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

Lion Head & Last Night's Dream; Spiritual Group 2007-11-30 09:58:00 I was the leader of a spiritual group. We had our own headquarters, where we spent much of our time. The main room was large & open. We had various papers or small sculptures relating to our cause. They were artistic, however, as opposed to prosteletyzing. At one point we'd put them up on a shelf like a loft near the front door, but soon I realized that they should be out & on display, so I moved them to a table nearby. Shortly afterwards, I engaged J.B. in a slow dance to "Sentimental Journey." At first he was hesitant, but once he realized the song, he acquiesced. We didn’t hold each other close, as we were platonic friends.The lion's head was requested many years ago by a group of high school students who had lost their friend in a tragic car accident. It was to represent their friend's nobility and courage. I didn't charge them for it. ... Amp

Canada Goose & Last Night's Dream; Jimmy Johnson, Sea-doos & Stars 2007-11-29 18:40:00 I was dating Jimmy Johnson. We were sitting at a table, talking. Later I had an old, smaller style, red sea-doo. I buzzed around in an indoor, man-made pool of some kind with other entertainers. My sea-doo rode particularly low in the water, but according to piped-in instructions, the lower the better. Eventually C.G. called me over to one side & extended legs from under the front of it, which made it more like a ski-doo. We all had to do some office work from time to time. I resented it greatly--it wasn’t the job I’d applied for & we got no extra pay for it. The rest of the group turned it into a kind of social hour, during which they spoke to one another or to friends on the phone. Keanu Reaves & Alex Winter talked about how they stop by their online fan site for a few minutes every day, although they clearly held most of their fans in contempt for idolizing them so.I wanted to portray this Canada Goose (above) by only drawing the dark parts on white paper--kind of a study in pos ... Amp

Middle Name Meme 2007-11-29 09:19:00 I was tagged by Julie. Here are the rules:1. Post these rules before you give the facts.2. List one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name make one up or use the one you would have liked to have had.3. When you are tagged write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.4. At the end of your post, choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.R; Roxlynn was almost my first name. I'm glad it's not, as people seem to have enough trouble with "Lana."O; Ontario. I lived there for nearly 20 years & never learned all the words to "O Canada" (there's a line toward the end that I always have to fake.)S; Scrabble is my favorite board game & I'll likely beat you at it.E; Egrets. I'd always wanted to see one & there are a lot here in S. Louisiana. Most of the locals call every wading bird (includ ...

Wood Duck & Last Night's Dream; Helicopter, Books & Teddy Ruxpin 2007-11-28 10:10:00 I was with a man (Gene Hackman?) who took us up in a helicopter. It had to be parked in a particular spot, so it could be hooked up to something on the ground (a recharger?) At one point I was allowed to take the helicopter up, myself. I had fun flying around the area before I realized that I don't know how to fly a helicopter. I landed kind of fast & hard, on the other side of a building from where the helicopter needed to be hooked up. Other people were on the ground now. When I asked the man if I needed to move the helicopter to the other spot (for hookup,) he was clearly exasperated & said, "Yes," but he would do it. Later I was at the library, shelving all different kinds of books (fiction & non-fiction,) about native Americans. We had at least 3 long shelves full of them & I was putting related books together. The spines of the books didn't have titles, but rather illustrations of the native Americans depicted within. On the bottom shelf I found a book on how to draw a remorhaz ... Amp

New Painting & Correction 2007-11-27 23:02:00 Did this little painting tonight; "Misty Autumn Morning." It was inspired by another picture I took back in Canada.I also need to correct a claim I made on my Nov. 24th posts; Mars is not currently in Leo, it's in Gemini. I was thrown on Saturday primarily due to the full moon, which washed out many of the stars that night. Since I sleep nights these days (instead of working,) I don't spend the time I used to monitoring the stars' rotations & locations. I thought something didn't seem right about it the other night & tonight I was able to clearly see my error. Apologies. ... Amp

Last Night's Dream; Catalogue Shopping & "Requiem for a Dream" 2007-11-27 07:52:00 I was perusing a catalogue (paper, not online,) & picked out a couple of small things I liked that I could afford. One was a square, mostly blue, leaded glass decoration (to hang in a window.) Somehow both items & shipping came to less than $20. Later I was in an SUV at the beach with a male friend. We had the back hatch open & were relaxing in the back, watching people go by. I was telling him about the movie, "Requiem for a Dream," trying to explain what it was about. There's so much to it, of course, that I was having difficulty, but he seemed to get the gist, regardless.A good friend introduced me to the unedited version of "Requiem for a Dream" some years ago. This may be the most horrific movie I've ever seen, perhaps because it's events are completely viable in real life & no doubt happen to people every day. It had a profound effect on me. Sara's struggles with loneliness, delusion & ultimately madness were all too reminiscent of my own mother's past issues & toward the en ... Amp

Last Night's Dream; Clean Car & Break In at the Old Neighborhood 2007-11-26 08:57:00 Someone had washed my car. Although it was nice of them, I knew it was a pretty pointless exercise. Later I went to the old neighborhood, where I had to break into a 2-story house to do something upstairs. Most of one wall was glass--the general design of the place was very modern. On my way out, I passed Mr. Archer's house. I cast a furtive glance in that direction, assuming he was still mad at me. I went to a different neighborhood, where I had to meet up with others in a sheltered area behind an apartment building on the corner.Washing my car is a pointless exercise because the streets in my neighborhood aren't paved. As a result, it's covered in new dust every day. Considering this, I haven't bothered to wash it since we moved in 15 months ago. Every so often a good rain comes along & gives it a rinse, which is the best I can hope for.Mr. Archer was a man who lived down the street from me who had always been pretty friendly (probably too friendly for my parents' comfort, altho ... Amp

Blue Birds 2007-11-25 12:22:00 Bluebirds are rare visitors to my feeders, but I was fortunate enough to see one this morning. Although we had quite a few blue jays all summer, they'd vanished like the red-bellied woodpeckers. It appears that one of them has returned, as well. Although their "song" is a bit harsh on the ears, very little is more lovely to the eyes. ...

Last Night's Dream; Duck Game, Car "Ride" & My Ex 2007-11-25 11:52:00 I was in a large atrium at a mall. There were video games against one wall. One of the games had to do with ducks. Later I was outside at a fair. One of the rides consisted of a large structure with 3 separate arms. 2 of the arms were for people, one was for people in their cars & trucks, which were set in neutral. It made me very nervous as it clearly had to be unbalanced. I was certain that disaster loomed. Someone asked me if I wanted to ride, which I certainly didn't. Later my ex showed up, wanting some of this things back. I didn’t even want to speak to him. Soon he wanted us to get back together, but I wasn't interested in the slightest. He ended up sleeping on a couch that was perpendicular to another couch with a young man sleeping there. The area was cluttered, filled with piles of clothes.The painting here, "Stellar Nursury," is one of the few things I've enjoyed airbrushing. Unfortunately, outside of the 70's van market, there's not much call for nebulous space scenes ... Amp

Last Night's Dream; Alcoholic Mom, Star Map, Biking for Art & Mad at C.G. 2007-11-24 14:03:00 I was with Mom at a bar. I didn’t want to be there, but had no choice. I let her know I wasn’t impressed. In a little while a woman came over & sat with us. She had a strange map of the night sky. There was a huge dot in the area of Leo (the constellation.) She confirmed what I’d thought—it was Mars. There were also 3 dots close together to the right of Leo. I’d thought they were planets, too, & excitedly called someone (C.G.?) over to look at them. The names written near the dots were clearly not planetary, however. I assumed they were asteroids, which were still exciting to me. I asked the woman where the constellation Libra was. She told me it was off the edge of the map to the right, as it was already setting. A couple of other women came. One of them asked if I’d like to go on a charity motorcycle ride to support the arts. I agreed & told Mom I was going, regardless of her protests. On my way out I ran into C.G., who I was very mad at. I’d written him a note, explain ... Amp

Last Night's Pictures & Hike 2007-11-24 13:25:00 A raccoon & an opossum came up for some scraps last night. I was surprised they were so tolerant of one another.Later we went for a midnight hike at the Flatwoods. I always used to make a point of going on full moon night hikes & hope to reinstate that now that things are settling down (although I'm not leaving the house in August, EVER, now that I live in "the deep South.")MarsSirius, the brightest star in our sky after the Sun. Find it by following Orion's belt down toward the horizon. It's the enormously bright star--you can't possibly miss it. I was fortunate enough to view it once through a high powered telescope, where it glittered & flashed like no diamond ever could.The moon through some cloud cover. Within five minutes of our arriving for the hike, the clouds gave way completely. The full moon was so bright it looked like predawn.We heard some critters during our hike, including a bird close to the path that took off as we approached, but we weren't able to see anything ( ... Amp

Some Eye Candy 2007-11-24 10:52:00 One of my favorite "kids," a Carolina Wren. He stopped by for a visit during our wedding last month. I recently discovered that there are actually two around. Most of the past year I've only ever seen one.Sunrise over Niagara Falls.One of my personal faves & a bestselling print (regardless of the powers that be considering it "not art"); "Flight."I was tremendously pleased to see this female red-bellied woodpecker out back today. We had a local pair for most of the past year (they were the first birds that came to our feeders.) We were fortunate enough to see them bring their three chicks this past Spring, but shortly after that they all just vanished. Hopefully this means they're back. ...

An Imposter Among Doves & Fire Fairies 2007-11-23 16:21:00 Snapping pictures of a flock of roughly 15 mourning doves out back, I inadvertantly caught a little imposter among them. This little pine warbler (on the stump to the right,) swooped in at the perfect moment. (As usual, click on the picture for a larger version.)A sketch I did earlier this year; "Fire Fairies." The original doesn't have as much contrast as this scan, but it's the only way the details would show clearly. I tried airbrushing it about 2 months ago, but it turned out to be a frustrating, utter failure. I haven't touched the airbrush since. If anything, I've been trying to sell the whole setup...cheap. ... Amp

Yesterday's Critters & Last Night's Dream; Disaster Info 2007-11-23 09:41:00 A woman was going from trailer to trailer for information on the local area. There’d recently been some kind of disaster. A woman at one of the trailers clearly didn't care, didn't want to help the other woman.The trailers in this dream were more akin to vending trailers (like you see at fairs & special events,) than FEMA trailers, although the disaster part is reminiscent of the latter.Yesterday, possibly owing to the extreme number of birds we had at our feeders (upwards of 30 or so,) a variety of different ones were kind enough to perch on nearby tree branches, allowing me to snap this chipping sparrow up close in all his glory. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards I was able to snap 4 squirrels meeting for lunch at Chez Lana, too. As it was Thanksgiving, however, I allowed them a short meal before chasing them off. ... Amp

Thanksgiving at Abita Creek Flatwoods Preserve 2007-11-22 22:55:00 After Thanksgiving buffet lunch at a local restaurant (we're having our "formal" dinner on Sat.,) my husband & I enjoyed a peaceful stroll through our local nature center. Highlights;A couple of bluebirds (amidst a group of about 12 that flitted around so frenetically I was surprised to even get this photo of 2.)One of two large flocks that joined ahead of us to form Superflock. Unfortunately we hadn't brought the binoculars, so we weren't able to identify these birds. Amazing how they move in unison, however, like a school of fish.Reflections of the Autumn woods in the waters of Abita Creek.The nearly full moon rising over the woods. ...