Some random thoughts, which are often the best kind.
I have a very good friend that although we are separated by miles & hours, we talk quite often. We have known each other for close to 14 years now I guess and we were more than friends for 1/2 that time. She has been a huge part of encouraging me & critiquing my words & pictures. We have learned together, she has seen bits of me few others have. I have seen her at her worst & in the torment of her nightmares. I have also seen her at her best, when she shares & lives her dreams & gives love to those around her. It is an interesting dynamic, our relationship, & it gets much deeper than either of us can describe, but we try. She was there when I wrote on average 2 college papers a week for the better part of 3 years & now…now she often sees things before I post them, & I adjust if needs be.
We’ve had good & bad times. We remember the good & compartmentalize the bad & move on. Thank you for the years & the love…you know who you are. 😘
And since you enjoy me pointing out & describing my pics…this post is for you…a message from my heart, as always. ❤️🩹
Yesterdays Face Book post was well received, the poem was written years ago, but the pics are very recent. Since it’s an old message it doesn’t show up in the recent blog posts. It’s from September of 2008 when I was in a bit of a writing frenzy. So, you have to get to the message thru my link on the FB post or search it out in the search bar of the web version of the blog.
In “Rain Washes Away Our Pain” there are 8 photos. None of the pics on my FB page or this blog are edited or photo shopped, they are exactly how I seen it at the time I took the pic. Even though I use the word “I”, I know who I give credit. Right place, right time, right result. So here’s some comments on those pics.
In the first pic there’s a bird in the right hand tree, right lower palm branch area. I know he’s there cuz I seen him when I took the shot, but I’ll be darned if I can find him now. But, even without the bird it’s a neat shot. Look closely, what else do you see? Don’t zoom in, take it from afar. There’s a skinny cloud streaming from left to right at a downward angle. It intersects the tree & disappears. Then in the lower right side you see a blue sun spot or refraction. It is almost perfectly in line with the streaming but invisible cloud. I think the bird is on that track in the palm tree. I know he is. 🕊
The 4th pic is my wild but interestingly playful alligator…Wally. Wally is about a 5 foot gator who owns the little pond he lives in. He owned it, til I found it. We have had our encounters, several, the best being a couple weeks ago when I approached his muddy den while he watched from the shore, his head & back mostly exposed. As I got to about 40 feet or so he was down a slight bank & he was not happy. I had already hit him, playfully, with my wrist rocket a couple times & he was in no mood to keep playin. As I stood there my sling shot ready, he bowed up. His head & throat was completely arched & out of the water, his tail arched up almost like a second head behind him….now 2/3rd’s of his body was exposed as he started talking, or should I say growling at me. It was like a pit bull growl & bull frog call mixed, very deep & resonate. I lined up for a head shot….& the sling rubber broke!!!
Now I was pretty defenseless except for my knives, I could’ve fixed the sling shot, but I just stood there looking & listening at something I’ve never seen before…in person. He continued his warnings, his display of territory & the threat in the hope I’d leave his little sanctuary. But, I don’t back down from a pesky 5’ gator (12 footer I’m having second thoughts) so I look around and bout 20 feet behind me is a 5 foot long 2“ x 8” board. I don’t know why it was there, but it was. So I go back pick it up and start walking back towards Wally. He’s really watching me now as his posturing earlier was a display of size & strength on his part…now I was bigger with the big board left to right across my waist. He started sliding back in the water as I approached & got to about 15’ from him. His head & most of his body exposed in the shallow shoreline of his den area. I went to pic the board up from my waist to chest & throw at him…& I never seen a land critter move so fast in the water. He spun around & disappeared into the depths before I could throw the board, but I did anyway. Now he knows who the bull gator of his little pond really is. 🐊
The 7th pic has a very interesting story. There’s a lot happening in that pic. There’s a tree, a bird feeder, a cardinal, a squirrel & an oriental lady. I was at the local botanical garden county park enjoying nature for two whole dollars. I took a bunch of pics and at the tail end of my visit I see an oriental man with his 35MM camera taking pics of the cardinal. I’m about 50’ back on the other side of the tree at an angle to him, he’s to my left. As I look I see the squirrel at the base of the tree & I see his wife to my right of the tree. I’m lined up on the cardinal & the feeder & what happens…..the lady starts walking towards her husband & the squirrel races up the tree….& I got the shot. Immediately I looked at him & said…”did you get the shot of the squirrel?” He said, ”No” & I reviewed my pics & found my shot. I had walked away for a smoke but when I seen that pic I spun around to look for the husband.
He was still by the feeder, so I walked over & said, “Sir I have something to show you.” I showed him the pic & he was thrilled. He said in an excited voice “Air drop, can you Air drop this to me?” So I did & we had a nice conversation & I gave him one of my Sensory Solutions cards to check out the blog. I hope he checks it out at some point & sees that pic again, I have faith he will. Right place, right time, right result. 🐝
The last pic, the 8th pic, is the bird, guarding their real nest in the left hand palm tree. I say that cuz they have 3 nests, but only one is real. This nested pair I have watched occasionally when I’m in the area for over a year now. Last year they had one nest, in a 8’ tall bush by a jetted spa I use sometimes. I watched them feeding their chicks, took some pics & even showed the nest to a little boy & his mother as a learning experience for him. At that point I was there every few days and one day the nest was empty. I was confused as the chicks were way too young to fly, but they were gone, all four of them. I investigated further and found the nest half destroyed & I knew a snake or cat had got the babies & the momma & daddy birds where no where to be found. 🐍
But they were there & even though the four baby birds were lost to nature, the parents learned a valuable lesson & that last pic is proof. You see now, a year later, they’re smarter. They have 3 nests & visit all three as if tending to it. One nest is rebuilt in that 8’ bush, but it’s empty. One nest is in the tree on the right I referenced earlier (the 1st pic) but it is also empty & the third nest is way high up in the palm tree on the left, the actual nest. So, what’s natures lesson here???
Well, the birds have learned that by having decoy nests if any predators are watching, they won’t know which one has the babies. By having 3 nests instead of one they can guard the real nest better. Just my thoughts but why else would birds make extra nests & leave them empty while still tending them, why else indeed. Now, if they could just get the young ones to be quiet. 🐣
Well there you have it, every picture has a story, some better than others, but all meaningful. ✨🦉✝️
Matthew Chapter 6 🌈💐🇺🇸
😘😎🐝
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