Painting rescue, 306th day of the year and peacock connection

I have rescued animals before - the late Cleo and Sophie.  Neither beloved cat had a home before they came home with me.  And a plant - a neighbor retrieved a scraggly Pothos from a pile of trash from a cleared out office at Emory University and asked if I'd like it.  It has thrived on my back porch in the summers and winters in my kitchen.

But this is the the first time I have rescued artwork:

- Last Friday morning, I stopped at the trash compactor at the condos to drop off a bag and discovered this painting lying face down on top of some flattened boxes beside it.  It was wet since it had rained during the night.  I was delighted with this jewel and decided it didn't deserve to be treated this way, so I put it in the trunk of my car and hurriedly drove off to work, since I was running late.

- Later - work friend Brenda and I went out to her car to unload something together and I showed her the painting in my trunk, relating how I had found it.  And then I realized what the inscription on the back said:

- And even more astounding - look at the date!  A November day in the future, the 306th day of 2014.  What do you think about that?  This makes me sad, concerned and astounded, all at once.  I haven't really asked around to see if anyone knows a child named Kayla.  I'm almost afraid to ask.  And there is no Katrina listed in the condominium complex directory.

I guess what makes this a good thing is that the painting has been rescued.  I love its whimsy, particularly because it is a peacock.  Some of you may remember that I grew up on neighboring property to the farm, Andalusia, where the late Flannery O'Connor wrote most of her celebrated work.  I met her on some sort of field trip when I was a little girl - we went to see her peacocks.  I remember a lady with glasses (but that could have been her mother, I'll admit.  I like to think it was Flannery.)  Make sure you click on the link to Flannery's name - there is a photo of her with two of her peacocks.  Click here for a post from May 2009 (the year my father passed away) for his memory of Flannery.

So there you have it - I have a peacock painting and nowhere to hang it.  I have nothing that color in my place, but am thinking it might fit in the unfinished family photo wall in my home office, where it will be home now.