Dawn in the Marsh - Found Painting #1 - Gerry Sell
The warm weather held through Saturday, and it was a great relief to go down to the beach with the dogs and stop thinking about Stuff for awhile. We walked a long way. Miss Sadie did some spin-dancing, the Cowboy did some rolling, I inspected. Lake, check. Sand, check. Rocks, check. The Leelanau Peninsula is stretched out along the distant horizon, just as it is supposed to be. So far so good.
The pussy willows were in full bloom, a little disheveled by the rainstorm of Friday night but apparently full of enticements for the tiniest beach dwellers.
An interesting little plant that I haven’t identified is thriving down there. Upon close inspection, I saw that it has hairy little leaves and stems, and seems to exude a clear sap that might attract insects. Dunno whether the plant is looking for collaborators in the reproduction process or for food. Life is complex that way, isn’t it? You never know whether a dinner invitation means that you will eat well or be the entree. Anyway, take a look, see what you think, tell me what you know or guess. (Those glassy blobs are definitely sticky, not raindrops.)
There were a lot of Lost Objects tangled in the beach grass or half buried in the sand. When we got home I had quite a collection to dump in the trash. It’s sad to see bits and pieces of celebrations end up as litter.
The Cowboy understands how things can get lost while you’re thinking about other things, or maybe doing a little rolling or spin-dancing.
In due course we found Miss Sadie and reunited her with her collar. She would have preferred to go topless, but we were persuasive.
There were also many Found Objects inviting playful interference. Inspired by a friend who has a passion for embellishment, I experimented with rearranging things. (I’ll make a post of the results at Today’s Prompt. There’s only so much I can stuff into a TLV post before you go wandering off, distracted.)
I hope you had some playtime over the weekend too. Snowbirds – it may be safe to come back now.
Torch Lake Views 
shoreacres
March 25, 2012
The first photo is cool. What is it? It looks like a terrain map from a satellite image – Google Earth run amuk.
That plant is pretty strange, too. Mr. Smarty Plants probably could give you an ID pronto, although I’m sure you’ve got all kinds of Michigan websites.. I did a little looking, but got stuck reading in horror about the Giant Hogweed and decided to stop.
The best photo is of The Cowboy. That one made me laugh out loud!
Gerry
March 25, 2012
(1) I thought it looked sort of like a map, too – with a decorative border of birds and flowers.
(2) The mystery plant will probably remain unidentified until later in the season, assuming it flowers. I’ve lost my touch. Also, the web has less useful information than it used to, and more fooforaw.
(3) The Cowboy is almost always good for a laugh, or a snuggle, or an eyewatering emission of some sort.
P.j. grath
March 25, 2012
Gerry, I love “Dawn in the Marsh.” As for the mystery plant, let me know if it has yellow flowers later on in the season.
Gerry
March 25, 2012
Thank you. I have an evening version too. I have decided to specialize in found paintings.
I will definitely keep you in the loop with respect to the mystery plant. It has me flummoxed.
Sybil
March 25, 2012
That plant is fascinating. I bet Amy-Lynn (Flandrum Hill) would know what it is.
People don’t realize when they release balloons the impact they can have upon wildlife.
Gerry
March 25, 2012
I expect Amy-Lynn is putting a cute little kid to work identifying the mystery plant as we speak.
I never thought about the balloon problem either until the detritus started turning up on the beach regularly.
Martha
March 25, 2012
I’m not sure what that gooey stuff is and I don’t know the plant. That would help. It may be a parasite.
I pick up junk along the beach all the time. Really need to take a bag along just to collect the garbage sometimes. Shame.
Cowboy photo is very cute and I bet Miss Sadie is a rocket when she wants to be.
Throw a log on tonight!
Gerry
March 25, 2012
I’m fairly sure that the clear goo is a kind of sap that the plant makes itself. I could be wrong. I’ll keep an eye on it. See what it does.
Lots of trash lands on the beach because it fell (or was tossed) in the water, or because it blew there. Lots of it is leftovers from beach parties. All of it’s a mess.
The Cowboy is secure in his cuteness. Miss Sadie is, as you surmise, a rocket.
The wind was coming out of the north this afternoon, and it was so cold, even in the bright sunshine, that we could not stay down on the beach. I’m glad I didn’t take the window quilts down yet.
Dawn
March 25, 2012
Love the found picture/painting? Will go over to other site to see what else you’ve been up to. Have you been thinking heavy thoughts? I’ve always found the lake was good for listening. Cowboy is adorable but don’t tell him…he’d blush. Have no idea on the plant.
Gerry
March 25, 2012
Thank you. Haven’t finished the post for Today’s Prompt yet but I will. I should rename it “This quarter’s prompt” or something. Haven’t been lugging around heavy thoughts so much as listening to the squirrel cage rattle. Sometimes a person can overthink. Well, this person. You’re right about the lake, though. Also about Cowboy, except that he wouldn’t blush. He’s comfortable with being adorable, much as Katie is accustomed to being beautiful. I have no idea on the plant either.
tootlepedal
March 26, 2012
Plenty to for you to do and us to see. Another good read. Thank you.
Gerry
March 26, 2012
Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it. Nice to have your company.
Giiid
March 26, 2012
I like the “found painting” too, the painter obviously didn´t. Or perhaps it was a gift delivered at the baloon party, which didn´t really matched the taste of the one who got it? Anyway you put an important light on responsability when it comes to behaviour in nature.
The necessity of keeping the nature clean, apparently has to be told again and again, you did a great job by doing it. Denmark has a “collect garbage day” in april, last year was collected 161.000 kilo of garbage.
(Don´t compare, they were more people to do it.)
Gerry
March 26, 2012
Ah. I can see that I have been confusing. The “found painting” was not really a painting but an image that I found in a natural object that struck me as very much like a painting. I will tell you all about it but not this morning.
It strikes me that writing about litter on Torch Lake Views is preaching to the choir. What we need to do is find ways to strike a chord with people who don’t mean to do anything irresponsible, but have just never stopped to think about it, or have never seen it from that perspective.
We used to have public service ads on TV when I was a child that tried to persuade people not to litter. I always thought they were dumb – that anyone who would do such a thing was beyond redemption by television. Many years later I said that to a friend and he told me that I was wrong. He said that he had been a casual litterer much of his life, but that the ads had made him think, and that he had changed his habits.
It was a good lesson for me. Other people are always teaching me important things by challenging my assumptions.
Giiid
March 26, 2012
..”an image that I found”…it means that you are the artist then. Well seen!
Gerry
March 26, 2012
Oh, OK, here you go: Found Paintings
flandrumhill
March 27, 2012
I still haven’t come across any pussywillows. The ones in my yard seem to have vanished 😦
Could that mystery plant be in the wild carrot family? I did a lot of searching and came up with nothing that came close.