All week I have been contemplating the subject of our photo challenge – treasure – asking myself, “what do I treasure and why?” As I thought about it while sitting under a bower of vine maple leaves, surrounded by old growth Douglas Fir trees with the sound of water falling into my pond, and mourning doves cooing nearby, I realized that what I treasure is the immeasurable whole.

Then I decided to narrow it down a bit and settled on water – a life source that I love, that feeds the whole of what I treasure. From calm and tranquil like Salmon Creek and Crescent Lake below…

…to roaring and powerful, like the Spokane River and Salt Creek Falls above, water always captivates me.

And then there’s the Pacific, which I often feature in my posts. Here are two moods of this incredible ocean:

Above, the quiet swish of waves advancing or receding along the beach, and below towering breakers as they crash into the shoreline at Long Beach, Washington!

“Just as we place a higher value on certain objects because they are scarce, we might value moments in time precisely because of their transience. We may not be able to commodify transience as we can rare objects, but there are other, more intimate ways to confer value.” – Sebastian Smee

Thanks go to Aletta of nowathome, for hosting this week’s challenge. It is quite a distinction to be asked, and a big responsibility to provide the challenge subject and then reply to all who offer their treasures!

Wherever you find your treasures, please honor our earth, be kind and stay safe.🐾