Mount Baker viewed from Victoria.

I have always had a love of the Earth; for both its surface features and the life it embraces.  In spite of our self-eradicating tendencies and unsustainable molestation of the environment, there is still a great deal of beauty to be found.  

I took the above photo at some friends' place.  They had the advantage of living at the peak of a subdivision in Victoria, BC.  It was an early morning with nary a cloud to be seen and the sun was announcing its imminent arrival by casting wonderful hues of red, orange, and yellow in the sky.  In front of that was Mount Baker, some 123 km away, by far still the most prevalent landmark around.  

The lights in the foreground are most likely street lamps.  The give-away is the singular colour associated with them.  Occassionally you can pick out lights from other sources; a window here and a few cars there.  The effect is almost a reverse astrological sign, akin to the starry host being reflected in an utterly quiet lake.  

In between the two ranges was an escarpment of mountains, part of the Cascades, a mountainous stretch from California to southern British Columbia.  Together the three layers of shade give the illusion of distance in a two dimensional image.  In real life, the scene before my eyes was even more spectacular.  

What a beautiful place, this Earth.  You would think we would be looking after such a precious endowment.  

Thanks for reading.   www.ericspix.com