I joined friends for a walk along the bike trail north of Johnston over the weekend. We went early in an unsuccessful effort to beat the heat and humidity. At 7:30 a.m., the sun was still low in the sky, throwing long shadows across the trail.

The trail was an excuse for a walk and talk. More interested in talking than sightseeing, we were totally unprepared to be stopped in our tracks by the algae bloom covering the lake and back water on both sides of the trail.

An algae bloommay be caused by many things and often the reasons and the results aren’t positive. I don’t know what caused this one, but the result was art.

The green and yellow colors were brilliant. The shadows dramatic. The result of this algae bloom was a scene reminiscent of a Pixar-produced wonderland. The colors changed from green to yellow to silver depending on the angle of sun. The surface appeared to be glass or ice or velvet. The photographic results were exciting color contrasted with subtle black and white. Both dramatic.

Maybe we’re not supposed to like algae blooms, but it would be impossible not to enjoy the art nature used the algae to create.