This morning, while Aki and I walk along a North Douglas Island beach, I am surprised that we had the place to ourselves. Strong gusts rip dark-green strips across an ocean’s surface already pounded by rain. We disturb a raft of mallards that move reluctantly away from the beach. It’s too dark, cold, and wet to get out the camera but I do and snap a few shots of the islands in Lynn Canal, their outlines softened by the storm. Back in the forest, I take a picture of bare alders reflected in a panel of melting pond ice. Even mid-storm the camera finds some beauty.