When Eyes Wander ~

Why is it when I'm on the road,  my eyes automatically go to road kill?  My eyes aren't usually the kind that seeks out bad things.  My eyes don't gravitate to dirty diapers or snotty noses or people picking their teeth.   My  eyes don't seek out low cut blouses with breasts gushing out nor do they seek out low cut pants with visible butt cracks.   My eyes definitely stay away from street fights that might result in spilled blood.  My eyes don't watch movies that aren't musical or comedy.  Well, they might watch a bit of mystery and Harry Potter. 

My eyes do go to people on the street....often times because of the photo possibilities, not because of their state of being.  I find homeless people and dogs with no homes very sad.   They have strayed and are stray and I can do but a little to bring them some comfort.   














So, why yesterday on a road trip to do a local quilt guild program, did my eyes gravitate more than once to road kill.  And, what's more my eyes wanted to identify each type of kill.  Some were obvious:  the large deer easily identified by its size:  skinny legs and all.   The raccoon with its striped tail and black mascara ringed eyes.....the armadillo with its hard back.  Oh, and the poor little opossum with its cute little pointy nose.  Even the occasional squirrel.  I know them because they always fall from the utility line right smack dab in the middle of the road.  You would think that with their tight-rope-walking agility they could get safely across the high wire.  Perhaps they stop to answer the call of the wild or that ever present telephone call and get distracted. 

And let's not forget the fragrant skunk. My eyes seldom see the skunk remains, but they definitely tear up over the perfume in the air.   Is it their last farewell?  "Up yours too.....bad ass car!" 

But yesterday, what put me in a quandary?   My eyes saw it from a quarter mile out and immediately started the identification process.   There it was, a huge, dark, spikey-like clump.  Was it a turkey?  Getting closer, the guessing game continued.....perhaps a wild pig?  No.  Getting closer....can't be a big vulture or a hairy dog.  Getting closer, I veered around the road maintenance mowing machine and continued my corpse ident and what a disappointment it was when finally! 

This book just arrived and it is a feast for the eyes. 

We've had so much rain these past few weeks that the mowing machines are bogging down and when they get themselves out of the muck and mire in the ditches, they are leaving trails of mud.    Now, my eyes have a new "kill" to process - MUD.     Yes, It was a fun day and a fun journey to and from. 



Block designed by Monika Wintermantel
In the book Modern Blocks, page 40