bottles that had floated in on a hurricane tidal surge.  While cleaning the debris line, the bottles were tossed aside.  Later, any that were chipped were promptly discarded but the aforementioned potential kept me from tossing any that were in tact.  When I came across the stash of bottles, I knew immediately what I wanted to try!  Shipping boxes had supplied me with plenty of wrinkled brown paper so...it was a no-brainer...combine the two!  Grabbing the two plus some white glue and leftover tidbits from other projects, I set to work.

  What would have wound up in the dump now sits on a shelf receiving compliments from visitors. I am pretty pleased with the outcome and intend on pulling more bottles from the stash.  Those may not be decorated in the same way but something will come to mind...and there is always that potential!

Klepto-Rats!

   I am still battling the rats and raccoons that have invaded the greenhouse.  It appears that they have taken a liking to the place and are not going to give it up easily.  Of course, I am slow as I do not wish to stick my hands where one might take a snap at me.  Plus, given the easy access to an entire colony of rats, it would not be unreasonable to come across a lovely snake under some of this mess.  I am not sure which took up residence first but the raccoons are most likely the ones to have rummaged through everything and made perfect hiding spots for rats.  Whatever the case, they seem to be coexisting right well.   So, in the meantime, I am emptying the entire greenhouse...of EVERYTHING...rats and raccoons included. It is amazing how the critters took over the place in the three months that I was incapacitated.

  I will say this about those rats.  They are not stupid.  They have created many exits by gnawing through window casings and have tunneled from nest to nest.  Each nest (I have found 6 so far) has a stockpile of food, toys (?) and bedding.  Spanish moss is the lining, unopened seed packets are the food and, well, the toys are the odd part.  I am calling them toys because I have no clue what else the critters could be doing with their "collectibles".  Also, it is quite evident that these are true "Bayou Rats"!  The toys are mainly seashells that I had stored in large baskets. These were ones that were used in craft projects but were too bulky to keep inside the house.  Each nest had an assortment of the shells (and one toy bird!). 

  Also stored in the greenhouse was the leftover clue hunt props.  Most were leftovers still in place from when the place was reinvented as a Swamp Witch hut for the pirate themed hunt last year.  Any good Swamp Witch has to have an odd assemblage of concoctions.  Jars and jars of things like swamp water, lizard toes and jellied wasp nests lined the shelves. Mostly, these were not tampered with by the rats.  In fact, only one jar has been found in a nest.  A jar labeled "Sea Nettle Tentacles" and containing hot glue drippings in water was found uncapped in the nest.  The "sea nettle tentacle" glue strings were neatly packed in with the Spanish moss.  Why?  How?  I have "Klepto-Rats"!

  So, tomorrow will find me back in the greenhouse again.  Since the place is now completely void of contents, it is time to do some repair work and figure out how to keep this from happening again.  Then, only important stuff will be returned to its place.  Flower pots, gardening tools and fertilizers seem ok.  Seeds?  NO SEEDS!  Nope, not happening!  All seeds will be placed in the old metal toolbox that can be locked!  Sorry, Critters, the buffet is closed.  

  

Glinting in Blue

  Here lately, I cannot sleep past about 4am.  I am up, coffee brewed and ready to start the day.  I figure I might as well make use of the time if I am going to be awake so there is not much use in tossing and turning trying to go back to sleep. Just get up and get going.  Daybreak is one of my favorite times anyway so a hike is always in order.  Meandering about the hillside goes slowly since the old dog, Mr. PJ, cannot keep up the pace.  At one point this morning, the old dog needed a rest so while he sat, I photographed how the sun played on the leaves and created shadow puppets of weird shapes.  

  Just as the old dog was about ready to continue our walk, I noticed how the sun was shimmering on the bottle tree.   The bottles were aglow with the sunbeams!  This makeshift bottle tree was a clue hunt prop from several years ago.  The Annual Clue Hunt on the Bayou that year had a theme of Deep South Legends and so a bottle tree was a necessary addition.  It has become sort of a quirky part of the yard now and it would seem odd to remove it.  In reality, with today's light show, it occurred to me that perhaps I should expand the "limbs" on the tree and add a few different colored bottles.   While the blues are gorgeous, if there were a few more colors sparkling with the sunbeams, it would add another magical touch to the Bayou.

  For those who are not familiar with bottle trees, they are somewhat a custom down here in the Deep South.  The idea behind the "tree" dates back hundreds of years.  Empty bottles are stuck on the small branches of a dead tree or, nowadays, on a wire "tree".  The idea is that spirits are attracted to the colored glass and soon find their way into the bottles.  There, the spirits become trapped during the night and are destroyed by the morning sun.  According to legend, the spirits are most attracted to the cobalt blue glass but, in a pinch, any color will suffice.  

  Like I said, my bottle tree began as a clue hunt prop but has now become part of the mystical, magical existence of the Bayou itself.  I think it is probably here to stay.

Rainbow Brite.uhh..Bright?

I seem to spend a lot of time on the end of my pier. It is one of my favorite places to sit and contemplate life in general. There are a lot of answers to be found in and around the water..answers to questions about anything. Why, there are even answers to questions you have not asked yet! Actually most of the time, I am not really pondering anything. It is the sheer beauty of the water that draws me. The other evening, my sister-in-law visited the pier. We sat, chatted a while and then meandered back to the house. On the way, I noticed a gorgeous sunset and then turning eastward, a beautiful rainbow. As we admired the splendid view, another rainbow appeared a bit further south. A double rainbow! I have been seeing lots of reports of double rainbows lately. The media is full of clips of excited people viewing double rainbows. There is a lot of mysticism attached to these spectacles. Then again a lot of people are searching for signs in anything. A deep thought entered the brain about this point..do we need a double rainbow? Rainbows have almost become synonymous with a new beginning..a new hope that things will be better. This is a lovely thought..but is the world in such dire straits that we need double rainbows to lift us? Wow! I hope not! I will enjoy my double rainbow just because it was there. Then again..viewing a weather phenomenon as a sign of better times might not be a bad thing at all.

Speaking of rainbows, there was a color-play dancing about the dining room with the setting sun. There is a shelf in front of the windows that is filled with bottles of all sorts and colors and when the sun poured in the window, these bottles seemed to be trying to catch each ray. It gave the room a rather unique appearance for a short time until the sun slipped behind the trees. Beauty is all around us if we would just be open to seeing it. A dozen old bottles, a bit of dust (ok..a lot of dust) and a sunbeam.. breathtaking sight in the making to those who can visualize it. Maybe it is the artist in me but I find pulchritude in the most unusual things. (There is a word for you.. pulchritude. Whenever I hear or use this word, it almost makes me think it has just the opposite meaning of what it really does. Pulchritude.. somehow doesn't paint images of loveliness now does it??)