This weekend Doug and I visited Mount Saint Helens. It was a truly breathtaking experience. The beauty of the mountain and the still visible destruction from the 1980 eruption are awe inspiring.

I was really struck by how, over 30 years later, plants and animals are still struggling to reintroduce themselves into the blast zone. I took the photo below to express this impression visually. Here you see a bush trying to gain a foothold in earth destroyed by the mountain, under whose shadow it grows.

And finally, an artsy photo of wood from a tree felled by the eruption.

I hope these photos inspire you all too.