i don’t usually remember my dreams, but i wake up saturday morning with a dream from the night before, etched in my brain.

dream-me is looking out the kitchen window and can’t believe her eyes when she sees a capuchin monkey bouncing all over the garden. no, it can’t be! yes, it is! she goes outside and is amazed to see lots of dogs, not just the two who live here, all over the lawn. suddenly the garden walls are gone and a number of people on horse-back come riding along the horse trail which she is amazed to see loops through her garden. at first she finds it strange, but as is wont in dreams, she accepts it as something she probably had just forgotten. similarly with the 3 puppies who suddenly appear at her feet, “oh look, puppies!” she thinks, then as if adjusting her brain, “of course. puppies.” reality morphs almost seamlessly and anything is possible.

later it gets dark and dream-me suddenly remembers that the household has grown. thinks, “oh, have to bring in the turtle before it gets cold.” (the turtle? yes, the turtle). she goes outside and retrieves a bright green thin-skinned turtle. it’s skin creases and it almost slides out of its shell when she tries to pick it up. she takes it inside and i wake up.

WTF? i am amused, bemused and amazed. i have no idea what it means. i know there are books about dream symbology, but are these symbols truly universal? doesn’t the symbol depend on what it means to the dreamer?

anyone out there have any ideas?