i have an app that forecasts the northern lights on my ipod but i never remember to look at it. instead, i rely on atlas. he can always be counted on to drag me out of bed for one (or two) (or three) middle-of-the-night potty runs. if the northern lights are visible at all, i will probably be outside at some point to see them. unfortunately, i am too sleepy in those moments to drive to the lake for prime viewing.

on monday, the show started at 10 (!!!) so i put a jacket on over my pajamas & grabbed my camera & drove to the lake. thanks to a kindly person who told me what shutter speed to use and then shared their flashlight with me so i could adjust my camera settings, i was able to capture some memories. (next time, i need to bring a tripod. i can tell when people were walking down the stairs – i was using the railing as a tripod – by the look of the stars.)

if you’ve never seen the northern lights, i hope you get to see them someday. i’ve seen them many many times over the years (all here, in michigan’s upper peninsula) and they never grow old. they remind me of magic & wonder & all good things. and as my dad would say, “now here’s something that deserves the adjective awesome.”

you are (i am) magic.

i’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. i don’t want to just believe in magic. (i do.) i want to be magic.

it’s easy to see magic in the shimmering lake, in the jewel-colored sand, in the golden light just before sunset.

but when you break everything down to its essence, it’s all made of the same stuff. so really, i am the shimmering lake. i am the jewel-colored sand. i am the golden light just before sunset.

i am stardust & moonbeam & rainbow. and i am magic.

my first swim of the season took place on saturday. now it feels like summer!

my favorite beach: bete gris
my favorite lake: superior
my favorite summer activity: a beach day complete with campfire + s’mores

(i think the sand at bete gris has magical properties. i keep touching the bottoms of my feet. they’re so smooth & soft!)

lilac season is short but sweet here. i appreciate every single moment.

last year, i had at least one vase of lilacs in my bedroom every day they were in bloom. this year, i had two or three. every time i opened the door, the sight & scent of all the lilacs made me smile with pleasure.

(at first, i was hesitant to pick them at all, but my dad told me that they bloom best with a good pruning. now, i just make sure that each bunch i pick comes from a different set of lilac bushes. and there are so so so many bushes here to choose from!)

the lilacs are gone from the bushes now, but there is still one vase of them in my room. instead of the petals dropping from the branches, which is what usually happens as they die, they dried on the branches in the vase. it was a wonderful surprise – clearly a bit of nature solstice magic.

last thursday, i went on a road trip to iron river with the pup – to visit a coffee shop called the bearded apple and meet a friend & her pup for a picnic.

there were so many places i wanted to stop and take pictures along the way but i left the house a wee bit later than i planned, so i only allowed myself to stop twice – a park next to this lake was one of them. (i actually drove by at first, but then i turned around and went back because i knew i’d be sorry if i didn’t.)

doesn’t it just look like a lake plumbago?

when the pup & i walked out the front door the other night, we were greeted by an almost full moon, peeking out at us from behind tire tread clouds. while i marveled at the clouds, five geese in a v formation came out of the eastern sky & flew right in front of the moon. then they continued on toward the west, as if they were following the tire tracks home.

it felt like a moment created just for me, and i had to stand and savor it.

1. these cherry blossoms!

my mom’s cousin has cherry trees in her backyard. last year, i ate the fruit. this year, i saw the blossoms.

2. this sunset!

remember when i missed the part of the sunset where the sun is still inches above the lake? i caught it the next night and it was spectacular.

3. this art!

my friend robin is a wonderful artist & storyteller. when i saw this painting, i knew i needed a print, because i could not stop thinking about her.

4. this pair!

i loved how my nephew would pause every so often on his constant journey toward atlas. (being an auntie is the best.)

5. this bumblebee!

at times, he reminded me of a very tiny bull rider.

how about you? what made you smile?

i wish i had caught the moment where the sun turned into an orange ball of fire in the sky. i saw a glimpse of it through the trees as i was driving down to the lake and it was so impossibly beautiful that my hand went to my heart & tears came to my eyes.

glory, glory, glory.

“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.”

~ Rilke