In Praise of Ponds

I have been attracted to ponds for a very long time. There was the pond behind my uncle's house in Spokane where my cousins and I built rafts each spring to embark on short excursions on these shallow ephemeral pools. And there was the beaver pond on my grandmother's property north of Spokane where I could occasionally ambush a wild brook trout. Sweet memories.

I have, off and on, pressed my love affair with ponds. But to be honest, I have flirted more aggressively with the rivers and lakes of the Pacific Northwest than ponds, and I have had many pleasant days upon the water and wading the streams. I've caught my share of fish. But I have determined this year to return to my first love - ponds.

My purpose in this blog is to record this year of romancing ponds. Perhaps I shall call it a series of love letter.

To begin I offer a portrait of an unnamed pond not too far from home.