I recently took a trip to the Lakes District in Northern England with some friends. I’m hoping to write about our adventures soon, but in the meantime, here is a dramatic shot of me atop one of the mountains we climbed and a quote by T.S. Eliot, whom I have been reading lately.
“Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow”T.S. Eliot
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”J.R.R. Tolkien
On Saturday night, my mom and I were treated to a glorious sunset over the Rainy River in International Falls, MN. See those trees? That’s Canada. 
F
My mom and I put ten miles of trail under our hiking boots yesterday. Here is a shot from our lunch spot on the shores of Lake Agnes on the Superior Hiking Trail.
I’ll be posting more trip photos over the next few days, so stay tuned!
You know those summer nights that have you grinning from ear to ear? That was me last night.
The thing about Brandi Carlile is that she’s got a voice that reaches into your soul. She digs into your roots, unearthing all insecurities and nostalgia and takes you back to a place you thought no longer existed. She finds beauty in simplicity. Her music is raw cuts to the bone.
As a graduation gift my older brother took me to see her at The Cabooze in Minneapolis. It was an outdoor show and couldn’t be more perfect. The openers were Anderson East and Iron & Wine. I had high hopes for the later, but they were just too mellow for an outdoor show.
Brandi was such a treat. Most of her songs center on the themes of home, innocence, and change. I’m a pretty nostalgic person and her music hit me dead center. I’ve been to several concerts over the past year, but this was definitely a favorite. I’d see her again in a heartbeat.
It’s been a great year for concerts. My next one is The Oh Hellos in October with a college friend.
What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to? Tell me about it in the comments!
This past weekend to celebrate my mother’s birthday (which just-so-happens to be on the 4th of July), my family took a boat cruise on the St. Croix River. Although we live five minutes from the launching point in Taylors Falls and know the owners of the company, I hadn’t been on one of the ferry boats since I was a little girl.
Due to wildfires in the Western U.S. and Canada, the air has been incredibly hazy over the past week. For days the sky was stained white from the smoke that’s drifted across the continent. At one point, we could even smell the smoke.It’s amazing how events have a way of effecting everyone–even people hundreds of miles away.
The haze made for some beautiful photos. I’m no photographer, but I like to dabble with my iPhone every now and then. Here’s a shot of the Taylors Falls Princess, one of the oldest ferry boats in the country. Or, as my best friend and I used to say when we spotted it on the river from our school bus, it’s the “Fairy with No Wand”.
Today marked the busiest day of the year at my family’s strawberry patch. Within ten minutes, at least thirty cars of people were piling up to pick and we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to accommodate them. I enjoy the bustle, but part of me lives for the few moments of silence just before the gate opens.
Keep Your Feet 