The laws of physics dictate that when water gathers on some surface, a combination of forces necessarily results in the formation of a droplet. The adhesive forces of water molecules cause them to cling to the surface; the cohesive forces of the water molecules cause them to cling to each other; surface tension accommodates competing forces by forming a curve; gravity gently tugs in opposition. The result is a gracefully curved little prism that will take any visible aspect of the world around it and reflect it in interesting ways.
It’s all science and math, you know, numbers and equations, but elegant, and poignant.
It’s early morning, when the light is still a gentle glow and no rays have yet pierced the forest boughs.
Dew droplets cling to shimmery pink poppy petals, a fragile resting place in a wild world. They cling to each other, as well, drawing snugly into little domed molecule communities. Gravity nudges them onward. Don’t be afraid…
Let go, join your neighbors, seek out the ways of the droplets that have gone before you, follow your ancestors on the paths to the groundwater, find comfort in that eternal cycle that supports all life on earth!
Science, math, life metaphor :)
Many droplet-days are gray days, rainy days, early mornings or late evenings, when the light is soft and the air is cool, because that’s when droplets gather. They are shimmery and lovely, and challenging to photograph.
But sometimes…
The first touch of morning sun melts frost into liquid prisms, and all that glorious light is there at the same time to help you capture the color and the reflection.
These droplets are the happy combination of frost on the curve of a windshield, lit by morning sun, blue sky above, forest branches waving overhead, combining to create what happens to be my favorite color palette, all ocean-y turquoise blues. They were gone within the hour.
These droplets are frozen in place, on the weathered charcoal-colored siding of our cabin.
The morning light has just reached them, too, scattering prism rainbows across their domed surfaces in all the shades of metallic shimmer. In another moment, they will melt, and gravity will stream them away, clearing the palette for winter’s next composition.
Droplets are a perfect combination of the practical and the lovely, so effortless that it somehow becomes mundane, though it certainly shouldn’t.
Take a moment this week, and let a droplet turn your world upside down!
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Beautiful words and images, as always, Sydney - another stunning post! Ahhhh, the magic of surface tension! 🙂
I love alchemilla (lady's mantle), whose water-resistant leaves are immensely good at collecting droplets. Folklore has it that alchemists would collect those droplets for their attempts to turn base metal into gold.
Sydney, Your photos and your insight are equally amazing. D