A Golden Moment: Arboretum Walkway in the Sun

The morning was overcast and gray, with dark, dramatic clouds. It was one of those Winnie-the-Pooh days, very blustery. An oddly warm breeze blew the cobwebs out of the skies; sent the leaves tumbling and swirling. The winds whispered restless words to my heart: run, girl, run! But where to go, what to do?

A fortunate turn of events found me on campus briefly in the late morning. It was still dark and even starting to drizzle. But I saw a bit of light trying to break through the clouds and I thought of a shot I wanted: the Arboretum walkway against that dark sky. If only the sun would come out . . .

I walked briskly through the Arboretum, checked on the butterflies. Two new monarchs were feasting on the purple posies, and one more empty chrysalis fluttered in the breeze. And yes, another praying mantis had positioned itself in the same flower patch. (Why not? It must be like living next to a fast-food restaurant. Good eats, fast treats!)

I tried to remove the mantis gently to relocate it, as I did on that one day a week or two ago, but at the last minute I got all squeamish and girly, didn't want to touch it with my hands; and so I only succeeded in bumping it to the ground, where I lost it. Sorry, monarchs. Guess you're on your own on this day.

Suddenly, I saw the clouds were breaking, and I raced down the walkway. Just as I got there, a wheel bug flew by and I was momentarily distracted. I've seen them before, but had never seen one fly. It was like watching a tank try to take off; if you were taking odds of its likelihood of successful flight, you'd probably bet against it. But it happened, for real: I saw it. And then the wheel bug landed heavily, blended in, in a nearby bush: "Nobody here but us leaves."

But the story of the day was the shining walkway in the sun. I turned and captured about a half-dozen shots in the one minute that the sun was out. Seriously: ONE MINUTE! Sometimes that's all you get. But I took that minute and I was grateful for it. It's the shot I saw in my mind's eye, hoped for before it happened, and so here it is: one golden moment in the sun.

The soundtrack: James Taylor, Golden Moments.

Bonus: the same shot taken last December, in the snow.