There is something continually hopeful about a New Year. Green life grows up on degraded surfaces, and Nature asserts her buoyant purpose.

I always delight in a clear path forward under sunny skies.

Any year that included a trip to a National Park I’d never visited before is a memorable year. I saw Crater Lake in July of 2025.

City culture often centers humanity in symbols of peace. The Portland Japanese Garden contains this Peace Lantern, a 1954 gift from Japan inscribed “Casting the Light of Everlasting Peace”.

There are always unusual and surprising things to see if I keep my eyes open and practice awareness.

At the end of the year, I celebrated with my daughter in her new house, connecting past and present and future in memory, tradition, and hope.

I was inspired by Jane Goodall’s final interview last year. Her message of continuing to do good work despite the increasingly strong challenges to values we both hold dear was a rallying call. This year, current events have already served up powerful strikes against peace and harmony with Nature. I will continue to look for evidence of beauty and goodness around me and make images to record its continued presence. Thank you, fellow Lens Artists, for documenting the Art you see. It makes a difference.