Tracing The Ephemeral Ponds  is an ongoing public intervention in which I draw chalk outlines around puddles. This work can be experienced by passersby as a temporary installation, or by viewers displaced in time as photographic documentation. The puddles are traced in and around my Queens neighborhood which is sometimes called ‘Fresh Pond’ for the freshwater ponds that, until 100 years ago, defined the area. These natural bodies of water were infilled in the effort towards urbanization, but evidence of their existence wells up in the streets with each rainfall. As natural processes are impeded by urban development, puddles resist intervention, reminding us that pooling water is inherent to the local landscape. This work invites humorous reflection about the urban landscape while positioning puddles as reminders of our ecological history and sites of connection with the living environment.