This week we celebrated my 65th birthday by spending a few days on the North Shore. The beauty of Northern Minnesota and Lake Superior always feeds my soul. But I’ve been having a recurrence of pain issues that make walking any distance painful so we did very little hiking and spent a lot of time at the Baptism River Bed and Breakfast soaking in the beauty all around us. Both my husband Jon and I enjoyed a slower paced vacation than previous photography workshops on the North Shore that always began at sunrise and went until after sunset.
For the first time in over 10 years my highest priority on this trip was not making photographs. Instead I decided to simply soak in the beauty all around me. Although I took my camera and lenses along, I didn’t take them out much at all. Sleeping in and not getting up for the beautiful sunrise light, I made photographs in contrasty bright light and didn’t worry about how they turned out. Instead…
I let myself be distracted by beauty.
With no agenda and no need to make the perfect photograph I drifted through the days taking out my phone camera when I felt compelled to photograph something. I enjoyed soaking in the light, feeling the heat of the sun on my skin and coolness of the breeze caressing me, hearing the waves break on the shore of Lake Superior.
“Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.”
―
Becoming a photographer taught me to see beauty everywhere.
What a gift it has been to be chased by beauty. Nature and life abound with beauty in mundane scenes and in wonderfully scenic places like the North Shore.
“I’ve found that there is always some beauty left — in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you.”
― The Diary of a Young Girl
Late yesterday afternoon I attended a house concert on a farm near Maple Plain, Minnesota. Sara Thomsen was the artist performing at the concert. I love her music and often listen to it. What a perfect way to complete my birthday week! The concert was outdoors in such a sweet spot. Trees and gardens surrounded us and grapevines twined around the railing in between the seats and the field beyond. The golden light of late afternoon filled the sweet fields in the distance. Birds sang, crickets chirped, and monarch butterflies flitted to and fro while Sara sang.
Listening to the caring lyrics of her songs in these challenging times I was reminded…
It was a perfect to hear Sara sing “Bees buzzing in the bergamot…” and other moving and heart-felt songs. As daylight turned to twilight the air felt soft and gentle on my skin, the eastern sky slowly turned pink and vision softened in the gradual lessening of light.
Beautiful music in beautiful surroundings!
My eyes often drifted to the slowly darkening field in the distance. I appreciated the way the light and shadows gradually shifted until the sun finally set and the soft pink of twilight skies appeared.
You can hear and feel Sara’s deep appreciation for nature and life in the songs she writes and performs and also in her story telling between songs.
The title for today’s blog post comes from a comment Sara made during her performance. In between songs she heard a bird singing and asked, “Does anyone know what that bird that just sang is?” She went on,”I get distracted by beauty.”
The sky at the end of the concert
Yes, I thought, like Sara, I am distracted by beauty everywhere I go. A certain light in the sky, puffy white clouds floating through a blue sky, trees standing tall and wise, spectral highlights in the water, butterflies flitting, birds singing, and the feeling of a gentle breeze on my skin all distract me with their beauty.
When was the last time you were distracted by beauty?
May you walk in beauty
Me, Sara Thomsen, and my friend Elizabeth after the concert
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