{"id":462,"date":"2015-06-10T13:20:08","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T18:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462"},"modified":"2015-06-18T15:44:51","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T20:44:51","slug":"dragonfly-pond-at-little-piney","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462","title":{"rendered":"Dragonfly Pond at Little Piney"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h3>\n

Gift from the rain: Dragonfly pond at Little Piney<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"DSC_0098\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The rain left a gift for us at Little Piney–a beautiful pond. \u00a0The pond was carved out by previous owners in a lovely curved shape, but the sandy bottom doesn’t hold water. \u00a0For now, thanks to record rainfall, it’s full of water and life, no longer\u00a0just a puddle where the frogs hang out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"DSC_0108\"Dragonfly Pond brims with clear fresh rainwater . \u00a0Pines and wildflowers are precisely mirrored on still water and blur Impressionistically when the reflection is ruffled by a breeze. \u00a0I think of Monet’s lily ponds at Giverny and imagine painting my little pond in the Lost Pines.<\/p>\n

\"DSC_0070\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Waterbugs ski across the surface trailing a tiny wedged wake. \u00a0A water snake or a turtle swims by, and a large round fish nest glows in the sand at the shallow edge.<\/p>\n

Above the water, purple, blue, orange, and black and white dragonflies swoop and dance and sparkle in the sun. \u00a0They cast\u00a0spots of color across the top of the water until they stop and rest, usually on a bare twig. \u00a0They pose for portraits, and I take a hundred photographs of them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"DSC_0134\"<\/a> \u00a0\"DSC_0065\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Blue<\/a>
Blue Dasher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Five blue eggs await hatching in a nest box by the shore. \u00a0An anxious bluebird couple monitors my movements.<\/p>\n

In just three weeks since the rain, the pond has become a rich and fertile little ecosystem.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Precious times<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

The pond is even more precious because it is here just for awhile. \u00a0A trail of water seeps out of the dam and runs across the drive down to the creek reminding me of it’s temporal life. \u00a0While it’s here I will cherish it, photograph it, visit it often. \u00a0When it’s gone I will remember it as it is now, almost perfect. \u00a0The pond reminds me of other precious times. \u00a0I remember the \u00a0baby years with my children, and how I recorded those sweet moments on film and in baby books, knowing how quickly babies grow and change, wanting to hold those moments in my mind and somehow save them. \u00a0And of the last years of my mother’s life. \u00a0Each visit felt more dear than the last as her time grew short. \u00a0And especially the last visit when gratitude for the sweet moments was just as poignant as my grief.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The language of nature<\/h2>\n

Nature is full of gifts and ripe for metaphor-making. \u00a0Writers of ancient texts and throughout literary history rely on nature for rich language that speaks to all of us. \u00a0One of our most beloved contemporary poets is Mary Oliver, who proves that nature metaphors are too rich to ever become cliche or irrelevant. \u00a0Little Piney offers living metaphors every which way I turn, and provides the solitude and quiet to sit with my thoughts.<\/p>\n

One last metaphor. \u00a0This full pond will disappear, but some day we will be gifted again with days and days of rain, and the pond will fill again. \u00a0We will remember Dragonfly Pond as it is today, and someday find a pond in it’s place that is equally rich and lovely in it’s own way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Gift from the rain: Dragonfly pond at Little Piney     The rain left a gift for us at Little Piney–a beautiful pond. \u00a0The pond was carved out by previous owners in a lovely curved shape, but the sandy bottom doesn’t hold water. \u00a0For now, thanks to record rainfall, it’s full of water and life,Continue reading<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,41],"tags":[110,5,30,55,111,72,36,45,43,6,109],"class_list":["post-462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bastrop-lost-pines-nature","category-lost-pines-life","tag-bastrop-ponds","tag-bastrop-tx","tag-bastrop-wildlife","tag-bluebird-nest-boxes","tag-dragonflies","tag-dragonfly","tag-eastern-bluebird","tag-grief-process","tag-loss-of-mother","tag-lost-pines","tag-ponds"],"yoast_head":"\nDragonfly Pond Little Piney<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The rain left a gift for us at Little Piney--a beautiful pond. In just three weeks, Dragonfly Pond has become a rich and fertile little ecosystem.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dragonfly Pond Little Piney\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The rain left a gift for us at Little Piney--a beautiful pond. In just three weeks, Dragonfly Pond has become a rich and fertile little ecosystem.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lost Pines Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-10T18:20:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-18T20:44:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_00981.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3872\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2592\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tammy Brown\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tammy Brown\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tammy Brown\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0daa2078266a51d8cd7e6dae307f5642\"},\"headline\":\"Dragonfly Pond at Little Piney\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-10T18:20:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-18T20:44:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462\"},\"wordCount\":540,\"commentCount\":8,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/06\\\/DSC_00981.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bastrop ponds\",\"Bastrop TX\",\"Bastrop wildlife\",\"bluebird nest boxes\",\"dragonflies\",\"dragonfly\",\"eastern bluebird\",\"Grief process\",\"Loss of mother\",\"Lost Pines\",\"Ponds\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bastrop Lost Pines Nature\",\"Lost Pines Life\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462\",\"name\":\"Dragonfly Pond Little Piney\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/06\\\/DSC_00981.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-10T18:20:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-18T20:44:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0daa2078266a51d8cd7e6dae307f5642\"},\"description\":\"The rain left a gift for us at Little Piney--a beautiful pond. In just three weeks, Dragonfly Pond has become a rich and fertile little ecosystem.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/06\\\/DSC_00981.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/06\\\/DSC_00981.jpg\",\"width\":3872,\"height\":2592,\"caption\":\"Dragonfly Pond at Little Piney, Bastrop, Texas,\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?p=462#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dragonfly Pond at Little Piney\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Lost Pines Life\",\"description\":\"At home with nature in the Lost Pines of Bastrop, Texas\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0daa2078266a51d8cd7e6dae307f5642\",\"name\":\"Tammy Brown\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7405d90a373cd19cd97c5133b2d33790b43b0292a16c4b19dae6301b0e2b7690?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7405d90a373cd19cd97c5133b2d33790b43b0292a16c4b19dae6301b0e2b7690?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7405d90a373cd19cd97c5133b2d33790b43b0292a16c4b19dae6301b0e2b7690?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tammy Brown\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/lostpineslife.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dragonfly Pond Little Piney","description":"The rain left a gift for us at Little Piney--a beautiful pond. In just three weeks, Dragonfly Pond has become a rich and fertile little ecosystem.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dragonfly Pond Little Piney","og_description":"The rain left a gift for us at Little Piney--a beautiful pond. In just three weeks, Dragonfly Pond has become a rich and fertile little ecosystem.","og_url":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462","og_site_name":"Lost Pines Life","article_published_time":"2015-06-10T18:20:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-06-18T20:44:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":3872,"height":2592,"url":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_00981.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tammy Brown","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tammy Brown","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462"},"author":{"name":"Tammy Brown","@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0daa2078266a51d8cd7e6dae307f5642"},"headline":"Dragonfly Pond at Little Piney","datePublished":"2015-06-10T18:20:08+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-18T20:44:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462"},"wordCount":540,"commentCount":8,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_00981.jpg","keywords":["Bastrop ponds","Bastrop TX","Bastrop wildlife","bluebird nest boxes","dragonflies","dragonfly","eastern bluebird","Grief process","Loss of mother","Lost Pines","Ponds"],"articleSection":["Bastrop Lost Pines Nature","Lost Pines Life"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462","url":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462","name":"Dragonfly Pond Little Piney","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_00981.jpg","datePublished":"2015-06-10T18:20:08+00:00","dateModified":"2015-06-18T20:44:51+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0daa2078266a51d8cd7e6dae307f5642"},"description":"The rain left a gift for us at Little Piney--a beautiful pond. In just three weeks, Dragonfly Pond has become a rich and fertile little ecosystem.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_00981.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_00981.jpg","width":3872,"height":2592,"caption":"Dragonfly Pond at Little Piney, Bastrop, Texas,"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?p=462#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dragonfly Pond at Little Piney"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/","name":"Lost Pines Life","description":"At home with nature in the Lost Pines of Bastrop, Texas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0daa2078266a51d8cd7e6dae307f5642","name":"Tammy Brown","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7405d90a373cd19cd97c5133b2d33790b43b0292a16c4b19dae6301b0e2b7690?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7405d90a373cd19cd97c5133b2d33790b43b0292a16c4b19dae6301b0e2b7690?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7405d90a373cd19cd97c5133b2d33790b43b0292a16c4b19dae6301b0e2b7690?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tammy Brown"},"url":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DSC_00981.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5RvQS-7s","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/473"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lostpineslife.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}