The stone pictured is the first of 365 I hope to collect this year as I walk through Eagle Landing Park and record observations of the ecosystem. The Park is alive, of course, a biosphere arbitrarily sliced out of nature by encroaching houses. The six acres of Eagle Landing Park are in relatively poor health compared to the state of the endless forest in 1849, before colonization by Europeans. It has been my goal for the last ten years or so, and it will continue to be my objective for the rest of my life, to see this small forest returned to health, at least as much as possible given the ocean of pavement surrounding it.

I want to have a symbiotic relationship with these woods. Of course, the forest provides more to me than I ever could return. Oxygen, water filtration, air cleansing, beauty, peace, and habitat in my back yard that I can spend the rest of my life learning about. I have learned the ninety native plant species, and the twenty or so invasive plant species. I have learned about fifty of the one hundred plus bird species. I continue to learn something new every day. In return for this health and wonder provided by the Park, I want to provide a service that increases the health and wellbeing of the Park. On today’s walk, I counted 204 trees that I have planted in an effort to restart the natural regeneration cycle and displace the invasive species. I have planted hundreds of other plants and removed tons of ivy and laurel and blackberries over the years. This year, I want to provide the service of memory for the Park. I wish to write a biography of this entity, captured in 365 snapshots, 365 stones. On December 31st, 2012, I will take my jar full of pebbles down to the beach and set them free. After a year of daily walks through the Park with my dogs, I hope the Park is a better place than it was at the start of the year, healthier. Whether or not the Park sees a net improvement in health, these 365 stones will record what is happening, what the forest is like, and why it prospers or languishes.

Today, I took a picture of a very unusual cloud pattern above Eagle Landing Park. I also tried to shoot a panorama at sunset, but Vashon Island ended up fragmented, not quite stitched together properly. Porter, Kelsy, and Komu were my canine companions today. We walked two and half miles in and near the park. I had to lift my twelve-year-old dog up from the beach because the stairs are still broken at least thirteen months after they were initially wiped out by storm-driven waves. We did not see the eagles today, and it has been roughly one month since I last saw them. The woods are very bright, much brighter than the height of summer, because all the leaves are off the trees.