Purple Mountain Majesties
Oregon · USA
Dusk and lavender skies descend upon Faith, Hope, and Charity, with hazy atmosphere generated by nearby wildfires turning the trio a barely-believable shade of purple in the fading light. Thickets of Douglas spirea (Spirea douglasii) such as the one in the foreground dot the boggy shores of this little subalpine lake, the sinful equivalent of Trillium Lake to Mt. Hood as it relates to its drive-up accessibility for a gorgeous mountain-lake reflection view.
The soothing calm here belies chaos elsewhere: An exceptionally prolonged dry stretch has turned Central and Southern Oregon into a veritable tinder box during this Summer of 2013, and lightning storms bring an ever-present threat of new fire starts. Closer to 'home', my buddy Jeff and I were being entertained by the hot/cold antics of one Sydney the dog, a rather schizophrenic canine belonging to one of the campers, who would turn from docile lap dog one moment into a frothing, barking missile of viciousness the next (though with tail wagging all the while) whenever the neighboring campers' pair of dogs ventured too close for her comfort (even though they still remained a good 40 yards off...).
