Impression Evergreen

Environmental Healing While we struggle to maintain some sense of normalcy, nature is thriving evidenced by cleaner air, clearer water, active wildlife and bountiful birds. This spring, trails leading into the backcountry are deserted so the environment is healing at a noticeably accelerated pace. Shackled by a strict quarantine, I spend my mornings traipsing through Elk Meadow with a camera slung over my shoulder before sheltering in place the rest of the day. The daily routine begins in a spacious meadow and expands gradually into a lively woodland. Some days are more photogenic than others but in general there has been a plethora of engaging creatures. Right at the forest’s edge is where most of the action occurs because the animals can easily withdraw into the nearby safe haven. Elk and mule deer graze out in the open on shoots of new grass while up in the ponderosa pine trees, red and Abert’s squirrels scamper from branch to branch. One morning I crossed paths with a cu

Somber light March has been a dreary month distinguished by somber light, ill weather and a deadly virus. During this muddy stretch, we usually get most of our sleet and snow but this year it has been all rain and drizzle. The clocks were struck ahead so twilight is later but the dawn is diffused by a morning mist that cloaks the landscape in a depressing aura. The individual shapes are broken into receding planes that gradually disappear into a blank slate of firmament. The sun strains desperately to filter its first light into an eerie woodland shrouded by dense fog. Some of the rays are funneled through narrow passages between the trees creating surreal beams that flood the forest floor. The desaturated colors are dull, the black mountains are buttressed by a tawny meadow and slags of gray snow slide across the scene. The interior is filled with a thick atmosphere of soupy moisture that softens every sharp edge. Citizens have been asked to disperse, interact socially fr