Struck by Beauty

Even if the camera on my phone can't capture it...

Mon. May 18, 2026 - Photo of a waxing crescent Moon conjunct with Venus in the Western sky. Perhaps I ought to have taken my foot off the brake pedal…

Wed. May 20, 2026

On Monday evening, I was driving home from meeting a lovely friend for a late lunch at Bali Express, in Carson City (half-way between us), when I turned off of the US-395 Southbound and on to Benton Crossing Road when out of the corner of my left eye it appeared that the new-ish waxing crescent Moon was huge and growing low in the western sky.

I pulled over just east of the Green Church and marveled at how beautiful the setting Moon was in its conjunction with an equally large and glowing Venus. Jupiter was just above the two and the sky was dark even with the lights of the highway, KMMH airport, and Mammoth Lakes in the background.

I was so struck by the beauty of the Moon, Venus, and Jupiter in the western sky, that I pulled out my new-ish Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra phone to take photos of the Moon and Venus. The S24 has its own opinions on how to take night photos and the photos I took were not anywhere as glorious as the three graces - Moon, Venus, and Jupiter - were in the dark night sky.

I have had a rough last six weeks with life coming at me hard from a variety of directions on top of the all the stuffs in the world. In the last two weeks, I have been feeling empty and unhappy trying to weigh my options in order to set a reasonable course of action.

Then I made left turn on to Benton Crossing Road and was struck by the beauty of the world. The beauty of the night sky. The beauty of the dance of the planets. After taking three decent photos that in no way convey the moment accurately, I cried.

I cried all the way back to the campground that I have spent my last few summers at.

The world is more than a bit of a hell hole right now. Please tell the folks you love and are friends with how much they matter to you.

Then go out and admire how beautiful the world, nature, the sky, and the waters are.

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Photos

Here have three more photos from the Month of May, in the year of Twenty Twenty-Six where I was struck by the beauty of the land, sky, and waters:

May 12, 2026 - Carson Peak and Horsetail falls as seen from Aerie Crag Picnic Area, June Lakes, California. Photo by Jenifer Hanen, aka Ms. Jen.

May 3, 2026 - New snow on the high Eastern Sierra mountains as the storm clouds move out, as seen from Brown’s Owens River Campground. Photo by Jenifer Hanen, aka Ms. Jen.

May 16, 2026 - Late evening photo of the lights of Mammoth Lakes and Mountain reflecting back on a low lying cloud as the rest of the Western night sky is gorgeous. Photo by Jenifer Hanen, aka Ms. Jen.

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Last but not least, I realize that there are a ton of subscriptions bleeding us all dry these days, but if you appreciate the photos and writing here and would like to leave a tip - I have set up a way for folks to leave a tip / one-time donation in without Substack in the middle.

Thank you for reading and viewing. I hope all is well in your immediate world and if not, I send you a hug over the internet.

Jenifer Hanen, aka Ms. Jen
https://www.msjen.com