Fanciful Friends, A Baby Snake, Memoirs & CDs

Clara & Peppy –
I’ve just put up a picture of Clara and Peppy, who spend their days sitting on my bed, propped up against two satin-cased pillows, atop a cozy hot-pink quilt and black satin sheets. They seem to enjoy it, as do I each night, when I reclaim my sleeping quarters. Satin is the one luxury I indulge in. I found Clara hanging on a display hook in a Walgreen’s four or five years ago. She was one of a kind (at least at that store) and looked like a visual characterization of me ... same blonde-color braided hair ... same large, trusting (goofy-looking) eyes, long legs, and a maroon (my favorite color) velvet dress. Peppy came to me more recently, from Goodwill. Hard to believe, someone discarded him. I fell in love with him instantly. He looks peppy to me, hence his name. Don’t they look like best friends?

CDs & Memoirs Book –
A friend remarked to me that parts of my blog are "almost like a journal". Yes, it is akin to that in many ways. Writing has always come easily to me and is my purest form of communication and self-revelation. The completion of my memoirs book in May 2007 was very liberating -- it felt like I had just removed a heavy overcoat after wearing it all winter (the kind of coat that people wear every day throughout the winter in New England, where I'm originally from). Copies of "Memoirs & Musings of Clara Landau, the Lady Wolf" are available – just contact me via phone or e-mail. Likewise, my most recent CDs are also available (they are legacy editions).

The Story Of Snakey –
(First, an aside): I bought Jerry an awesome book about snakes of the southeast US as one of his holiday gifts. We share a fascination with snakes. It’s safe for me to mention this gift here, as he never gets near a computer. Any number of times, he has brought little green snakes and garter snakes into the house (at my former suburban address), putting them on the table, bed, or floor and letting them glide and scamper around, before bringing them back outdoors. The former address has two acres of partially wooded land, replete with many snake species, and we knew those to stay away from. Snakes, of course, got a lot of biblical bad press, but they are as beautiful and divine as the rest of nature’s beings ... and an important part of the ecological tapestry.

Snakes are visibly missing here in the city (where there is, instead, a thriving rat population)! About a month ago, though, I was astonished and delighted to uncover a baby Brown Snake under a plant pot at the base of the huge, old maple tree in my backyard. The little snake acknowledged my presence and remained almost perfectly still. I carefully replaced its leaf cover and the plant pot barrier. Two days later, we found the snake (by now named "Snakey") at the side of the driveway. A predator had no doubt found, picked up and killed the little creature, traveled a few feet, and then dropped him/her. It was a sad ending for a snake brave enough to be born in the city (Brown Snakes are born live). Snakey is buried in my Indian Daisy Patch (see previous post about Indian Daisies).

And so, the mysteries of life go on and on.