Reflecting pond:
This lovely pond is where I broke
for lunch. Although occasionally marred by swirls, the surface of the
water was often glass-smooth, and made fabulous reflections.
As I sat at the water's edge munching my sandwich, I was bemused by the
strange, gurgling aquatic sounds the water made as it surged in and out
of a hidden passage cut into the bank of the
pond. After lunch, I set up my gear to take
this photograph. You can imagine my surprise when
suddenly an inquisitive otter popped its head out of the water, just a
few arm's lengths from me. It regarded me with interest, then returned
to its foraging--evidently, the watery gurgling that had been
entertaining me was the otter's breathing in its hidden den!
I spent another hour photographing plants and botanizing around the
pond, while the otter brought fish and crayfish out of the pond
to eat. It was dreamy--just the otter and me. Neither of us bothered
or pestered the other, we didn't mind each other, we just did our
separate tasks in each other's presence. It was a gentle and
sweet moment, and
I will hold the memory forever.
(No, there are no photographs of my otter-friend. I was using slow
film--Velvia--and the otter's darty, jittery movements would have
made for a terrible image.)
