POND WANDERING
April 3, 2011
In which we enjoy a spectacular April afternoon wandering between two ponds with our next door neighbors Amy, Garth, Jason, Haruka and Robert.
IRRIGATION
We don’t take enough time outside enjoying the day as a group. To remedy this, we set aside an afternoon to get together and just hang out. Water for the soul, as it were. We started out by walking past the farm into the woods to admire the pond that Jason and Haruka built to irrigate their rice and vegetable fields.
TREE HUGGERS
Amy, Haruka and Camille were having a great time, enjoying each other’s company amid the trees.
CRYSTALS
There are lots of crystals in the mound of red clay scooped from the hole to make the pond. Haruka and Amy share a laugh while admiring an extraordinary specimen. The guys tossed the disc across the pond at each other for awhile. Robert turned up and joined us. As did the cats.
KURODA – PANTHER KITTY
Kuroda is the cat of the woods. Being one of two newcomers to a neighborhood with seven other cats, he chose the woods as his territory and is completely in his element down by the pond. Kome, the little gray kitty, had a different strategy. She endeared herself to everyone by being the cutest cat ever and has so made herself welcome in everyone’s territory.
OVER TO THE NEXT POND
Amy relaxes on tree stump beside the irrigation pond. A little while later, we walked over to Lyle and Tami’s pond where Haruka and Jason point out a pretty, purple-leafed plant that they’ve been seeing in the woods.
MOSS ART
When’s the last time you took time to create art from nature with your friends? This was so much fun! Garth, Jason, Haruka and Amy found the contrast between the soft, green moss and hard, white rocks irresistible and used them to create a miniature Hobbit world.
Metal sculpture abounds around Lyle and Tami’s property and Spring was aflame in the new leaves.
WHITE FLOWERS ABOVE AND BELOW
Dogwood flowering against the blue sky and tiny white flowers against the dead leaves on the flood plane.
HAT AND SHOES
We really liked Robert ‘s new hat. He was temporarily separated from after leaping across the creek.
JUGGLING
When life gives you rocks, juggle! Bob and Jason tried their hands at juggling rocks in the bottom of the asparagus field. We took turns between playing in the woods and hanging in the sun.
ART IN NATURE
Art is where you find it and sometimes it’s fun to play around with it a little.
SMALL SCALE, LARGE SCALE
We just about stepped on a four foot black snake and it was cool enough in the woods that the snake didn’t move at all while we photographed it. Also worth a picture – scales of bark with a frosting of green lichens.
THE BACK PORCH
Eventually we came home to have a drink on the back porch and talk about the many wonders we’d seen on our trek between ponds.