Bright Red

or
The Blue Boat
or
Dark Bark Lonely for Color
or
Enlightened Beetle


When i started my blog i did not plan to use photos. Now i feel kind of at loss without a photo. I hope you hang in here with me, well you don't have to.
My story today is not that interesting, but with the photos, i didn't take, there would at least have been some color. bright red and bright blue.

The weather is beautiful again, i do love these warm spring days and spend most of the day outside. Doing some spring cleaning, and the usual.
In the afternoon Kip comes over to show us something that happened in the last few days (i was in town).
You might know that i said that our place is quite sheltered. Kip has some property out here, the next lot over (kind of). His land is a natural meadow, but he cleared it some more, so it's probably 10/15 acres open. Now it turns out the wind can roar there! His cabin was lifted of it's footings and the boathouse completely destroyed.
And yes his beautiful bright blue wooden boat.. definitely damaged, laying on it's side. very sad.

I keep walking, loving it, but longing for color. (oh i remember now, i did see some bright red earlier, the cap of the Northern Flicker shining brightly in the sunlight, but that was not the bright red i was going to talk about.)
The mountains are still pure white, and the forest doesn't even have a shimmer of green.
Don't get me wrong, it is all lovely. And at the end of my walk close to home, i get a surprise. I come upon the biggest standing dead poplar i have ever seen. :)i like this. It's bark is what i use for my paintings. I run home to get a chisel and hammer to peel it off carefully. Carefully to try to get the widest pieces possible.

Ahhh as i peel of the bark, there it is, i am taking away someone's home. The most incredible bright red beetle. And here in this land devoid of color that is something. (i did wish i had my camera, you would have liked him too)

At home i work my pieces, they are going to be something!
And i look up what kind of neat beetle i have seen.....
hmmmm i am very disappointed with it's name, it is
-Flat Bark Beetle-. How? Why?
to console me it's Latin family name gives me some hope, that it is a special beetle.
It is Cucujidae
dae - is used by all insects (i think)
that leaves us with cucuji
cucu - cuckoo
and to at least certain people in India, ji - is an additive given to you when;
You have come to realize your true Self. (right?)
So there you go this beetle is an - Enlightened Bird - i knew it.
(i made this up) (oh you guessed)