Everything Turns to Gold

I seized the opportunity to visit the Arboretum on this morning and found it quiet and still. On Thanksgiving week, campus and the local environs can get pretty deserted, as many people travel to join family and friends for the holiday. Tuesday was the calm before the storm, as a major winter storm system was predicted to move in for Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, to bring several inches of snow - or more - to disrupt everyone's holiday travel plans in the northeastern U.S.

A few days of mild weather melted the ice on the Arboretum's lily pond, and suddenly we were back in the reflections business again. And of course reflections are like catnip to a girl like me. This shot is nearly identical to one I took in June, when the lily pond was green, green, green. But it is late November now, and gone are the greens and the pinks of summer. The lilies are done blooming for the year, and the predominant colors on the lily pond - and in the pollinator gardens, and in the children's garden - are shades of golden yellow, brown, and rust. Yes, in the end, everything turns to gold.

I picked this song as the soundtrack to this image because I initially thought it contained a line about "everything turns to gold." (I figured it was either gold or goats; you take your pick.) But in examining the lyrics, I discover that the actual line is "Everything comes and goes." Which pretty well describes the life cycle of the lily pond. So I learned something new. And either way, it fits. :-) It's Bruce Hornsby, with I Will Walk With You. Here's the album version (from the 1988 album Scenes from the Southside, which I highly recommend), and I'm also including a live, jazzier version. Enjoy!