Joni in Laurel Canyon by Henry Diltz

I love this picture of Joni Mitchell so much…her youth, the buttery California light. I love it all. There are only a few days a year in Texas where the light has this golden quality, and those moments  always remind of my days in California. Okay, enough about the light, but it never fails to strike me how different the light is between the two places. For some reason, she’s been on my mind this month, and then I read recently that she’s been very ill since March. In fact, listening to “Ladies of the Canyon” as I plink out this post. I’ve always felt a connection to Joni, and I’d like to tell you why she was such a big part of my adolescence and early twenties…but that’s a long story to be saved for another day. A very long story.

This image is from this piece. I originally came across this link on Alicia Paulson’s blog .