Monthly Photo Challenge: North Chagrin Reservation — June

It is hard to believe that this month marks the mid-point of the year. The official start of summer (for those in the northern hemisphere) is just a few days away. North Chagrin Reservation seemingly burst into a lively, lush, and beautiful “Gan Eden” (Garden of Eden) overnight, coming after a long, bitter-cold winter. This continues to be the place I escape to when my work day ends in the city and I need to recharge my battery. The sounds of nature abound — birds chirping, bees buzzing, water rippling, breeze rustling, crickets chirping. Did I miss anything? I wish I had the capacity to add the accompanying sounds for each of the photos in this month’s portfolio. Alas you will have to use your imagination.  At any rate, I hope that these images do justice to this special place.

 

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The Changing Seasons is a Monthly Photo Challenge started by CardinalGuzman.wordpress.com.

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Late Night Musings

Hello! Y’all have been on my mind a lot lately. I am swamped in studies, writing, deadlines, clients, etc. (and loving every minute of it) but I’m getting anxious to get back to a routine that allows me the freedom to blog and “chat” with folks around the world. Despite the heavy demands of studies and work, I do manage to get out at least once a week to soak in nature–breathe the fresh air, walk through the forest, linger beside a lily pond, listen to the birds chirping–and be rejuvenated. Since it has been a while since I’ve shared photos, I decided to post a few for your enjoyment. These were taken this summer in Kentucky and Ohio. Enjoy. 🙂

Vestiges of Summer Foreshadowing Autumn

One season ends, another begins. A story in pictures.

Vestiges of Summer ~

Foreshadowing Autumn ~

Today’s Hot! (Weekly Photo Challenge: Hot)

It is too hot to go outside.  WAY too hot.  I wanted to get some shots for this week’s challenge however, and my daughter’s photo prodded me to go this route.  We have an indoor/outdoor thermometer. The top number is the temp out on our balcony, the middle number is the temp inside our apartment, and the bottom number is the time of day (in this case morning).  We are headed for another scorcher!

But, I also have photos of flowers that were shot in July–oranges, reds and yellows–all hot colors. Soooo, I’m sharing those as well:

Personally, I can handle “hot” flowers much better than “hot” temperatures.  I hope you are managing to enjoy your summer, and finding ways to keep cool!

 

Deja Vu

Spring and summer are my favorite seasons of the year.  The heat doesn’t bother me so much, probably because I grew up in a hot, humid southern climate.  Growing up in the small rural town of Greenwood, Louisiana, we had a Mimosa tree in our back yard.  One reason I love our present home so much is that we have a Mimosa tree here, too, and it is located in the same spot in our backyard as the tree in our yard in Greenwood.  That tree was a wonderful climbing tree, and all four of us kids spent hours up in the Mimosa.  For a few weeks each summer, pink fuzzy blossoms filled its branches.  Lovely.  Anyway, when summer arrives, I find myself watching our tree for its blossoms to appear.  Mimosa blossoms come late in the spring, not early like Cherry Blossoms or Dogwoods.  When the Mimosa blossoms appear, I am inevitably taken back to my childhood summers.  Big, fat bumble bees love the blossoms, and the bees were a common sight around the trees.  I noticed that about our present tree, and remembered.  Today, I shot pictures of our tree loaded with Mimosa blossoms.  I was a child again, excited about the summer that lay ahead.