High temperatures here have topped 100°f (38°c) since Tuesday. By late afternoon yesterday, as the usual marine westerly blew in, trees were withering in hot wind, shrubs wilting, birds had sheltered and the koi were seeking the bottom of my fairly shallow pond. Everything needed cooling moisture, so I set up a sprinkler that sprayed a fine shower over the corner around the pond.

Water refreshed everything.  While I sat enjoying the cooling air, birds flitted in and out of the spray.

“My own Monet,” I thought, as I snapped a succession of shots, with sunlight filtering through the firs behind the pond, water droplets hitting the surface creating a whirl of overlapping concentric circles on the surface, along with the koi making their own waves.

The magic of nature and the ability to create beauty with natural elements always inspires me.

Inspiration“>