This post contains numerous images of the devastation that still remains two and a half months after Western North Carolina was hammered by Helene. All the images show massive destruction and despite how many photographs there are, this is only a small portion of the destruction. I chose this image to be featured, because when I came upon this sight I thought maybe it will be possible for nature to eventually absorb the destruction and heal. However, as you will see from the other images, we still need a great deal of help and we need to let our legislators know that real aid is essential for our region.

Single point focus in the midst of chaos is something I’ve been trying to cultivate lately. We have experienced so much devastation in Western North Carolina, but we cannot give up hope. Focusing on what will endure beyond the immediacy of the destruction gives me hope for the future. On the other hand, it is important to bear witness to what has happened here. Finding hope in regeneration helps offset some of the loss we have endured.

The image above is my self-portrait in these difficult times. Seeing the land in Western North Carolina that I have come to love so deeply become this destroyed is heart-wrenching. But as I learned from Trebbe Johnson’s practicum on Radical Joy in Hard Times, we cannot abandon what we love just because it has been harmed or is broken. Honoring this landscape under moonlight seemed especially meaningful to me. Though moonlight is only about 15 percent as strong as sunlight and insufficient for plants to perform photosynthesis (except for a small number of phytoplankton), it does affect plants circadian rhythms and is important for immunity, wound healing, regeneration, and growth since moonlight may affect water in cells. Moon gazing meditation is beneficial to humans as well, and practitioners have reported that it provides deeper connection to the universe and all living beings, as well as reducing anxiety and stress through the natural release of melatonin.

This has been the fall Western North Carolina does not want to live through again. Helene caused lots of damage in Buncombe County where I live, but it also devastated hollers and other mountainous regions with rivers across Western North Carolina. These places are going to need help for a long time and we cannot forget about them. The images in this postwere taken more than six weeks after Helene and the flooding rains we experienced beforehand hit. It was a disaster on par with the 1903 flood of the Pacolet River and the 1916 flood in Asheville.

The devastation along the French Broad River is cataclysmic even for people who have never seen the area before, but when you compare the images with what it looked like before the storm it is even more shocking. Water is one of the most destructive forces on Earth. We need it to survive, but when it rains too much it is terrifying. The image on the left was taken in August 2021 on a bridge over the French Broad looking up river. The image on the right was taken on October 24, 2024 looking in the same direction but taken from the walkway–much of which is falling into the river. I knew there had been trees along both sides of the river, but I didn’t remember exactly how many had been on the east side that are no longer there. View more comparative images in the blog post.

The Pisgah Ranger District opened last week and we were finally able to get out and see some fall color. Fortunately, there was less damage here than there was in Asheville. I still worry about the future of these trees, if we don’t take action to help stem climate change. Western North Carolina is usually a mecca for leaf peepers, but the Park Service estimates tens of thousands of trees were lost along the parkway. Formerly tree-lined riverbanks have been denuded, and farms have been flooded with toxic sludge. If you love fall colors, if want to continue hiking in natural areas, and if you care about your health, there is only one choice in the upcoming election. This Pale Blue Dot is our home.

Please consider supporting the French Broad Riverkeeper and Mountain True in their efforts to help clean up the damage caused by the French Broad River in the River Arts District in Asheville.

Some lumens I made with vegetation I collected right before the rains preceding Helene hit the Asheville area. No idea what life remains on our trails and what fungi has spread up in the place of what was swept away. When my broken wrist heals, I will make more lumens of the organic matter in our area. The devastation is so unfathomable.

Never underestimate the power of beauty and attraction. My love of flowers is perhaps genetic. I come from a family of English gardeners, though I do not possess a green thumb. Fortunately, I live in a place where beautiful flora is abundant in the wild. I did however venture to Bullington Gardens recently, after two fellow photographers went and raved about the Dahlias. They are such beautiful flowers and I think what speaks to me is how their gorgeous multi-colored petals open up to receive the light yet they keep the centers of their crowns curled in, as if to protect the light within. I find there is always such a balance between opening up and shining our light while keeping a flame of our inner fire burning and protected, so that the light within keeps leading us no matter what the conditions are in the outer world. Read more at: https://www.lynnebuchanan.com/blog/the-allure-of-beauty-and-innocence

Some platinum-palladium prints from the Côte d’Azur with reflection on connections with place and the history the land holds.

The hairs on the nape of my neck were tingling this past week as a breeze of fresh ideas swept across the nation. The pit in my stomach has gone away, although I know enough not to be complacent. Things do seem to be shifting though, and there is a new energy emerging in the zeitgeist.

Continue reading for more images and reflections.

The importance of having room to dream cannot be underestimated. Grateful to Aline Smithson and Samantha Johnston for organising this amazing retreat, and to all the other women I spent the week with. The door to seeing and new ways of being was opened. Also grateful to Paulo Kellerman for asking me to participate in fortografar palavras, the project I contributed the first photograph in my blog post to. It is always inspiring to connect with other people in creative disciplines, as well as other lens based artists.

Contemplating what matters most, our roots, and our response to challenges while hiking along the banks of the Rocky Fork Creek.

Holding onto the earth against all odds and lessons about our change, unavoidable obstacles, and the way of Grace.

Important lessons learned in desert ecosystems, White Tank Mountains Regional Park

A Suite of Images and Haiku Foreshadowing Spring

Honoring the survivors in Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest as part of the Global Earth Exchange organized by Trebbe Johnson and Radical Joy for Hard Times

An invitation to listen to the land while hiking on the Bartram Trail to Scaly Mountain near Highlands, NC.