“You wouldn’t believe it but in a few days, this one will have white blossoms that smell like oranges,” Conrad announced, while pointing to one of the larger plants in his front yard.

On the way back from our walk, we saw my mom’s neighbour doing some gardening. We stopped to chat and admire his plants.

“Would you like to see the garden out back?” Conrad asked.

“Yes,” Mom and I replied succinctly.

We filed in one by one. As we passed through the wooden gate, something sparkly caught my eye.  I turned to see what it was, but then I couldn’t look away. I was captivated by the dew on the leaves. It was hard to break free.

As we toured the garden, our guide pointed out the different plants and veggies but I couldn’t concentrate because the dew was still on my mind.

“You have such a beautiful garden,” Mom complimented.

“And edible too! That’s the best kind,” I added.

We perused the garden, which was an inverted U shape, coming out at the far side of the house. Grape vines twisted and contorted themselves. This area was still shaded from the high morning sun. Dew rested on the leaves here too.

“I can’t believe all the dew,” I exclaimed.

“Do you not have any in Mexico?” Conrad enquired.

I thought about it for a moment. We had dew in Mexico too, but I had only noticed it on the car windshield. Upon returning in September, I would have to take a closer look at the plants in the early morning hours to see if dew collected there or not.

We crossed back along the remaining width of the garden, passing pots of lush herbs. We were standing right back in front of the dew. I was once again at the mercy of the tiny water droplets.

Noticing my enchantment mom offered, “I bet Conrad would let you take a few pictures.”

Conrad confirmed.  I took for home in a hurry. I returned with the used Canon Rebel camera that my brother Brett had given me for Christmas this past year. I hadn’t used it all that much because it was somewhat cumbersome. A crack on the bottom half of the LCD screen reduced the visuals but did not actually affect the photos. From what I could see on the fractured screen, some of the photos were quite good.

The next time I saw my brother, I showed him the backyard photos.

“Wow Dez, your photos have really improved. You are starting to show some promise.”