There’s something undeniably exhilarating and beautiful about a passing storm. The barometer drops, the air gets still and then the wind rises, rain comes and then clears. Maybe the excitement comes from a sense of disaster avoided, and in this time of climate change, we’ve all become more aware of the lethal power of nature. Human nature has it’s stormy elements too, and we certainly live in a tempestuous period.

The deformity of the trees and the erosion of the bluffs at Rodman’s hollow, on the south end of the island, testify to unrelenting natural forces, and the existence of the island itself, part of a glacial moraine, is the result of even greater force over a longer time. Walking around the island with a camera or paintbox, I think of how amazing it is to be able to experience this moment in this place. It seems that the storms that don’t kill us make us stronger and more appreciative.