Waterlilies have always fascinated me. While I realize that they are, in reality, tethered to the bottoms of their ponds, they seem to float magically in their own space. Most of these images were taken at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania; the large white lily with a center like a shower head, however, was photographed at a pond near my home in Virginia. There is an artificial pond that I pass on my way to the post office; this year I stopped to photograph the lilies, and learned that waterlily beds are far from silent! The bed was alive with sound -- a constant popping and snapping, as if buds were opening and shutting all around me. (Perhaps they were.) The local lily looks like a little alien; I call it the "take me to your leader" flower!