Mayflies in the basement

Just back from a wake. 

I melted some snow to add to the few gallons of pond water sitting in our basement. Turns out it takes a long tome to melt really cold snow, and it turns out that there's not a whole lot of water in 10 inches of snow.

The small bumps of pleasure I get watching daphnia scuttle through the water as an occasional mayfly dances near the fluorescent light help get me through winter.

I suppose I look like a mad man peering into my tub of muddy water, searching for tiny bits of movement, sniffing through the slight putrid aroma that suggest my tiny pond may be going anaerobic on me.

Still, the critters I watch dancing in and around this basement oasis in the middle of February remind me just how tenuous and crazy this whole life thing is.

And it's no crazier than staring at the glow of a screen sending images of people you'll never know doing things you'd never do.