I was up early yesterday morning hoping for a beautiful sunrise to compliment the fall colors that we’re enjoying in Minnesota. But as luck would have it, the cloud cover was too thick and there was no sunshine. However, it was unusually warm and the colors were still wonderful. There was enough wind to throw ripples across the lake and there was a shoreline that was mostly protected from the wind. Looking through the camera lens I was mesmerized by the color reflection in the water. The slight movement created a blur of colors and the more I looked at it the more I was reminded of the Northern Lights, only here they were playing out as reflections in a northern lake.
reflection
End of the Trail in the Ozark Mountains
On our last night in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, we went to the Buffalo Bar at the Top of the Rock, near Ridgedale, Missouri. As the sun was setting after a warm summer-like day, it illuminated the clouds that were on the horizon and in the sky above, and all was reflected in Table Rock Lake. At the Top of the Rock is a water pool that has a statue of the End of the Trail, all at the precipice overlooking the lake. In researching the statue, I learned that the sculptor James Earle Fraser was originally from Winona, Minnesota, and the piece was first modeled in 1894. This area of the Ozarks had been home to the Osage Indians, and this evening’s sunset beauty seemed a fitting tribute to them and the area they loved.
The luminous light in northern Minnesota
I wanted to share another image from our vacation in northern Minnesota. I am always amazed at the light when we are in this area. Perhaps it’s because the sky appears so large and the lakes help to reflect all the light that’s around. This particular evening the sun was getting lower in the western sky, slanting to the east. It cast a golden glow on the trees along Jack the Horse Lake. The clouds to the south were a luminous white and pink, dusted with the glow of the setting sun. And the calmness of the evening allowed the colors to be reflected in the smooth lake surface – a scene that still takes my breath away. Calmness, light, stillness, luminosity, and beauty.
Ladies weekend
A sure cure for stress is a weekend trip to a lake up north. Add in a group of wonderful friends and a cabin on a lake and everyone comes away in better spirits. It was ladies weekend on Lake Mary, south of Alexandria. We got out of our cars on Friday night, walked into the cabin and left our stress behind. From then on it was relaxing, laughing, resting, and sharing — it was decompression of the best kind. Throw in a beautiful sunset with the slightest of water ripple near the shore, a sky full of twinkling stars, a deck overlooking the lake with the warmth of the sun on our backs, and wonderful conversation; five friends found it hard to pull ourselves away today to return to the cities and our upcoming Monday.
Echoes in a school hallway
We recently stopped at an elementary school to enjoy a delicious Boy Scout fund-raising breakfast. After filling up on pancakes and sausage we wandered the hallways. I was struck by the beauty of the old windows. The wax on the floors reflected the light coming through the multi-colored panes of glass giving them a wonderful ripple as the colors spread down the hallway. And there was an elegant simplicity to the old light fixture hanging above. The scene seemed to echo with a strange sound, aching to be filled with the laughter of grade school children running up the stairs, pushing to get in line, and the anticipation of classes. I wondered how many children have returned to the school as adults to marvel at the beauty that they either took for granted when they attended classes or more likely didn’t notice in the excitement and fun of being children.
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