just is.

[distaff]

I wouldn't call it an obsession, but lately more of an overwhelming preoccupation.
Why?... I don't know.

Pinterest has many pages of terrariums. They have the standard elaborate planted jungle paludariums, desertscapes for beardies, and also little bowl terrariums. Some are so simple, yet entrancing and evocative - tiny landscapes of rock and moss tucked within a six-inch sphere. Unnerving/compelling invitations to trip down the offered enchanted path. Aquascapes, usually on a much larger format, lend a watery light that gives the same experience an eerie feel. If sharing a landscape with flocks of tiny fish isn't otherworldly enough...

Well, there is always bonsai - in particular the fairy tale bonsai practised and described by Walter Pall. I would put Graham Potter in this category as well, although some of his works also seem to fly in the rhelm of fantasy. Pinterest has pages of this too, astonishing otherworldly trees.

My only criterion for judging any of these is, if the piece transports you; then it works.

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I became interested in snakes from a number of different angles. This was partly craft, as in beads and crystals, hand sewn historical clothing, spinning (mind bending), and weaving (which I suck at). There was also running (again mind bending), yoga, and strength training. Books by Freddie Sylva (spell?) and Graham Hancock contributed a lot too. My *pet* theory is that serpents are becoming more popular because as a planet and species we are entering a change of consciousness. Feel free to leave that behind if you don't care for the New-Age overtones. Snakes just seemed to show up along with all this, and work with it. No, I can't explain any better.

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OK, so what does the above have to do with anything?
I keep thinking about what one could do with a few snakes, and some really BIG glass enclosures. At first, I was just considering what would work for a plausably recreated habitat. I saw some photographs of wild cornsnakes. One was photographed perched on the bent fork of a tree branch, keenly peering out over a body of water. I thought, I want to recreate THAT. The snake would, of course, be an identified locality. I suppose this is pretty much what zoos do, and while spathyphillium might be a lovely, easy to grow, and serviceable plant, the curator might look for some others more evocative for a Carolina or Florida impression. Spanish moss and some oak might be a better choice. Terrariums, of course, set their own limits on choices; not all plants will grow well in one, and not all plants are going to be good for the snake living long term and in close proximity with them.

Then, on another forum, I saw someone's craft reptile water dish done pottery. The clay was white. the form of the bowl was a naturalistic and detailed hollowed out tree stump with fungi ledges on the sides. (The post also showed the final brightly glazed version, but I liked the white original much better.) Fantasy! Here, the animal would be striking morph, maybe a plasma, or an opal. What if you did a fantasy vivarium with white furnishings, white and greyish plants like hoya, and tsillandias (spell?) and more Spanish moss, and maybe a little accent of pink and white Fittonia (which normally, I Hate)...

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Gahhh!! as if money isn't tight enough, and as if I don't have enough to keep me occupied. I have goats to milk every day, chickens to clean up after, and rabbits over-due for butchering. The green house still needs some winterizing, and I have 12X6 foot pen that has been mid-way finished for the last six months. The pecans are about to fall, and that is actually something of a cash crop for us, but they need to be collected and sorted before we get paid.

None of that is enough to shake this odd mental preoccupation.
Apparently, I need an actual job.