What do you see?
What do you see when you look at the above picture? Trashcans sitting at the end of the driveways? Or would patient guardians of the neighborhood be a better response?
I walked past a window and noticed the trash man had not been by on his usual day, so the trashcans had been standing guard patiently waiting for their weekly flip.
Which led me to thinking about a post I’d read at Family Trove. I laughed when Jackie described how she anthropomorphized objects. It didn’t hit me until later, I have some of those same tendencies. (You were right Jackie, you are not alone.) The first hint was noticing the trashcans standing like soldiers. Then I thought of other instances. Perhaps you remember my slice of the robin shopping for nesting material or the pansies under the tree having a conversation with other pansies on the other side of the driveway. I have a feeling the pansies may have something to say in the future.
Is there a fantasy world living in my head? Does every object I see have some kind of hidden life that is just waiting for me to discover its story? I don’t know the answer to these questions. . . yet. Stay tuned, you never know who’s story I will tell next.
elsie tries writing 
I love this! Our cans were standing guard this morning, and will be back on sentry duty Friday!
~Stacie
What a great post. I SO agree. The trash cans, our cars, the mail box,,,,the dog even….I woudl love to write about the birds watching over us from their nest over our doorway each spring too….they really have a story to tell!
I love your fantasy world. Keep sharing more of it. Helps me to look at the world a bit differently 🙂
I began thinking about those sticks that the landscape people put everywhere. Wonder what their story would be? Plows jolting them? Cuddling with clean snow? If we have a snow day tomorrow, maybe there will be another story…..Thanks for giving fuel to my brain!
“…standing guard patiently waiting for their weekly flip.” I love the way you see things. I can NOT wait for the pansies to find their voice again.
Yep – soldiers standing guard. Ours will hear their call of duty in about an hour. Love your creativity!
One of my favorite stories when I was younger was “The Old Lady Who Named Things.” It was about an old lady who was very content with all of her friends (meaning her four poster bed, her car, etc) until she finds a puppy.
But yes, I would have to say, that I, too, have the tendency to name and personify anthropomorphize objects. If something means a lot to you, why should it not have a name and personality?
I see sentinels standing guard protecting their neighborhood. Of course every object has a story. Those they tell it to are extremely lucky. I look forward to reading the stories your objects tell you.
Ha! Yes, this is what happens in march – we look around and find inspiration in everything at hand !
No, you and Jackie are not alone. I not only anthropomorphize objects, I even name them and refer to them as thinking objects. in our house and car we have frequent conversations with and about the GPS (named first Lucy for my favorite Pevensie explorer and then Lucy Lou for the replacement). My orange car is Katniss–the car on fire. Roomba doesn’t have any other name, but she does wander around the house and gets lost. Hmm… I think I feel an idea for a post coming on! Thanks for the inspiration.
Oh, Elsie, I haven’t written for 2 days due to nothing miraculous happening in my life. Thanks for the reminder–again–there is wonder all around. Another snow storm headed our way tonight. I really wanted to write about spring. I might write about my son’s nature wonders as he visited this last weekend through today. Will I write about snow again?
Ours are standing guard right now, Elsie! It’s a beautiful thing to imagine, isn’t it? All I have to do is start a group down that path, and they take off! I remember your pansies, talking across the way.
I read the title. I looked at your picture. And I totally saw it! My next thought was of a picture book about aliens where they do mistake trash cans for sentinels guarding houses. Maybe your next project?