Places that have ponds
I am always moved and delighted by places that have ponds, not only in winter (when I love waking up to find that the water has frozen over) but at every time of the year. The ponds I like best are not those in which everything is carefully laid out; I much prefer one that has been left to itself so that it is wild and covered with weeds. At night in the green spaces of water one can see nothing but the pale glow of the moonlight. At any time and in any place I find moonlight very moving.
– Sei Shonagon, translated by Ivan Morris, Penguin Classics p138
