Does Beauty Have Healing Power?

I have had a pinched nerve in my neck for over a week. I've had this once before, and it is seriously painful. I don't take pain medication so I am breathing through the agony, and waiting for the inflammation to calm down. It will, it always does. I am a terrible patient, because I am impatient. I won't sit still. Yesterday we went for a walk, and I donned my cervical collar so I wouldn't be enticed to look up, even at the birds flying over head. We did manage to see one of our favorite water birds, the Hooded Merganser, which was in the marsh. This bird was the first bird we added to our life list, when we found out what a life list was!


This Great Blue Heron was definitely out of neck range for me to photograph, so DPR took over.

After a mostly sleepless night, I noticed that the sun was streaming through the low-lying fog. It was so stunning I had to grab the camera and go stand in the yard. Lately I've been hearing Joni Mitchell's Chelsea Morning in my head:
"And the sun poured in like butterscotch and stuck to all my senses..."

Does beauty have healing power? Apparently not yet, but we shall see.