Now and Zen

Beneath a lover's moon I'm waiting
I am the pilot of the storm
Adrift in pleasure I may drown
I built this ship, it is my making
And furthermore my self control I can't rely on anymore
~Robert Plant, Ship of Fools, from his album Now and Zen


The overnight rain ended around 10:30 a.m., and within 15 minutes, I was dressed and on my way to check out my favorite pond in the Scotia Barrens. While the rain itself was actually done, there were still plenty of water droplets dripping on the surface of the pond.

Of course, as Ansel Adams said, a good photograph is knowing where to stand. I have a few favorite spots on my pond that give me a great view of reflections, mostly of trees. When the water droplets hit, they create circles that send the tree reflections wiggling, out of control.

The circles bang against each other, continue on through each other, bounce back and forth against the land. I spent a marvelous 20 minutes there, just viewing the pond from different spots, taking photos and even one short video of the droplets, the reflections, the patterns.

I pick a circle and watch it move. I watch it expand, and grow bigger, and bounce into others, and break, and set a new course. It was a very Zen experience, and I found it mesmerizing, as well as immensely calming and relaxing. I never wanted it to end.

So here is one of the photos from that set: a monochrome treatment of the droplets, the circles, the tree reflections, the patterns, the motion. I hope it brings you as much peace to look at it as it did to me to make it.

My soundtrack song, selected even before I saw the video, is Robert Plant's Ship of Fools, from the album Now and Zen, released in 1988. The first 30 seconds of the video feature . . . water droplets!!! Just like these! Enjoy!