Dawning moments in the rain forest.

It is an early Fall morning when I begin to brew the day's first cup of tea, the wood-smoke from the stove drifts through the trees and the yellow light of dawn seeps under the grey overcast. Typical, one might say if you live here on the West Coast of Canada amid the forest. It is the very ordinariness of the moment that gets me picking up my camera and stepping outside while I wait for the tea to brew.

Back-lit and filtered through wood smoke,
 the scruffy ending of summer flowers is special. 

How often have I waited until something spectacular is happening before I think to capture the moment? As though a normal conversation is not worthy of notice but we wait for the high moments, always. Life is made up of dawns like this, every twenty four hours or so, perhaps I need to observe this ordinary moment more thoughtfully. Practice like this could give my whole life meaning.

The sunlight comes and goes between the clouds
 and spotlights deep into the forest.

Not that you will find me ignoring those zingy times when they arrive, but they then will be in the context of the everyday, not some special jewels of light to be sought amid a dark and featureless landscape.

An almost undetectable detail, the pitch on
 the fir bark catches the first light of dawn

Maple leaves and winged seeds contrast
with the rough bark of a big fir tree.

Maple branches against the dark cedars.

An hour later and the morning cloud has vanished. What a difference! There is a whole new story to be told.