trillium lake

Falling to Winter

Time is the one true constant—an invisible current that carries us forward, whether we’re ready or not. It’s the most honest measure of what we value: the hours we devote to work, the moments we share with loved ones, the days we steal away to travel and explore. Yet once spent, time is irretrievable. And as we age, its pace seems to quicken, propelling us ever faster toward the inevitable horizon.

In this digital age, one of the greatest thieves of time is doom-scrolling. I’ve succumbed to it more often than I’d like to admit—a habit I wrestle with, especially as the world around me slips by in fleeting seasons. The spring wildflowers I wandered among feel like they bloomed just yesterday, their colors still vivid in my memory. Summer hikes and backpacking adventures seem only moments ago. The joy of autumn’s fiery foliage still lingers. And tomorrow, surely, will be winter. The cycle spins faster now, each turn of the wheel a blur.

Sometimes I long to return—to the wide-eyed wonder of my teens, the boundless optimism of my twenties, the memory-rich tapestry of my thirties. But time doesn’t rewind. All I can do is move forward, carried by its current, hoping to make each moment count before it too becomes a memory.

Oregon
USA

Shadow of a Giant

Dawn broke on the shore of Lake Trillium like a slow firework. The muted greys slowly gave way to warming colors in the sky, while the lifting mist off the lake started to catch some of the morning light. The sun hadn't crested yet, and neither had …

Dawn broke on the shore of Lake Trillium like a slow firework. The muted greys slowly gave way to warming colors in the sky, while the lifting mist off the lake started to catch some of the morning light. The sun hadn't crested yet, and neither had it's warmth, leaving me and a few other intrepid adventurers freezing on that spring morning.

As the mist slowly wafted, I spotted a lonely racing boat peering through the mist and breaking the still surface of the lake. Eventually the mist lifted, and the huge prominence of Mt Hood made its appearance. Rising 7200 ft above the lake, the snow-capped volcanic behemoth was a sight to behold as it formed the backdrop for this tranquil scene.

I captured this one frame of this boater while waiting for the morning light to strike the peak, but weather patterns ensured that the light never came. Hence I decided to hold on to image to remind myself of that beautiful morning.

Trillium Lake
OR USA