In this moment of disappointing health, my sister talked about gratitude and finding things for which to feel fortunate.

When I got home from visiting her today, I looked at the images I snapped.

This is Gratitude 1: I can (and am) storing thousands of images on Google. I make images and I keep them. I press the shutter to record a memory, freeze a moment.

I do not worry about running out of storage. I can literally see more clearly through these lens than I can with the naked eye. Plants take on greater detail and get larger, and birds perched hundreds of feet away develop into partners of exploration: I see what they see. I try, at any rate. The wide landscapes and waterways that separate us become a hunting ground for us both.

It is uplifting to walk among the wild and be aware that it is the wild, even here, among the overwhelming presence of humans. It is rewarding to enjoy their presence and feel more knowing, more connected, than before I started making pictures.

Gratitude.

At least for today, February 3, that works.