Dew - Earth's Liquid Jewelry

In his poem Hyperion, Longfellow said, “Every dew-drop and rain-drop had a whole heaven within it."  What would he make of today’s world of micro and macrophotography?  To say his words had an element of truth in them might be assuming that the camera never lies.  However it can hardly be doubted that he might find joy in this collection of outstanding photographs.  Perhaps he would feel that they represented the inner peace for which he was searching.

Image Credit Flickr User Stevetookit

Image Credit Flickr User Ecstaticist

Earth's liquid jewelry wrought of air. Philip James Bailey
Dew forms on any exposed and thin object in the morning and (unknown to some) also in the evening.  It is caused by the object cooling.  When it cools it radiates the heat it is generating. That heat causes moisture in the surrounding atmosphere to condense.  The water is not able to evaporate faster that it is condensing.  So, dew forms.

The Ancient Salt Ponds of Maras, Peru

Before the rise of the Inca Empire, those with an eye to make money but no aversion to hard work, made their way to Maras.  There, a subterranean stream surfaced and its waters were rich with salt.  Deep underground there is a vast deposit of salt, perhaps the remnant of some prehistoric ocean. Hundreds of miles from the sea, this led to a small but important local industry supplying indigenous communities with salt.  The ponds which were created to evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind, still exist and are worked to this day in the same way.

Image Credit pullante