An Album of Unlikely Beauty

The things I find when I go looking.

I published this first in my old Wordpress blog, the original ‘Constant Commoner’. I was going through some of my old pieces there and came across this one. It brought me such joy again, I thought I’d share it here. As a respite.

Because, you know…life.

All of the pictures, except the ice fountain, were taken in my own stomping grounds, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

(I don’t have to tell you that the photos belong to me. If you want to use them, you’ll need to add an attribution. They’re free to use, but my name needs to be on them.)

Not going anywhere

I was sifting through my pictures yesterday, looking for specific photos for a project (always a daunting task, since I’m terrible at making folders and keeping track of the thousands of pics I keep online), when I realized how, in many of them, I found beauty in the most unlikely places.

These, above and below, are pictures of our old dock wheel and footing, taken one miserable, icy morning.  It may have been the only bright moment that day, when I saw these from our window and bundled up, slipping and sliding to capture these icicles.

An icy chandelier

A spider web, nearly invisible any other time, suddenly becomes lace when a soft snow falls.

Charlotte’s lacy web

This is a fountain across the street from our winter digs near Myrtle Beach. It was taken last year in early January, and it duplicated again this January.  So much for Southern comfort!

Ice fountain near Myrtle Beach

The spiral staircase at Pt. Iroquois Lighthouse, west of Brimley, Michigan.  The peeling paint makes it eerie and mysterious and, I think, beautiful.  I reversed and darkened the second one for dramatic effect.

Spiral staircase at Pt. Iroquois Lighthouse

Haunted staircase, Pt. Iroquois Lighthouse

Way up in Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula the old Cliff Mine Cemetery is nearly hidden, but near enough to US 41 to hear the sounds of cars going by.  A narrow foot path leading down into the trees is the only evidence that something might be there. The path leads through a large patch of myrtle to a few remaining headstones, untouched for over a century.

Path through Myrtle at Cliff Cemetery

Iron grave marker at Cliff Cemetery

Celtic grave marker at Old Cliff Cemetery

There are only a few sandy places along our stony island shore. Most of it looks like this. But I love to see how readily nature adapts to its surroundings. Nothing stops those little seeds from popping up, even among the rocks.

Where there’s a will there’s a way

I found this beautiful fungus bouquet along one of the island’s hiking trails. I was using my kindergarten Android phone camera at the time, so the quality isn’t good, but I still love that I found it.

There’s a fungus among us and it’s lovely!

There were a pair of these moths on the mossy boulder behind our house several years ago, and I’ve never seen anything like them again.  They’re a kind of sphinx moth, with ludicrously fat bodies, but this one posed beautifully.

Sphinx Moth

One Fall day a few years ago Ed and I took a photo-op trip around our County, looking for old barns and remnants of old homesteads.  This one has since fallen down.

Seen better days, in Chippewa County

But this old homestead is still standing. For well over a century it has endured Northern Michigan winters. It’s far tougher than I am.

Old farmhouse, Chippewa County

The old farmhouse pump. A remnant, like a sculpture, of times past.

Look around, look around, and see what you can see. Sometimes it’s right under our noses!

Relax. Enjoy.  I’ll do this again some time.

---