Reflections, Patterns and Life

The other day, while walking through the woods, we came upon this pond full of reeds.  It looks like the perfect habitat for ducks, but we didn't see any.  The pond was isolated and sat in the middle of the only open area on the land where we were walking; the rest was overgrown with brush and trees.

When I look at the image, many things come into my mind.  I think of the story of Moses being put into a basket made of reeds, placed in the reeds along the bank of the Nile River and later being found.  I think of the baskets the early Americans made from similar types of reeds.  They also were used for hats -- woven in much the same manner as the baskets.  I thought of hunting pheasant in the dry playas of the Texas Panhandle during the fall and winter months, pushing through the reeds and cattails that were so thick you could barely move -- especially since I probably wasn't very old the first few times I did so.  Most of all, when I see this image, I see the reflection of the reeds in the water that make it seem as though there are twice as many as are actually growing there.

The reflections form patterns and shadows upon the water and give the various creatures that live beneath the surface a measure of safety because the patterns on those creatures match the patterns made by the reflections, allowing them to blend in and remain unnoticed by predators such as a Great Blue Heron or, an Egret that might be searching for a meal.  They match the stripes on the back of a frog, or, the pattern of scales on a turtle and almost perfectly match the color patterns on the side of a Crappie or, some of the other small fish that may be hiding in the shadows in order to avoid being a meal for something larger.

Nature is full of patterns and more patterns which reflect other patterns.  It is natural camouflage -- patterns blending into patterns.  Think of a moth on tree bark, or a sparrow in the weeds.

Patterns are all around us.  They tend to be repetitive.  When something doesn't fit the expected pattern, we notice it.  (It is a survival response.)  Did you notice in the image the thing that doesn't fit?  There is a single seed head on one of the cattails.  It is in the process of releasing the seeds.  (You may need to zoom in on the image to see it clearly.)

I knew when I first looked at the reeds in the pond that something didn't seem right -- it was the sterility of the pond; it appeared lifeless -- until I spotted the single cattail which was releasing its seeds.  Instead of an image of death -- a dying pond -- it became the image of a pond clinging to life.

Perhaps patterns lull us into lethargy.  I suspect there are many things subliminally written into our minds by the patterns around us.  It is only when we look for the anomalies that we see life.  As we approach the end of the year we often spend time reflecting on the events of the previous one.  Is it time to break a few patterns?  Patterns seem to become ruts which lead down the same old path of sameness.  Maybe next year would be a good time to break out of the ruts, break the pattern, do something different that will inject new life.  I'm looking forward to seeing what it will bring.  I hope you are too.