“Laguna in Winter” is part of my WaterWorld series, which captures a silvery new world wrought by climate change.  In January 2023, nine successive atmospheric rivers hit California. As the weeks of rain reached near-biblical proportions, we weathered flooding, severe damage, and loss of life.  

A tiny stream hidden among the willows in summer, the Laguna de Santa Rosa filled with the winter rains, jumped its banks, and spread over a mile across a low basin. It engulfed ancient oaks, grazing pastures, and vineyards. When the rain and wind calmed down, it had flattened out to a placid lake, reassuring as Noah’s rainbow.