Since my family and I moved to Vancouver Island on the west coast of British Columbia, we've had a wonderful time exploring the ever-changing landscape near our home and further afield over the past seven months.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, I've found photographing in winter to be particularly inspirational as the soft light and clouds, muted tones, and striking forms create unusual scenes for us more poetic souls.

One morning in early March, we decided to return to a beautiful Garry Oak grove (the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve) I had discovered on a very sunny day on our way to another destination. We drove around to the back of the preserve, marvelling at the tortuous limbs of the old oaks covered in moss and lichen under a now overcast sky.

After photographing these giant bonsais standing quietly in a meadow carpeted with new green, I turned around to gaze at the mountains in the distance. And in the foreground this towering tree captivated me with its slender trunk and crown of branches adorned with tendrils, a part of itself broken off and lying next to its base a poignant reminder of all that it must have weathered and experienced over many years.