The Shadowy Door

  Ever since I was a child, I had an interest in shadows.  For some reason, I was drawn toward what others found unsettling.  Whether it be the shadowy path in the woods or hand shadows cast on a blank wall, they appealed to me.  I wanted to know more about these fleeting bits of beauty.  What caused them?  How did the shapes change so rapidly?  Why were others so frightened of being in a shadowy area?  The allure did not fade as I aged.  In fact, I became more obsessed with the idea of shadows being cast for my enjoyment and for no other reason.  I will often stop whatever I am doing to watch shadows as they constantly weave a story as the sun moves across the sky.

  This afternoon, I flung open the french doors to let the warmth fill the living room.  Son has "winterized" our window screens and that included the two screen doors on the south side of the house.  A mirage of shadows astounded me.  Hundreds of leaf shadows were cast on the back side of the screen door panels.  This was odd because there are no trees nearby except for one on the far side of the doors.  These shadows were being cast from trees far from the house!  With a stiff northerly breeze shaking the treetops, the shadows danced across the screen doors with wild abandon.  What a beautiful sight to behold!

  Shadows are often used in reference to an ominous presence.  Some feel that shadows are the harbingers of something evil due to the fact that they are the absence of light.  To me, the shadow pictures bring peace.  There is nothing more calming than watching the ever-changing ballet of darkness and light.  It can be mesemerizing! Yeah...probably just me.

Shadows of Doubt

  Between the rains today, there were bursts of bright sunshine.  I took advantage of those brief moments to do a few outdoor chores.  It seems that either we have frigid temperatures or drizzly rain so any sunshine means time to scurry around and get things done.  While out, I noticed that the brilliant sunshine was casting a rather impressive shadow of a spindle on the canvas window coverings on the greenhouse.  Although the canvas is a dark gray, the shadow was quite strong.  A stiff easterly wind was fluttering the canvas enough to make the shadow change shapes at times. I thought of how that shadow was a lot like things in life.

  We all have "shadows" that slip into our days at times.  Whether it be a bit of the blues from missing family, a surge of angst over an upcoming event or just some unforeseen bit of gloom that strikes at a moment's notice.  These things, and those like them, can all seem overpowering at times.  If in our darkest hours, the shadows of doubt start shaking us to the core, it may be helpful to take a different perspective.  Without light, there can be no shadows.  In the pitch black, no shadows are cast. A source of light has to there to strike an object to make the shadow.  Just like in our lives, somewhere there is a light beaming brightly. When we think things are at their darkest, it will help to find the light. That beam may be casting shadows but it should also remind us that things are not all bad.  There are good points in our lives.  Perhaps, we need to focus more on that light than the shadows that seem foreboding.  

  I try to concentrate on the good in all things but it seems to be getting harder and harder to do so.  Sometimes it seems almost impossible to find the "happy" thought when we are struck with things out of our control.  Those shadows can become distorted enough to seem massive and all-consuming.  Just like the shadow on the greenhouse window.  Without light, there would have been no shadow but, throw in that breeze and the shadow became distorted enough to almost be unrecognizable.  It would twist and turn and become grotesque just like the turmoil in our minds.  However, let the wind settle down a bit and the shadow would return to its smooth self.  Then, if I turned in the opposite direction, I could see the bright sunshine...the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.  Focusing on that light instead of the darkness....my new goal for the year.

Spotlight the Positive!

  I love the predawn hikes to the pier that Mark and I take each day.  There is just something about being out and about before the hubbub of daily life takes control of the day.  The peacefulness of the morning can be seen in everything from the sunrise to the critters that are either waking from a deep slumber or just settling down for a nice nap after hunting all night.

   I also love the way the sunlight plays with shadows as it dapples the yard with tiny spotlights.  Even the most mundane thing suddenly becomes a spectacular showpiece.  This morning as I was returning from the pier, I was astounded by something that I walk past dozens of times each day.  Some simple weeds that most folks mow down or spray with herbicides were highlighted by the sun's rays.  Now those "weeds" were allowed to shine!  The goldenrods' beauty was suddenly brought to attention.  Any other day, I would notice the goldenrod but not fully appreciate what I was viewing.  

  Seeing things from a different perspective or in a different lighting can make all the difference in the world.  Instead of just "looking", perhaps we need to start "seeing".  This could apply not only with plants in the morning sunlight but also to people.  If we would truly try to see the person, we might appreciate their individualism.  In other words...stop lumping everyone in one big category and look for the positive traits of each person.  Let the light shine on the individual and do not let the vision be dulled by the actions of an ilk.  See the beauty of the so-called weed.  It is there....I promise.  Spotlight the positive instead of highlighting the negative.

That's why....

  The other day, someone asked me why I get up so early.  I have a tendency to rise before the sun and make my coffee. Then, that cup of coffee is enjoyed as the sky starts to brighten in the east.  Why do I get out of bed so early?  I have no definite answer.  I just do.  Then again, maybe I have more than one answer.  I suppose if you stop to think about it, this could all be Pop's fault.  Back when I was just a kid on the farm, we were rousted out of bed when the roosters crowed.  "Time to get up!" Pop would call as he started cranking on that old wall-mounted coffee grinder.  (That thing made enough noise to get anybody out of bed whether they wanted to or not!)  Pop knew that there was a lot of work to be done and he needed all five kids to be up and ready to work at an early hour.  You are just not lazy on a farm!  Now, however, it is not the chores that awaken me.  I have this built-in alarm clock that seems to sound at a predawn hour.  I just cannot sleep!  So, I am up and ready to go as soon as I down the first cup of coffee. 

  Personally, I love the way the sun casts shadows on just about everything as it is starting to peep between the pines.  I see things that most never experience.  The way the light filters through the trees, illuminates the palmettos or causes fungi to almost glow never seems to disappoint me.  I am like that proverbial "kid in a candy shop" as I can always find something to delight the senses.  

  I love to hear the birds as they start to chirp their happy calls and I love to hear the last yelps of the baby fox as Mama calls them back to the den.  I love to see a dragonfly stretch its wings for the first time as it transforms from nymph to flying beauty.  I love to find fresh berries or other fruits as the morning dew glistens making them look like jewels. I love the smell of the earth that has just been refreshed by the coolness of the night or the sweet aroma of gardenias (or magnolias, jasmine, roses, wisteria..you name it!) as the buds begin to open.  I love the coolness of moss under my bare feet or the bite of frost on my nose depending upon the season. 

 I just love morning...early, early morning  I love the peace, the calmness, the solitude.  It is "my" time of the day.  My time...made just for me...my time to revel in all of the Good Lord's magnificence.

What was THAT?

The other evening, I was on the pier taking pictures of a gorgeous sunset.  There is nothing unusual about this as I seem to be there most evenings.  My pier is perhaps my favorite place in the whole world. I snapped photograph after photograph in hopes of capturing a wee bit of the phenomenal beauty that enveloped the horizon.  The sky was changing with each snap of the camera.  It struck me that incredible sights such as this should be shared with everyone.  As much as I feel that God created the view just for me, it is not so.  It is just my job to be there with the camera.

As I photographed, I noticed a strange incident occur in the sky just to the left of where the sun had slipped behind the pines.  Directly above one of my brother's large boats (but far in the distance), a large ball of light appeared.   If I had not just watched it set, I would have definitely been mislead into believing this was the sun.  "What could that be?" I pondered.  I kept photographing.  Something was most unusual.  Something that I had never seen before was occurring in the clouds above me.

I have yet to determine just what this light was.  Was it merely a reflection of the sun from beyond the pines?  Was it a glint of the sun off of an jet in the sky?  Perhaps it was Superman with a shiny hat!  Ok, most likely it was one of the two previous ideas but still this phenomenon baffled me.  Sometimes things happen that stir the mind but then require no explanation other than it is God's handiwork.

Beacons of Happiness

You just know the seasons are changing by the way the sun sets.   We are just barely into fall and I have come to the realization that winter is nigh on knocking at our door.  Times are changing..changing for whatever its worth..hopefully for the better.  Instead of my usual trek to the pier to watch the sun settle down behind the pines, I observed it from indoors this evening.  Feeling a bit weary from life's trials, I opted to sit and watch the light play through the windows.  One particular window put on a show spectacular.  This window has a broad shelf in front of it that over time has collected a number of glass baubles.  Each one is a different shape, size and color.  All of this set the perfect stage for the extravaganza brought on by the sun's last rays.  It occurred to me while watching this, that winter was not long in coming.  You see, when the sun sets in winter, it filters through these glass objects and sends showers of colored streaks along the opposite wall.  Only during fall and winter is the earth in the right position so the sun can shoot beams through the thick stand of trees on the west side of my house.  One path lends itself to being the channel for these rays to hit perfectly on this shelf.  All other times, the glass sits as just that..colored glass.  But..as fall progresses into winter, these same pieces become beacons.  Beacons of Happiness that liven up my dining room.

I had to smile in spite of my self as I watched the light.  This was one of those small things that can lift one's spirits and lighten the load tremendously!  My son, Michael, often marvels over the fact that I can be thrilled over the most mundane of things.  He always says "Mom, it sure doesn't take much to make you happy."  And in a way, maybe it does not..but, in another, perhaps more than anyone realizes.  After all..just think what it took to perfectly align the earth and sun in order to shoot beams of light those millions of miles through a tunnel of trees.  And to make those beams unfaltering in their direction so they hit the glass in the perfect spot.  Once the light hit the colored glasses, it had to be reflected just so to make the colors vibrant enough to have sent multi-hued shafts spilling across the darkened room.  Nah...it sure does not take a lot to make me happy.  I smile at the thought..at my own "Beacons of Happiness"!

Rails and gourds

I was so afraid that some critter roaming the marsh made supper of my little King Rail. (And if it is a female why is she not a "Queen Rail"?) Last night, I heard her just a fussing at some intruder and then all went quiet..too quiet. My heart sank as I imagined some diabolical foe stalking this sweet little hen. Locally we call these "Marsh Hens"..which makes a lot of sense as they remind me of little chickens and they..well..live in the marsh. This morning, I fully expected to find feathers on the mud flats around the pier. A fox? A 'possum? A bobcat? Any of these could have easily had a hankering for a "chicken" dinner and pounced upon my little rail. But..no feathers could be found. Thank goodness! As we wandered back up the pier, my husband motioned for me to look at the marsh edge. There peeping out was my little hen! She had survived the night terrors and came to greet us. I was elated to see her..it is funny how attached I become to critters in my Bayou!

This morning was filled with the usual drudgery of housework and laundry but come the afternoon, I was able to steal a little time to work on gourds. The brain was clicking! Another lamp would soon emerge from its gourd beginnings. This one is a bit more elaborate than the first one..I am getting braver! I worked a design on one side and then tried to duplicate it on two more sides giving it a three sided effect. Try as I might, I could not get it to come out even. There was always something a little off..erase..and start over. Still crooked..erase..start over. Finally, I made a big discovery! Gourds are not symmetrical! I knew that..what was I thinking! Or what was I not thinking! I drew the pattern on the three sides and said "phooey" on

symmetry! I consoled myself with "that is what is the appeal of something handmade!" Well..this is definitely "handmade" and it shows! I cut the design in and burned some holes here and there and ta-dah!..a lampshade is born! Several good coats of paint and it was time to try the light. This is the part that I always like the best! I love to see what design the light will cast on the wall behind the lamp and this one actually was delightful. The swirls and dots were almost mesmerizing! Oooh this one makes me happy!

Light Show!

I awoke feeling creative today! I had no use for yardwork or housework..I wanted to play in the craft box! When this fancy hits, I find it is best to go with the flow and whatever project comes to mind is what I should attempt. It will always turn out well if I just allow myself to be consumed by the idea. I experimented today with another style gourd. A while back, my son and daughter-in-law urged me to make some gourd lamps. I had no idea what in the world they were talking about until they explained. It seems as if they had seen some in art shops and were impressed by them. Well, I procrastinated. I procrastinated a lot! Until finally, today I was inspired to start "gourding" again! I have always said that when I pick a gourd for a project, the gourd itself tells me the design. This time, I picked two gourds..one did not "speak" to me..it remained silent. No matter how I pleaded, it refused to communicate. It just sat there like a bump on a log or in this case, a squash on the vine. (Hehe..a little gourd humor there!) I put the obstinate thing on the floor and picked up the other. If one doesn't feel the need to be beautified today, then perhaps the other would be more responsive. Gingerly, I cradled the gourd. I turned it over and over in my hands.."What would you like to be, my Dearie?" This one yelled loud and clear.."A lamp!" That settled it! If gourds could talk and tell us how they wanted to be decorated, an artist's life would be much more confusing than it already is! Most artists are already classified as eccentric and talking to inanimate objects would do nothing but clinch the title for us. Still, I relented to the pleas of the gourd and started a lamp. Since gourds are not transparent, I needed to either do cutwork or punchwork to allow for light to be emitted. I opted for punchwork this time. It is a little less intricate than cutwork and being as this is the first real lamp I have attempted, I was taking the easy way! Tomorrow will be soon enough to attempt the fine cutting. To make the holes I used an electric soldering tool. This is probably not the best tool for the job but it worked. I tend to use some rather unconventional tools and materials for all of my creations simply because I use whatever I have on hand. This time was no different. After the designs were punched (burned) into the gourd, I added a touches of paint to highlight the design, a bit of wax to seal it and a lot of buffing to finish out the lamp. Although the inner workings of the fixture still have to be installed, I did stick it on top of a LED light. I was delighted that it cast a light show on the walls! By far, this is one of the easiest gourds to create..not because it was labor free..quite the contrary..I just had lots of help behind the idea. Just a little encouragement can go a long way in making all of life a bit easier!

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??)

Light and Shadows

"Turn your face to the sun, and the shadows fall behind you." Maori Proverb

I love shadows! Early in the morning as I walk through the gardens, the most simplest of things turn extraordinary. Commonplace forms can be viewed with a new perspective. The imagination is turned loose to wander, creating all sorts of fanciful ideas that bounce around in the brain. I have never needed much to make my imagination kick into high gear, but shadows have fascinated me since I was a child. I remember making "shadow puppets" on the wall with any given light, a playtime activity not known to many children of today. Simple pleasures that allow us to while away the hours!

Silhouettes also fascinate me. Not the type seen framed hanging on the wall but rather those in nature. A bug's shape seen through a leaf or a leaf behind the window curtain..these silhouettes. The ones that you just happen along during the course of the day. Happy little occurrences that make the day brighter just because they are there.

Of shadows and silhouettes, I have also noticed there is a vast difference in those cast by the morning sun and those in the evening. As I see it, morning shadows seem full of hope, beckoning the new day with excitement and wonder. It is as though these are saying to come out to play, to greet the day, to breathe in this wonder. Those seen in the evening, speak of the coming night, a calming time. The time to sit idle and reflect on what has been, what was or what should have been accomplished.

In literature most shadows are representative of darkness, obscurity and angst. I have a tendency to think just the opposite. Somewhere there is the light that is needed to make these shadows. When you start looking in that direction, things do not seem so bleak. Take time to see shadows and you will always see brightness, a light showing the way. Sometimes it takes the dark to notice the Light.