“One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.”
― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

One of the many benefits I find when hiking is the abundance of free art nature provides me. As I walked a forest path a few days ago, the ground was just starting to melt, but it was cold enough that small, water-filled, depressions were still partially frozen.

Since the surrounding earth was not frozen, the water from these depressions slowly drained away, leaving these wonderful abstract patterns for me to enjoy.

When I was I child, I loved to break these thin sheets of ice. Admit it, many of you did the same thing, for no real reason other than to watch the delicate structures break. At that time, I suppose I never had a real appreciation of just how beautiful they could be. Many are a brief history of the receding water levels and movements inside the puddle. It would be a curious exercise to do a time-lapse of this activity one day.

For now, I will enjoy these abstract patterns as they dazzle in the muted spring sun. Each one a bit different, influenced by so many conditions as they formed and melted.

Nikon D300
Tamron 70-200 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm
1/160 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200

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