Barrens Magic: Pollen Rainbows, Ice, and Hope

The thermometer has been on a rollercoaster ride lately, and I knew that with falling temps overnight, there would be fresh crystal ice on the ponds in the Barrens. I didn't expect much frog activity, as it was in the 20s F when I got up. So I put on my big coat, my long underwear, my gloves. I grabbed my tunes box and camera. And I went in search of ice.

I got to the parking lot and there was a car there with the trunk open. I didn't see anybody at first, but shortly a young woman came down the path, which I yielded to her. I walked by her to visit my pond, as she got some stuff out of her car and came back up. She'd arrived a few minutes before me; clearly she was there to do something with the amphibians.

When I got to my pond, I caught my breath. I couldn't believe it. It's too early for that, isn't it? There was sort of a gray haze moving over the surface, and you know what THAT means: POLLEN RAINBOW TIME!!! No, I do not know how or why it works, or even what it is. 

I call it pollen rainbows because at first I thought it was actual pollen on the surface making it happen. I don't think it is that anymore but I still call it that because I don't know what else to call it! But I know this one thing: it is one of the most magical and ephemeral experiences one can have in the woods. 

You can go for years without seeing it, and then one day, there you are, and the light is right, and rainbows appear on top of the water. If you look at it with the sun behind you, it looks gray. You MUST get the water surface BETWEEN you and the light to see them!

So I took a bunch of pictures, including the one above, as the young woman did her thing. And as I left the pond, I walked over to her and I asked, "You're one of the Penn State amphibian researchers, aren't you?" And she admitted that Yes, she was.

And she told me that yesterday, she'd spent some of the sunny hours in the Barrens, netting newts. You see, there is a horrible fungus that kills amphibians, that totally LAYS WASTE to them; causes entire species extinctions. While the newts sometimes get this fungus too, they can LIVE through it. 

So the researchers want to study the newts to learn things that will help them save other amphibian species. Penn State has gotten additional funding to participate in an inter-university collaboration to make all of this happen. AND SOME OF IT IS TAKING PLACE IN THE BARRENS!!!! Our very own Barrens. In fact, IT IS HAPPENING ON MY VERY OWN FAVORITE POND!!!!

Well, I was really jazzed up by this news, as I suspect you can tell. And I went on my merry way thinking how glad I was to learn these things. I'm an amphibian groupie from way back when, as I've loved frogs, toads, newts, you name it, practically since I was an itty bitty baby in my crib.

And then I went walking to the tiny in-between ponds, the smallest of the small, and there I found some of the most amazing ice crystals I've ever seen. I took way too many pictures. And I was almost ashamed of myself, to be honest. I have such weird hobbies. I don't know how it is, in mid-life, or whatever life phase I'm in now, that I've fallen in love so hard with ice. And the smell of celery, too, but I digress.

You may see one of my best ice abstracts in the extras. Here's how I make them. I set the camera on a saturated mode. I take ice pictures. Then I get home and upload them, and I saturate them some more, and increase darkness and contrast and definition. Voila! Ice abstracts! I thought the figure in the center almost looked like a fish! *giggle*

And then it was time to head for home, and I walked back out of the Barrens, past the pond, where the young woman was now standing on the edge, netting amphibians. She was pawing through what she'd got, tossing mud here and there. "Happy amphibian hunting!" I told her; "Have a good day!"

To sum things up. . . . Now, I know that times can be hard. I know that life isn't always what you want it to be. I know that sometimes people you love leave you for one reason or another, possibly through no fault of their own; apparently, that can't be helped. You must still go on.

But sometimes you get a day that is a real peach. A day in which the pollen rainbows greet you at your favorite place, and fresh ice crystals full of magic. To be honest, I'm not sure I've ever SEEN the pollen rainbows here, on "my" very own pond! This could be a first! Some kind of special pond blessing, perhaps for the Easter season. Whatever it is, I'll take it.

But there was another gift I was given, and that was the gift of HOPE. Do you fear for the future? Do you ever worry that the bad people might be going to win in the world? Do you worry that nobody will take care of the things you love after you are gone? Do you worry about beautiful Nature, and all of the marvelous creatures of the earth, air, and water?

Well, here is the gift that was given to ME, and so I will pass it along to you. There are good people out there, trying to save the world, in both big and small ways, every single day. They are doing TINY things. They are doing HUGE things. 

Even teenie-tiny newts get to put on their capes and be superheroes in this story. Also, the amphibian researchers are heroes: God bless them and their very important work. And so maybe even girls with cameras can be heroes, too.

I've got two photos. Of the many glorious things I saw on this day, these are two of the best I have to give you. And here are two songs. I usually try to make sure the song is about the image it represents. So here are songs about love, and hope, and heroes.

First, for my heroes, I've got We Can Be Heroes. I was looking for the standard versions but then I came across this one by A Capella, and it wins. It just WINS. So here is that.

Second, for my lovers of all of the beautiful things of this world, I've got Lewis Capaldi's song Someone You Loved. I think the little boy's name is Bjarne. He is from the Voice Kids - Germany. (I found the song on Amazon at this link.) And I know that he puts his stuffed bunny rabbit by the microphone before he sings, to keep himself from being nervous. And then he blows us away. Enjoy the song!