11/15/2009

Have You Lost Your Marbles?

Still in a rambling mood, as the mild weather persists, drawing me outdoors to go gathering Christmas decorations. Pine, cedar and spruce boughs, sumac flowers, raspberry canes, some winterberry, and suddenly it's Christmas.
The well dressed Ottawa Valley girl always has her clippers with her...no, not nails, but garden variety, and as I was busily trimming out the cedars along a dirt road, I tripped. Didn't fall, but when I regained my balance I looked down to see what had sent me sideways. Oh. Well, of course. A bunch of polished marble slabs. "Give your head a shake," I told myself. And a second look confirmed the first. Why, I ask, would anyone in their right mind leave four 2 1/2 foot square marble tiles that weigh about 30 lbs each laying on the ground, in the woods?? In the middle of virtually nowhere I might add. (The photo of the bush is where I found them.) They had to put these slabs in their car, drive out into the country, find a path that didn't look beaten, then carry them -one by one - about 20 yards into the bush, and drop them. The regional garbage dump is about  2 km from this site, easier to get to, and the guys there would have helped unload the marble, and placed it where others might see it and take it if they wanted. You know, like recycling?
Instead, I had to make the reverse trip, lugging these very heavy suckers to the trunk of my car, straining my back and hoping I wasn't going to break my car struts or whatever breaks when the load is too heavy. But, hey. Thanks.It's a great find, all the more so because I was totally not looking for any marble to decorate with for Christmas!
You know, a few years back, I took the Myers Briggs test and was told that I am an INFP. One of the rarer types apparently. That didn't bother me, as I was just pleased to know that I wasn't NUTS. But you who are missing your marbles? You're at least a little bit nuts.

I on the other hand am now trying to figure out what to do with this marble currently leaning up against the garden shed. At very the least, come spring, I will have the nicest garden path on the entire island. But I have about 5 months to think about this, and welcome any suggestions- except from you who didn't even lose your marbles...you left them! And that's just not right.