The Dreaming Tree The art, photography & dreams of Lana Gramlich. Also notes on nature sciences (astronomy, parklands, etc.,) & dream related subjects. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 8 0 0 3232

Articles from The Dreaming Tree

Last Night's Dream; Haircut & Robo-prison 2007-12-29 20:30:00 I was at work. My manager told me she'd spoken with our mutual coworker & they'd decided I needed to trim my hair. As it's more than overdue, I complied. Later I was in a strange prison run by a robot. It was like an abandoned city with buildings filled with various flotsam & litter. I was free to devise a plan of escape, but the area was so large it was doubtful I'd ever find my way out, anyway.I think the robot jailer was inspired by a Futurama episode I watched before bed. The haircut I really do need, but I'm hoping to donate to locks of love. Although I have the req'd 10" at this point, I'm hoping to hold off until June, when I'll have more. ... Amp

Pine Sketch, Dream & Astronomy 2007-12-28 19:35:00 Last night's dream; I was wearing a nice dress on a luxury worldwide airline cruise with stopovers at different countries. During one stop, I overheard a stewardess mention a deathly serious mechanical problem with the plane. By the time take off came I'd convinced myself that there'd be nothing to worry about (at least through this flight.) As the plane made its final approach to the next stop I put my winter boots on. After landing I tried to put my booted feet into pointy, high-heeled dress shoes I had, but they wouldn't fit.At least one thing's right--pointy, high-heeled dress shoes don't "fit" me.Tonight Saturn is in conjunction with the Moon. It'll be the bright "star" nearby. ... Amp  Astronomy

Goldfinches & Others 2007-12-26 17:36:00 I was delighted to see goldfinches at the feeders today. This is the first I've seen of them since I moved here. ... Amp

Mrs. Towhee & Last Night's Dream; Ramsay Shows & the Keyboard 2007-12-24 10:29:00 Heather won Hell's Kitchen, but ended up at a restaurant named "Purnima" in India. A map indicated the area it was in. She was still happy & doing well. I wondered how her family felt about having to move to India, & what had happened to the restaurant in Las Vegas. Later I had a small, electronic keyboard. While away from it, a man came & took it to an adjacent room. He started playing Xmas hymns & carols on it. I was annoyed because he didn’t ask me if he could use it.Another dream at least partly influenced by "real" life, as I watched Heather win Hell's Kitchen last night. I didn't realize until composing this post that she didn't actually end up at the restaurant she'd been promised. I don't know how I got into Hell's Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares. I'm not all that into cooking or the restaurant business, but somehow I'm hooked.I was delighted to get the picture this morning of the female Eastern towhee. Although the male is a fairly regular visitor, I rarely see the fe ... Amp

Quiz & Last Night's Dream; Business & the Black Building 2007-12-22 16:30:00 An old client from my former job looked me up to help him with a project, as he knew I'd do a good job (& old company wouldn't.) I told my new employer about it & they were pleased that my reputation brought in new business. Later I was at a college, between 2 big buildings. The one on the right was generic & nondescript, but the one on the left was made of black glass. A small group of young women were near the generic building. Another young woman was on a set of concrete stairs outside the black building. I went up to speak to her. She told me about a woman who had killed herself. I continued up the stairs & went into the building on the 2nd floor.The picture is of saw palmetto leaves outside of my bank yesterday. I not only loved the colors, but the way some of the fronds weaved themselves together like bright ribbons.Even if you're not an artist, give the Right Brain/Left Brain Quiz for Artists a shot. If you're not an artist, replace art-related words with those that apply to ... Amp

Mandeville Trailhead Community Market 2007-12-22 15:21:00 As previously mentioned, today Charles & I went to vend at the MTCM. Although it was breezy & cloudy, temps were in the high 70s & the rain held off. I managed to sell a couple of paintings, both to one person. One was the yellow abstract with the red stripe (hanging on the gridwall in the picture,) the other was "Inner Child." My faith in humanity is restored!The boy in this picture was with the people in the booth next door. He wasn't terribly outgoing or friendly until Charles mentioned Harry Potter, when he suddenly jerked to a stop & hung around to talk a bit. Kids are funny.Although I'd remembered some of my dreams from last night, the speed at which I had to get conscious & moving this morning banished them to obscurity. Tomorrow will undoubtedly be better, as I'll be sleeping in & taking my time getting up. Ahhhhh... ...

Astronomically speaking... 2007-12-21 11:06:00 Saturday; The Ursid meteor shower (named for Ursa Minor, aka the little dipper & home of polaris,) is likely to be washed out by the Moon. This is particularly unfortunate, as an outburst (sometimes referred to as a meteor storm,) is expected. North America is not the place to be this year, but those in Europe & Asia may see at least something. A side note regarding polaris; Although it's the brightest star in Ursa Minor, it's not a very bright star in the sky, overall (contrary to popular assumption.) An indicator of North, it's a good one to be able to locate accurately. You never know when you might get lost while looking for a Christmas tree, after all...Sunday; Jupiter is in conjunction with the Sun and pumpkin-orange Mars is in conjunction with the Full Moon. Disclaimer; DO NOT try to view any solar conjunctions without proper ocular protection, ever, as you risk blindness!Monday; Mars is at opposition, meaning it is directly across the sky from the Sun (as seen from our plane ...

My Deck & Last Night's Dream; Another Frustrating Market 2007-12-21 10:55:00 I was vending at an indoor market with A.B. I hadn't put everything I had out on formal display, some things were still tucked away in bags. I had to step away for a moment to take care of something & when I got back, she & another woman had taken everything out & put it on display. Although it looked good, I was afraid it was for naught. More people stopped to look & ask questions, but most of them were critical. Although I did manage to sell a few things, soon I decided to pack it in. Shortly after we left I realized that A.B. had forgotten some things, so I went back to get them.This dream clearly reflects my doubts about tomorrow's market. At least their fee is a very reasonable $15. Most places around here charge $75 or more.Unfortunately we never did get that dense fog last night, but that didn't stop me from sitting out on our candlelit deck last night (see picture,) listening to the frogs. Our deck is my sanctuary from the insanity of everyday life, where I can sit in peace, ... Amp

Sunset & Last Night's Dream; Hubby, Art & $5 Shakedown 2007-12-20 21:04:00 I was in a short, dark hallway with my husband, a younger man. Someone came along & said I needed to give them money. I went to D.D.'s. I'd given him many paintings & colored pencil sketches & thought that maybe I could get one back to sell. I was insulted that they were still on the floor, piled up, not displayed. As I looked through them I got upset. I found one that had even been altered by his friends with a black magic marker. Someone brought me the phone. My mom was on the line. I took the call. She insisted that I stop having sex with my husband. I knew the request was coming from his mom, originally. I got more upset than I already was & growled, "I'm a 40 year old woman & he's my HUSBAND!" As I argued that I wouldn't comply, an angry man came & demanded $5 in a threatening way. I insisted that I didn't have it. He kept shouting at me & threatening me, so I put mom on hold. I took the man to a nearby table where some people were eating sandwiches. I picked up a jar of may ... Amp

Moon & Art Quiz 2007-12-19 23:57:00 Took this picture of the clouded-over moon through the pines this evening. Although I have no tripod, I kind of like the artsy way it came out--kind of surreal & ghostly. Speaking of which, here's a bit of fun; "Is it Art or is it Just Plain Old Crap" quiz. I got 13/16, how about you? ... Amp

Drawing & Last Night's Dream; Business as Unusual 2007-12-19 09:09:00 A union or other organization was touring a factory to take down a corporation that was abusing it's employees. Later I was handling a young man's business (via his cell phone.) One call involved his boat. When he joined me he took his phone back, but seemed to expect me to continue to make decisions for him. At one point we'd gone to a young woman's house to buy something. She opened the front door. He was bent over, as though tying his shoelace. I asked him what he wanted & he mumbled something incoherently. The woman tried to guess what he wanted, looking at me. I just shrugged, not knowing, myself. I was getting annoyed with the young man.I did the pencil drawing back in 1985 (I think it was.) Does anyone besides me recognize this musical duo? ... Amp

Favorite Picture Meme & a Laugh at Work 2007-12-18 23:51:00 Julie (see "Virtual Journey" among my blog links,) suggested a meme in which people post their favorite pictures & create a story about it. This is my favorite picture, from Forest Lawn Cemetary in Buffalo, NY. My story is more a caption, but I'm no writer;Basil had said it would be a cold day in hell before he'd allow his wife a divorce. Basil was right.I'm not really sure why this is my favorite picture. There's something about the starkness, the dead weeds & plants, the classic black & white like the contrast of life & death, itself.In other news, I had a chuckle at work when I tried to access my blog today. It's never been an issue before, but suddenly some of my pictures were coming up as broken jpgs, & when I clicked on them I got a message saying the firewall blocked them as pornography. I e-mailed our Net Admin about it; "I realize that 'titmouse,' 'white-throat' & 'my head shot' might sound dicey, but I promise that there's nothing pornographic about them." He was ... Amp

Last Night's Dream; Synagogue, Work, Religious Group 2007-12-18 22:59:00 I went back to the old Synagogue. As I wandered around, I found small things from my past, which I gathered up to take with me. I went back again later. Rabbi Fogel wasn't there & I knew he'd died. There were a couple of women in a large meeting room; one thin, one fat. Then I was at work, taking covers out of the new easy reader books to put in the back room. Later I was part of a religious group, getting ready to attend a meeting. I was trying to find something to wear. At first I was going to wear a teal colored polar fleece jumpsuit, but I realized that it'd be too hot & too much of a pain to deal with if I had to use the bathroom. I ended up putting on a white shirt & red pants. I considered wearing a light blue denim shirt on top of the white one, but decided against it, as it would be too "red, white & blue." I went to the meeting. The group was friendly & the leaders were pleased; they all accepted me. Afterwards a few of us were walking home. We all lived near one another i ...

Spray Paint Space Art 2007-12-17 23:28:00 These guys amaze me...If you don't have time to watch the top video, here's an example of one of these paintings done in a minute; ...

Robins 2007-12-17 15:57:00 Not only were there dozens of robins in the front yard (as mentioned in the previous post,) but there were dozens in the back yard, as well. I use the past tense because our yard guy's here to cut the grass, so all the birds have moved on to quieter pastures for the time being. There are 7 robins in the top shot, which I had to take through a window. When I opened the door for a better picture of the whole crowd, they all took off (as evidenced by the 13 robins flying in the bottom picture.) Still, nice to see them back again. Although many people consider them "common" birds, they're migratory down here--we only get them for a couple of months--so they're always a delight to see. A bit of an adjustment, however--up in Canada they were a harbinger of Spring. Here in southern Louisiana they're more an indicator of Winter's arrival. ...