Abstract: Raindrops on a Vernal Pool

It was late morning, heading into high noon, when the Tiger and I hopped on my bike and headed for the Scotia Barrens. No rain had appeared in the official forecast, but when I took one last look at the online weather map before leaving the house, I saw spots of green. Showers, possibly on their way! So the last thing I tucked into my daysack was my umbrella.

Let me toss out this one thing first: this past year has changed us all. Our lives have grown smaller, our circles tighter than ever. And for some of us, who live near the woods, and who have spent much more time there, we have turned somewhat feral. So know this: T. Tiger and I have been running wild in the gamelands, and we may never change back to who we were before all of this began!

We visited the first frog pond and looked for our friend the little turtle, but there has been additional rain since last week, and the log that the tiny turtle likes to sit on is flooded and unavailable for turtle seating. So we did not spot our friend. T. Tiger was a bit disappointed by that.

And then we visited several more vernal pools, and in fact, discovered about five more little ones I didn't even know about, up above the bigger pond I like to go to, where I photographed the pollen rainbows that one magical day. (Yes, I came away with ticks, but I found and brushed them off: four in the woods, four more at home. So be ye warned. Also: Yuck!)

It drizzled a little from time to time, but my umbrella was enough shelter for us to ride it out. In the very end, I was back at the first frog pond, and T. Tiger was sitting on my orange bike while I took pictures of the reflections of trees on the water.

The rain began again, and I photographed the raindrops on the surface, with their ever-widening concentric circles, touching each other, creating new waves. The sound of it - actually, all of it - was so lovely and peaceful. And T. Tiger, who is wise beyond his size or years, said to me: "Doesn't it seem like a symphony?" And it did. Oh, yes, it did. A perfect symphony.

The soundtrack song is this one: Ed Sheeran and Andrea Bocelli, with Perfect Symphony.