I got “lost” several times while exploring back roads in Montana.  As lost as an adventurer without a map or a plan can be.  I’ve always been attracted to moody landscapes and love the mystery of a foggy morning more than a perfectly bright and cheery one. This particular day brought me to a ghostly forest – there was a dance going on between all the trees that had been lost in a fire, the lucky ones that survived it and the new life trying to emerge.

Ghostly forest in Montana – 2010.  Double exposure.

Doesn’t life feel that way at times? We wrestle with ghosts from our past, even when we think we’ve moved on from them. Some hold on and try to choke out the new life we are trying to forge – casting shadows where there could be light.  Yet some how a new seed takes hold, grows some roots and flourishes despite the challenges.  There is always hope and nature mirrors that for us repeatedly.