Florida, Oddly Enough

 

Found, one old garden gnome. This heavy old well made gnome was found at the dumpsters, lying face down amidst an old mattress pad, a small basket, and a space heater. People who hate to throw things away will leave things sitting on the edge of the huge compacting dumpster frame. There is never not anything there. It's always worth a look, and this is my best find, so far. I got a really nice toaster for school there, too. I've set a few things out there, myself. Even though he's faded and worn, his blue eyes have beautiful dainty eyelashes painted on, and his shapely little legs are jauntily crossed. I like that he's got a satchel slung across his shoulder. He is holding something in his left hand but it has eroded away. Could have been a pipe or tankard. From the back and bottom of the gnome you can see that his pants were once red and his shirt yellow. We sat him on a knee of a cypress tree out back. I think he'll like it there. I'm imagining him watching the bobcats and boars crossing through the woods on their silent nightly rounds. Here is an image of him taken last night after we cleaned him up and made him comfy on his new seat:

I finished Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood, this week, on my commute. It was a really nice set of interconnected short stories about family, and loyalty, and the different ways we all view our roles within those parameters. Nell, Tig, and Nell's sister Lizzie, make up the main characters. It begins with an elderly Nell and Tig reading the morning news, and Nell's imaginings of a place they visited long ago. Then we begin with her story of her childhood when her mother was pregnant with Lizzie. I loved how clearly and easily Atwood explored the inner workings of Nell, the child, and in all her other phases of life as the stories progressed through time. 

In other news I found interesting tracks at the creek. See if you can deduce what happened here...

Cheers!

~Dorothy Dolores