CRYPTIC

The word of the day is cryptic, meaning secret or hidden.  Cryptology is the art of writing or deciphering a secret characters.

Friday, July 22, 2011 - Stepping out for my morning walk the first character I noticed was a piece of string on the driveway.  It made me think of the mouse in the children's book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  Then for some odd reason (my childish scatological humor surfacing), I made up my mind to look for clues in the shapes of bird droppings.     
  
On this morning's hunt, I found all sorts of fun droppings.  Some of the findings were entirely unexpected, like this single stick that looked like it was sugar-coated, but I knew better.  
 
  

It made me think of something I saw yesterday.  While I was shopping in Back to Basics for some chewing gum, a package fell at my feet.  The package didn't clearly state what was in it.  It said "World Centric... made from plants, not petroleum... 100% compostable.  I turned it to read another panel, which said, "WHAT DOES YOUR STRAW SAY ABOUT YOU?" (Was this a personality test or a test to see if I could figure out what was in the box?)... "Our straws are made from corn..."  Another panel claimed zero carbon footprint and showed a Straw Life Cycle diagram.... "begins and ends in the same place.  Made from corn, it breaks down during commerical composting to make nutrient rich soil - starting the process all over again."  NICE!

Walking past the owl's Sycamore tree, I noticed a tromp l'oeil.  This is a French word pronounced tromp loy, meaning to fool the eye (tromper = to deceive; l'oeil = the eye).  It also means illusion, sham, and camoflage.  The illusion was evident a ways up above the owl hole.  Was it a piece of bark that looked like a hole... or was it hole that looked like a piece of bark?
  
 

Turning up Middle Road, I came upon a Y-shaped stick with a whitened extension, like another straw..  My immediate reaction was, "Why a straw?!?"
 
 
 
And then several steps further, next to the sidewalk, I found the answer in a picture alluding to a sip of wine, with a nice message...
 
  

... the fairytale ending to a own personal Cinderella wish I'd made once upon a time, a long time ago.

What next?
 
  Thumbs up!
 
  Then three butts. Three buts?.. but... but...but what?  Ah, here we go...

 
   An old man riding a cow mule with a long tail.  A tall tale?
  
  Nailed it!  (found at the corner of Hanaford Drive)
  
  Dance for joy!
  
  Grab a partner! (woman and man)
  
Walking toward home along Hemlock, I had to make a choice.  Go straight home or take a left on Blueberry Drive and walk a bit longer.  I took a left.
  
  A firecracker!... immediately followed by...
  
  The grande finale!
 
Turning right at Cresthill, thinking about my age, 53, I stopped and read a special message...
  
  Budweiser?  Older, BUT wiser...
and a whole bunch of stick characters... Can anyone decipher this?... stick characters?... stick people?... I'm guessing... "There are all kinds of sticks and there are all kinds of characters."
  
 
Upon getting home, I thought about breakfast and the two places where we'd had breakfast this past weekend up in New Hampshire - The Stix (menu below) and the Sugar Shack.  I thought about the sugar-coated stick, and I squinted my eyes and looked at a dark green t-shirt I bought at the Sugar Shack to give to Cathy... old man dancing for joy.

  
  
Also found a baby acorn that got run over and squished like a heart. 

So, where are we going with this?  Never entirely sure, just keep on walking...

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Do you like to wear clothes that make you stand out or do you prefer clothes that make you blend in? 
What is your favorite piece of clothing and what does it say about you?
If you were to design a t-shirt, what would it look like?

CREATIVE ACTIVITY