Damp

The other morning when I was digging up the sea creature that was the Elephant Ears roots I had to pick up (again) a large potted bamboo that was laying on the ground. It's a division from an established plant and has some tall, large culms on it. This makes it somewhat top-heavy and although it's in one of the largest pots I have and I have anchored it with some boards, it still falls over whenever it gets breezy.

When I picked it up, I noticed some beautiful condensation on the culms.

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Normally I'd never see condensation form this way, because the moisture quickly starts running downward due to gravity, and the culms -- although wet -- don't have the texture of the condensation.

I've seen this before on a table:

It was cool on the table, but I thought it looked particularly attractive on the bamboo, which is "Yellow Groove" bamboo, Phyllostachys aureosulcata. Maybe I found it so interesting because it's a texture that bamboo culms do not have.

A few minutes after being placed upright the water had run off, and no trace of this beautiful discovery remained. So much of the beauty in the garden and rest of the natural world is so fleeting, and depends on timing and careful observation, doesn't it? (Also, luck.)

I'm glad I had the chance to see it, and that I had camera in hand.