Almost every summer for the past 25 years, Parker Palmer (Member 57,415) and his wife have travelled to Gunflint Lake, Minnesota, US for an extended stay. Located on the US-Canadian border, Parker’s summer retreat sits on the edge of over one million acres of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

The first time the couple returned to Gunflint Lake after the pandemic, Parker captured a moody sky. ‘It was a real blessing,’ he says, ‘to be able to return to a site that has long meant rest, renewal, and deep healing to us.’ This sky shows different species of Cumulus clouds. The towering form of a Cumulus congestus on the right catches the sunlight to shine brilliant white, contrasting the shadowed forms of Cumulus humilis (small ones) and Cumulus fractus (frayed-looking ones) that appear dark in the foreground. ‘In these parts,’ says Parker, ‘Mother Nature allows anyone with a camera to be Ansel Adams for a moment!’