Lake Michigan

Right now I'm sitting in the lounge flipping through my iphoto folders and have found that there are a good number of nice pictures I haven't yet shared with anyone. Most of you will not be surprised to hear that the vast majority of them depict what may be the single greatest muse I've had in all my life: Lake Michigan. It never ceases to amaze me how many different moods, colors, and textures she displays from one hour to the next, and even though I deeply miss the mountain and desert wildernesses of my Utah home, Lake Michigan has nourished my soul in new ways I could have never anticipated.

Also Though I love the large sunrise photo I've featured on my blog for the last few months...


...I think it's about time I change it up. So here's my new featured sunrise pic...which I took a couple of months ago, but didn't take the initiative to post it in the moment (I was probably insanely busy with class and performance responsibilities at the time).

And as a sort of homage to the friend I'll be missing for the next couple of months as I travel to NY and Austria for the summer, here are some snapshots that I hope will illustrate why it's been so easy to fall in love with my watery neighbor.

One of the creatures that arrived at the lake in late spring and has entertained me ever since is the tern. They wheel and hover above the water scanning for small fish and then dive bomb their aquatic victims with a purposeful grace that puts the comparative awkwardness of their seagull cousins to shame. The one pictured here is a Caspian tern: the largest variety...

...and here--about to plunge headfirst into the water--is the smaller and more delicate common tern...

I've tried time and again to capture the instant at which one of these birds hits the water, and this is about the closest I've come.

In this moment, the tern has already captured its prey and is on its way back up. The fact that the birds actually emerge from the water while the spray from their initial splash is still hovering in the air above them is a testament to their deftness and speed.

I hope all of this hasn't been too tedious for anyone. When I started this blog I expected I'd be maintaining a regular account of what it was like to be an aspiring professional trumpet player learning the tricks of the trade as a part one of the nation's premier university studios. What I've found instead is that it has become a means of escape from the daily struggles I endure. It does me good to share what I'm still able to see as beautiful in the world around me. It reminds me to be grateful and it helps me to wonder.