My Town Monday

Last week I mentioned that the carnivorous plants were starting to bloom at the Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve. Due to the interest generated, I've decided to dedicate an entire MTM post to this subject.
There are a few different trails at "the Flatwoods" (as Charles & I call it,) but the boardwalk offers the best views of the carnivorous plants, which is why it's called the "Pitcher Plant Trail."
There are various stations all along the Pitcher Plant trail. Here are the two about the carnivorous plants, themselves. They're highly informative, so I recommend clicking on them for the larger views;

The picture below shows one of the yellow pitcher plant flowers & a bunch of the pitchers, themselves.
There's an anole on the pitcher near the center of this next picture, taking advantage of the spot to eat incoming insects.
The carnivorous plants blooming right now are predominantly yellow pitcher plants & butterworts. In the next month, parrot pitcher plants will take over.

There are also bladderworts & sundews in the area. The former are somewhat difficult to see, as they tend to live in water & the latter haven't bloomed yet.

"My Town Monday" is the brainchild of Travis Erwin. Visit his blog to view entries from all over.
Click the "My Town Monday" label below for previous posts about Abita Springs.

Recent Dreams & More Smushed Glass Art (Updated)

Thurs., 3/27/08; I was at work (although it was different from “real” life.) One of our patrons & her daughter came by to pick up some items she had on hold, including DVDs of “The Avengers.” Some things on the hold shelf weren’t marked. I couldn’t find the DVDs, although I was sure we should’ve had them. A Pink Floyd CD (DSOTM?) brought up the option to change the record to text only, which I cancelled out of. Soon I realized that “The Avengers” DVDs couldn’t have been in yet, as they were only recently ordered. The patrons were being very patient about it all.

Fri., 3/28/08; I was with a couple of others in a light blue & silver tunnel. We were on raised walkways made of clear plastic. We had to be very careful when moving from one to another, as they were all virtually invisible. Beneath us was a Hindi procession, including elephants. Many spectators were there. There was much excitement & happiness. We got to one end of the tube & the procession turned around to go back the other way. We followed along on the walkways above.

Sat., 3/29/08; I was working as an undercover agent at a building that was closed overnight. My shift was over & I got ready to leave. Other people (who I’d thought were civilians,) proved to be agents, as well. I hadn’t realized there were so many of us or how truly dangerous the assignment was. A woman was watching a nearby room, where another woman came out. A young, dark haired woman went in to take her place. She floated there as though in water. She had scarves that also floated around her. The background was light purple & red/orange. I left there & saw a large bug, which I knew was Charles. I followed him to a darkened stairwell. He went down the stairs, followed by a huge fire ant (about 2” long.) I also followed, partway, then sat on a step. Soon the ant was startled & ran back up the stairs. It got up my skirt before I could move, but managed not to totally panic. Soon I got it out of my skirt & I left the area.
The fire ant is probably from my mention of them in another recent post (& also from a couple of bites I got around the same time.) Ironically, Charles & I saw an enormous beetle on our deck today.

Last night's dream; I went to a market where pagan things were for sale. Everyone in the community had entered something. I’d ridden my bike a long way to get there. R.M. had the place where everything was showing, which gave her too much power (in my thinking.)
This is probably because yesterday was Abita Springs' "Whole Town Garage Sale" (which we ended up not attending, as it rained.)
If you click on any of the images for a larger view, keep in mind that the speckling there is on my wall (which I was shooting against,) not the glass.

(Update, Spring 2009; The long pieces at the bottom of this post were donated for WYES' "Art Collection Twelve" 2009 fundraiser. Later I learned that they were pulled from the auction.)

More Smushed Art & Lights Out

I did this smushed art tree last night as an experiment. Unfortunately I used a little too much water & some of the paint thinned a bit too much, but you live, you learn. Because of the overly-thin paint, however, the veining effect (which represents the tree bark pretty well,) shows through on both sides. I prefer the abstracts more, though--less hassle & the outcome's more of a surprise.

Tonight is "Lights Out America." From 8-9pm, people across the country will turn off their nonessential lights. Although this is primarily an environmentally-based event, I learned about it through the Int'l Dark Sky Association, who are all about reducing light pollution. As an amateur astronomer, I support the premise & encourage my readers to educate themselves on the issue.

Crazy 8's Meme

Little did I realize it, but Natural Woman tagged me a meme some weeks ago now. Only saw it tonight. That said, here we go...

8 Things I Am Passionate About
1. Charles.
2. Learning. No one can ever take it away from you.
3. Peace & quiet. Took a long time to get it. Now I’m enjoying it to the fullest.
4. Free time. Money is grossly overrated.
5. Nature. Nothing beats it, except maybe Charles.
6. The Celts. The only history/culture/language/etc. that’s ever managed to interest me.
7. My deck. My sanctuary. My birdwatching platform. My reading “room.” Where we were married. (See picture, above.)
8. Creativity. In whatever form it takes.

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
1. Visit Wales. I've been fascinated by it as long as I can remember...
2. Go back to Cedar Bay beach in Canada (numerous times.)
3. Visit the Pacific NW.
4. See ancient ruins (Machu Pichu, Stonehenge, the Pyramids or what have you.)
5. Lazy river tubing...again.
6. See a painted bunting in the wild. Preferably from my deck.
7. Swim with dolphins.
8. Retire to Arkansas with Charles.

8 Things I Say Often
1. I love you.
2. No, you.
3. These will be due back (insert future date here.)
4. Why is everyone so f*cking stupid? (It’s a “Team America” thing.)
5. Want to go to (insert natural area here)?
6. Do you need anything?
7. Nice blinker. (Why can’t people USE them anymore?)
8. St. Tammany Parish Library, Abita. (Answering the work phone.)

8 Books I Have Read Recently
1. Swords of Talera, by Charles Gramlich
2. Wings Over Talera, by Charles Gramlich
3. Witch of Talera, by Charles Gramlich
4. Taliesin; Shamanism & the Bardic Mysteries in Britain & Ireland
5. The North Light Book of Acrylic Painting Techniques
6. The Encyclopedia of Acrylic Techniques
7. Smithsonian Birds of North America
8. Nat’l Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southeastern States

8 Songs I Could Listen To Over and Over
1. The entire “Animals” album by Pink Floyd
2. The entire “Wish You Were Here” album by Pink Floyd
3. The entire “Dark Side of the Moon” album by Pink Floyd
4. The entire “The Wall” album by Pink Floyd
5. The entire “Meddle” album by Pink Floyd
6. A fair amount of the “A Momentary Lapse of Reason” album by Pink Floyd
7. The entire “Amused to Death” album by Roger Waters
8. “Let’s Groove” by Earth Wind & Fire (didn’t see THAT coming, did you?)

8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends
1. Genuineness. I have no use for a phony & I can smell them a mile away. Honesty is part of this, too.
2. Sense of humor. You have to have one to put up with mine.
3. An appreciation for music.
4. Intelligence.
5. Trustworthiness. I’d trust any of my friends with anything in my life.
6. Appreciation/respect for nature.
7. An open mind & inquisitive nature. I love long discussions of all kinds.
8. Kindness.

8 People Who Should Do Crazy 8’s
8 people who want to & have the time.

Recent Dreams

Sunday, 3/23/08; I was at work. My female coworker & I convinced our boss to take the day off & take us all to an amusement park. To our further delight, she said she’d pay. I went to the back room to get changed. I had a hard time finding a t-shirt, but eventually found my Celtic Tree shirt. At the amusement park, a lot of people were lined up to go on a ride that went through various animal paddocks. We skipped it, due to the long lines. Later we came upon some people broadcasting the news from within the park. As we left that area I looked up to see a camel coming toward me very quickly. I managed to get out of the way. Shortly afterwards, the same thing happened to my boss. We walked past the alpine sled ride, which my boss was too afraid to go on.

The ride through the animal paddocks & the camels are certainly a bleed through from our recent visit to Global Wildlife Center.
The alpine sled ride (which I can't remember the actual name of,) & the news broadcast are certainly from lost, miserable summers working at fairs throughout NY state for Mom & her boyfriend.
Charles bought me a really cool Celtic tree t-shirt some years ago at the local Renaissance Festival, which may also point to the "old days" working at the fairs.

Monday, 3/24/08; I was looking for something to wear. I came upon 2 bras. Someone else was there & I was embarrassed that they saw my bras. Later my old doctor found me & told me he’d been monitoring my blog & e-mails all this time. I realized that meant he knew of my displeasure with him, but he seemed not to take it personally or hold it against me.

Like in yesterday's dream, I'm looking for something to wear. Clothing can represent so much, from modesty & protection (covering one's nakedness,) to self-expression &/or disguise. That I'm embarrassed at someone seeing my bras tends to make me think it had more to do with the former, of course.
As for my old doctor, he had his good points & bad points, like anyone. I just have very little faith in any doctors anymore. After all, their business is illness & too many of them are in the pockets of major pharmaceutical companies. If they actually made people well, they'd be out of work. Welcome to 1984. <:(

Last night's dream; I was at work at a very large library. A patron's library card was in my pocket. I had to do something with it, but I was busy. He eventually confronted me about it. I apologized, did what I had to do & gave it back to him. Later I was riding bicycles with a couple of guys through a country area I used to live in. We rode by an old business I was familiar with. I turned to look at it & realized it had changed hands. It was something else now, which made me somewhat sad. A small building on the property was lifted off of the ground by ropes. I followed them with my eyes--they went up & over a tree branch, attaching to a large sign for the new business (for which the building was acting as a counterweight.) We saw a couple of large spiders on the ground. Soon after we reached our destination, where we saw an enormous spider (tarantula sized, at least,) or possibly 2 together on a tree. I was kind of freaked out about them, but glad they weren’t on the ground with us, anyway. Yet later I was bee keeping. I had my full suit on & was checking my hive, which was in a tree. The bees seemed sluggish at best, although the branch dripped with honey. I was worried for the bees, but then I realized that some of them were “coming to” & flying around me. I remembered my bee allergy & decided to leave the area before they got agitated by my presence.

The sluggish bees probably stem from my concerns about CCD.
Ironically, years ago I spent two days taking tests to determine my best job. I really looked forward to the results, as I'd always had a hard time picking something myself. The verdict finally came back; Apiarist. Unfortunately the test didn't determine what one's next best job was, so the entire process was a disappointment & a waste of time.
I'm also allergic to spider bites (& many other insects,) unfortunately, so it seems there's much danger for me toward the end of this dream. (Even now I'm still healing from 2 fire ant bites I rec'd over a year ago.)
Ironically, late this evening some kind of bug bit my shoulder, raising a huge welt. The next day a wasp flew into my open car window & practically landed on my face, nearly causing me to put the car in a ditch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The picture is of a dove challenging one of our red-bellied woodpeckers (regardless of the numerous, unused stumplets full of seed nearby.) I've seen them pull this repeatedly, but the woodpecker always wins. Easily.

Inspiration Strikes (Updated)

Because you don't put glass over acrylic paintings when you frame them, I have quite a few pieces of old framing glass piled up in my art room. During my break at work today, I was struck with an idea out of the blue. Why not glob some paint onto one of the pieces of glass & smush it around under another piece of glass? Not only would I finally have a use for all of that glass, but I'd effectively get 4 paintings out of each 2 pieces of glass. The paint is still drying in the top image, but they're dry in the images below. The first one below is of the wet paint side (there's a bit of reflection in the top right corner from the light above it. Almost impossible to photograph glass without at least some reflections.) The second one is the flat, glass side. As usual, click on the pictures for larger images.

Personally I like the pulled paint side better. The texture of the river-like protrusions are cool. Held up to the light, however, the protrusions show through the flat side, too. This could be fun!

Update, 2009; I gave one of these to a friend for his birthday last year & only have one left.

New/Old Painting

"Pentre Ifantasy"
16x20" acrylic on canvasboard

I'd done (& sold) a slightly different version of this last year. I prefer the brighter colors in this version, however. This also may have had something to do with the recent dream about artists & rainbow trees (although those trees were more pastel-colored than these.)

My Town Monday

I'd hoped to take some pictures of the local homes this past weekend, but there's really no safe parking on our narrow streets & people get creeped out by strangers photographing their homes. At any rate, here are some highlights from a pamphlet on the walking tour of Abita Springs' historical district;


Berkeley Gallery and Studio (from last week's MTM entry & #28 on the map, above,) is an example of a Vaccaro House.
As noted in the picture above, the Abita Springs pavilion (mentioned and displayed in previous MTM entries,) is on the National Register of Historical Places.

Now, in a different vein...

I was surprised to stumble upon this Carolina wren's nest in a folded up chair on my deck today. It seems to be abandoned, but I've left it there in case it's not.
One of many honeybees on clover in our backyard. Nice to see them around these days, even if I am allergic.
At the Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve, the plethora of carnivorous plants are starting to bloom. More on that next week...

"My Town Monday" is the brainchild of Travis Erwin. Visit his blog to view entries from all over.
Click the "My Town Monday" label below for previous posts about Abita Springs.

Second Round & LND

A man had to do something. A woman had to go through the same thing later, but now there was a dangerous element to it.

There's only 6 days left in the second round, so please vote (again) for my drinking story, "My First & Last Experience with Scotch," & get me into the final round!

The picture is of red trumpet vine, which grows wild around here. Evidently many people consider it a pest, but Charles & I (& apparently hummingbirds,) rather like it.

Dreams Come True..?

One of my readers recently asked if dream symbols sometimes find their way to my "real" life. Indeed they do (although I may have never come to realize it if I weren't so disciplined about keeping dream journals.) Some (of many) examples;
Nov. 16, 2000 ("real" life); A tree branch blew down in a storm, ripped off my porch light & the house's electrical supply. It landed on my car, causing $2700 worth of damage. I went to I.D.'s to email a friend (to let him know I was okay,) but I.D. wouldn't let me use his computer. I got mad about it & decided I'd just never go there again. Although I.D. & I have since reconciled, around this time we were having serious difficulties. This event was the straw that broke my back, where our tumultuous relationship was concerned. Soon after this, however, I remembered a recent dream & looked it up in my journal;
Nov. 13, 2000 (dream); I was at I.D.'s. One of us got mad at the other & I was leaving, intending never to return. There was also something about my car being scratched up & dented.

July 20, 2001 (dream); I was applying for a new job and hit it off well with the interviewer. She implied that I had the job, but after checking with the office she told me it'd been filled.
July 23, 2001 ("real" life); I had an interview for a new job & hit it off well with the interviewer. She implied that I had the job, but after checking with the office she told me it'd been filled.

Sept. 9, 2001 (dream); I was driving my car & saw a bald eagle fly low over the car. Also something about fireflies.
Sept. 11, 2001 ("real" life); World Trade Center & Pentagon hit by hijacked commercial airplanes.
(This instance also involved various physical symptoms I suffered around this time in "real" life. The entire story ended up published in the American Journal for Psychical Research.)

July 10, 2002 (dream); I was on a road trip, had driven a long time. Remembered that I'd only left with a 1/4 tank of gas, which meant I was surely near empty now.
The day after this dream my car broke down, acting like it wasn't getting gas (although I have a 1/4 tank.) I tell automotive friends about the problem & one comes by for a look. Everyone thinks it's the fuel pump. The next day I had my car towed to a local garage where, to my chagrin, I learn that my gas gauge must've crapped out recently--I'd merely run out of gas.
I think this incident was clearly related to subconscious knowledge, not some kind of strange coincidence or fluke. Part of my brain knew I'd been driving far too long on 1/4 tank of gas & was trying to get my conscious attention. If only I had listened!

August 4, 2002 (dream); I had a copy of M.Z. Bradley's "Mists of Avalon" for sale at my pagan shop. I spoke with a girl who came in about it.
August 14, 2002 ("real" life); Rec'd email from 17 year old girl; "Hi, I just visited your website for Niagara Pagans. I recently read Mists of Avalon, the tale of Arthur of the round table through the eyes of a priestess. After reading that book I realized that I believed in the ways of their pagan religion. I'm in the process of reading more about paganism. Any response to this e-mail would be greatly appreciated."

Wed., Oct. 30, 2002 (dream); Something about gangsta-rap, East v. West rivalry. Although I wasn't nuts about the spokesman (Michael Jackson,) I rooted for the East.
Oct. 31, 2002 ("real" life); In the news...
NEW YORK (Associated Press)--Jam Master Jay, a founding member of the pioneering rap trio Run-DMC, was shot and killed at his recording studio near the New York neighborhood where he grew up, police said. Two men were buzzed into the second floor studio shortly before shots were fired inside its lounge 7:30 p.m., Wednesday police said. As of early today, police had made no arrests. Mizell is the latest in a line of hip-hop artists to fall victim to violence. Rappers Notorious B.I.G. & Tupac Shakur were murdered within seven months of each other in 1996 and 1997--crimes that some believe were the result of an East Coast-West Coast rap war, but Run-DMC and their songs were never about violence. The group promoted education and unity. In 1986, the trio said they were outraged by the rise of fatal gang violence in L.A. They called for a day of peace between warring street gangs. "This is the 1st town where you feel the gangs from the minute you step into town to the time you leave," Mizell said at the time.

Dec. 17, 2002 (dream); R.H. & I got in a van. He drove in reverse quite a bit of a stretch, kind of veering this way & that.
Dec. 18, 2002 ("real" life); In the news...
MINNEAPOLIS (Associated Press)--Authorities were trying to determine what to do about a 7-year-old boy who stole a car, drove around for a while & crashed not just once, but twice. Around 8 a.m. Tuesday morning, the boy drove a stolen car in reverse & smashed it into another car, slightly injuring a 10 year old boy riding with his mother & younger sister in the other car, police said.

Sept. 25, 2004 (dream); I was in a car, riding through California. There'd been an earthquake.
Tues., Sept. 28, 2004 ("real" life); In the news...
PARKFIELD, California (Associated Press)--A strong earthquake shook the state Tuesday from Los Angeles to San Francisco, cracking pipes, breaking bottles of wine and knocking pictures from walls. There were no immediate reports of any injuries from the 6.0-magnitude quake and its more than 160 aftershocks.

Jan. 31, 2006 (dream); I was shot 3 times with a shotgun; once in the chest, once in the back & once (in the leg?)
Feb. 4, 2006 ("real" life); On Forensic Files a man was shot with a shotgun 3 times; once in the chest, one grazed his back & once in the lung.

What do these (& many other) examples show? At the end of the day, not a damned thing, really. Is any of this proof of premonitions in dreams? Not really. All of these events can be chalked up to coincidence, of course. There really is no proof one way or another & I doubt such proof will be found any time soon, either. Personally, I know I couldn't duplicate such events on command under any controlled conditions. I never go to bed trying to invoke premonitions--I just let my dreams happen. That they seem to be premonitions doesn't become clear until after the fact. Ultimately I don't have any power to change these events, anyway & many of them don't even affect me directly. Some are certainly intriguing, but there's really very little else to say about them.
I would love to see more research done in this field, but I can't even imagine how that would happen. This phenomenon seems to exist beyond the bounds of modern science, so how could anyone apply modern scientific practices toward the study of it?

LND; Artists Among Rainbow Trees

I was at work in an office. Outside the front door I saw someone standing in front of a forest. The trees blazed with fall colors. I decided to go out with my digital camera & get some pictures. Shortly after going out, the trees changed colors. At first they seemed to get duller, but soon they became brighter & more unreal (rainbow-colored.) I realized that people in the office saw me & resented me for not working. I didn’t care. Walking to a different area for another shot, I noticed some young people down among the trees. I went over to them. They were some kind of art community (inc. singers, painters, etc.) They didn’t seem to mind me being among them. As I focused to take another picture of the bright trees, a young woman spoke kindly to me. I hoped I could join them. I felt I belonged with them.

Bright/rainbow colors, again, typically symbolic of beauty &/or transformation. Also reminiscent of my art, which often involves surreally bright colors.
Also a desire to belong to a group, to find acceptance. This is probably from my younger days, when there was hardly a kind word said to me in 10 years (which is probably why I'm pretty anti-social these days.)

The picture is from a hike last Autumn (& seemed to fit the theme of the dream pretty well.)

Today is the first day of Spring (here in the Northern latitudes.) Enjoy. :)

LND; Mom's Severed Hand & Hostages at the Jail

I was outside in a vast field bordered in the distance on one side by shrubs. There were some low buildings & a couple of tall trees nearby. I had to get together with Mom. People warned me that her wrist was severely damaged. My Aunt told me her hand was held on by a single ribbon. In my mind I could see it; a wide, flat tendon linking her severed hand to her wrist. Soon I met up with her & I wouldn’t look at it. Fortunately she was wearing long sleeves, too, so I wasn’t likely to accidentally see it, either. Others joined in our conversation. A moderate wind picked up. I watched it sway the two nearby trees as the other people I was with continued speaking. I watched the trees fall, realizing that we weren’t going to be hit by them, at least. I knew they must have been too shallowly rooted to be blown down by the wind. Now there were no trees as far as the eye could see. It was very sad. Later I went to work as a security guard at some kind of legal building (like a local jail.) I was in a large room in the top floor of the building. It was mostly open, with lots of people sitting around in chairs, waiting. 3 young women were showing serious bad attitude, but they weren’t my responsibility. Unfortunately one drunken black woman was getting obnoxious & loud. I tried to reason with her calmly, explaining that I was only trying to help her, but she wouldn’t listen. It wasn’t my job to take her down (to the floor,) however, so soon others with more authority came & took her away. Then a short, thin, young man came in wielding a machine gun. He insisted that everyone go out onto the roof. Most people had to go out the door closest to the man, but 2 or 3 guys & I went out a different door on our side of the room. It was nighttime. Not far from the jail I saw a large, Victorian-style home with a carefully landscaped exterior & cars parked throughout the circular driveway. It was some kind of catering hall, & they were open. Realizing that we weren’t really being monitored by the gunman, I snuck back inside & called the neighboring business. I explained our predicament & they sent the police, who rescued us all & took the gunman away. I went down to street level & outside. Now it was daytime. Different shapes had formed in the sidewalk around the building. I help a guy pull them up. We were happy & laughed much.

Mom was suicidal almost constantly since my father's death in the late '70s (although her main mode of choice was pills, rather than knives.) Although the hospital labeled her demise a few years back due to pneumonia, I strongly suspect that one of her many overdoses finally worked. Ultimately her pain is over, which is the important part.
The fallen trees are probably a reflection of my regrets at the loss of America's longleaf pines, particularly since another half-acre was recently felled so close to our house.
I actually worked as a security guard for roughly 14 years (& would never do it again.) I would never have agreed to work at a jail, for sure. Contract security has to be the most thankless & lowest paying job there is, but there are benefits for those who can keep themselves entertained.
I usually consider a "black" man or woman as representing the Jungian "shadow" in myself.
This dream is another rare instance of me in the role of the hero. It's not overtly recognized in this instance, but it's reward enough to have foiled the gunman.

This picture of a hyacinth macaw is from our visit to Global Wildlife Center the other day.

Recent Dreams

Sunday night's dream; Charles & I were at a pagan flea market type event. We were invited to an open ritual afterwards, which we decided to attend. It was in an unfinished basement, down a long flight of stairs. We seemed to be among the first people there. Later 3 men had their citizenship stripped due to their anti-government stance. Although they were labeled “enemy combatants,” they weren’t exiled or outwardly hassled in any way. They were definitely watched, however.

Monday night's dream; A man & woman were dancing to “Greased Lightnin'” from the musical “Grease” in an automotive repair shop. The man climbed up onto some high scaffolding to do a flip back down to the floor, but he blew it & landed flat on his back. Later I was with Hyacinth Bucket, who insisted on doing something related to a shed in a field beneath an industrial antenna. The sky was black with thunderstorms--I knew we were in great danger. She bade me go to the shed for something. At least it would get me out of danger. I’d been in there before, on a ladder to the floor, which is below ground level. When I went in this time I fell all the way to the floor (where I’ve never been before.) For some reason, there’s concern that I won’t be able to get out on my own, but there’s no problem. I did what I had to & got out. Everything outside is now in bright, rainbow colors & Mrs. Bucket was fine.

Last night's dream; Jane Seymour was a land surveyor in Brazil who opened her own restaurant, which was all pretty surprising to me. I went outside, which was mostly pine forest. There was a hole in the ground about two feet deep & across. A raccoon fell into the hole & I left it there. Other small critters (who were able to talk,) were in the area. I spoke with some of them, including a lemur, a cat and an opossum. The cat fell into the hole the raccoon was in. I went over for a look. They weren’t very cramped, but the raccoon (who was now wearing human-style clothing,) was not doing well. It couldn’t get out & if I didn’t help it, it’d die, so (of course,) I did. It immediately showed improvement.

Lots of dreams lately about sunken floors, holes in the ground &/or basements.
Ironically, at work the next day, someone put the movie "Grease" on hold.

My Town Monday

This past Friday I participated in a "Meet the Artists" reception at the Berkeley Gallery and Studio here in Abita Springs. Our hostess was kind enough to introduce me to a photographer from Covington Magazine, so my picture may end up in an upcoming issue. I was pleased to overhear some positive comments about my artwork, to have met other, local artists & to get to know the gallery owner better. Charles was also kind enough to meet me there (I went straight from work,) & I appreciate his support. Things started out somewhat quietly, but once the wine started flowing (from the table closest to my art--bonus!) the party was on...

In other news, another movie was filming at Rauch's the other day. I've heard it was a scene from a Disney movie.

"My Town Monday" is the brainchild of Travis Erwin. Visit his blog to view entries from all over.
Click the "My Town Monday" label below for previous posts about Abita Springs.

Global Wildlife Center

Today we went to the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, LA (about 40 minutes from our home.) It was lots of fun & very informative--a good deal for the price. Enough talk, however. Here are some pictures (as usual, click for larger images)...

Safflower Seed BS & 2 Dreams

Friday night's dream; I went back to college after a holiday break. I ran into a cook, who was making chocolate chip muffins for the male students. They asked me to bring one to a guy to try, which I did. Later I was outside in the rain, heading to a different area of campus, computer keyboarding as I walked. I wasn't concerned about using electronics in the rain--all would be well.

Last night's dream; I was with Charles, John Krasinski & his girlfriend. Charles gave John & I tasks to do, involving treating parts of blue walls with matching spackle. I had to do artistic things, John had to do maintenance/repair things. John referred to me as his girlfriend, although everyone (including him,) knew I wasn’t. It was some kind of private joke. We went through the area, spackling as Charles had asked. When we were done we went back & got him. He inspected the work. Mine seemed to be up to par, but the repairs that John had done just weren’t going to cut it. I tried to defend him, to no avail. I showed Charles a house I painted on a wall with the spackle. It looked 3-dimensional.

The picture is of some of this afternoon's birds, which are coming back, now that we've given up on our brief, expensive & failed experiment with safflower seed. Squirrels allegedly won't eat it, but ours will. Although cardinals & other birds are supposed to love it, none of our birds liked it at all (many of our "usuals" haven't been back since.) What a waste of $25...and I only have 24 more pounds of it to get rid of.
Today we bought our "usual," cheap, mixed birdseed & sunflower seeds, & some of the birds started coming back, at least. I realized today that not only do we have a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers, but there's a second male around, too.

Sorry I haven't been around much lately (posting or commenting.) I've been busy working overtime in virtually every sense of the word. I'll be returning to my regular schedule soon.
Many thanks to those who are voting for my drinking story! :)