Manzanita in Winter

For all the devastation the December storm caused along the northern Oregon coast, the allure of beach communities like Manzanita was as strong as ever this blustery, overcast weekend.

I was drawn to the swirl of kelp strands, brown-shingled houses, the sinuous groves, the sweeping contous of shore grass. Even to the frayed splinters of a storm-snapped trunk washed up on the beach.