Farewell Sweet August

"Fairest of the months! Ripe summer's queen

The hey-day of the year

With robes that gleam with sunny sheen

Sweet August doth appear."

~ R. Combe Miller

Being a lover of summer, I'm sad to see August end. I've chosen the photos below with which to bid it farewell.



A cute, young and a little too fearless bunny figured that if he didn't move, I wouldn't see him. He was wrong.





A painted turtle, in mid-stretch, sunning himself by the dam. Someone should write a story about the above two critters...





Proud Mama Duck. You can see the fluffy down of some of her babies nestled in front of her.





A favourite around the pond is the Kingfisher. He's a rather shy bird and kind of thumbs his nose at me by flying off most times when I try to snap his picture. This time he obliged me.





He was being a real trouper, that day.





Back at Frank's place, a young sparrow nibbles on a corn kernel. Frank feeds his visiting birds copious amounts of quality seed. Only the best for his feathered beauties.





This lovely red-winged blackbird did his own hunting for food. He's flying to a safe spot to eat his catch.





From critters to flowers. I don't know what this one is but it grows on a cone-like stalk - each tiny purple flower emerges all around it. this one was just beginning to bloom.





I've posted this thistle-turned-to-seed before but not quite as up close and personal as this.





Queen Anne's Lace. I can never quite get enough of this simple, lovely flower. Especially with the sun setting behind her. I will probably have another post dedicated to her sometime soon.





The tops of these brilliant petals appear to be waving bye-bye to August, as well. So this seems as good a time as any to end this post.

More in a few days.

Water Fun & Posts of the Week

I only have a few POTW choices, this week along with a couple of requests for best thoughts. I know some of you prefer it this way so that you can actually get around to reading them. I'll share a few photos with you first, though - as we usually do. Kick off your socks and shoes for a few minutes. We're going into the water.



This is the view I have of Lake Ontario as seen through the window of the GO (Government of Ontario) Train on my way to Frank's place. You can see a bit of what the view from the opposite side of the train looked like reflected in the glass.





During that visit, we took a day trip up to a nearby town. It was a lovely day and folks were enjoying the beach. This lady stepped into the water to rinse the sand from her feet before replacing her sandals.





Her kids abandoned their sand castle attempts to enjoy the waves, instead.





Back home again, this little cutie surfaced from foraging, decorated in fine vegetation.





And what's a water post without Benny? Nothing more than a sharp stick in the mouth.



And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.



 

BEST THOUGHTS NEEDED
FOR 2 BEAUTIFUL LADIES

Please send love, strength, 
good vibes and prayers, 
if you're so inclined 
to our dear Moannie 
who is fighting "the Fecker." 

And please spare 
more of the same for Hilary, 
my favourite, wonderful namesake 
who had neurosurgery just yesterday 
in order to slay the "Headache from Hell."

Thank you. 

JUST PLAIN GOOD

Gold of Late Summer
by Sandy
at Writing in Faith 

PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Dragonflies and and Itty Bitty Surprise
by Gail
at Louisiana Belle

Early Morning Fog
by Linda
at To Behold the Beauty

A GOOD READ

 
I'm Confused
by Ellen
at Stuff From Elllen's Head

Our Fantasy Lives
by Rosaria
at SixtyFiveWhatNow

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

Summer, Don't Go!

Below are a few summer photos and quotes.


Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow




Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.
~ Ray Bradbury




And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.
~ F. Scott Fitzgerald




Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.
~ Henry James




It was a splendid summer morning and it seemed as if nothing could go wrong.
~ John Cheever




In summer, the song sings itself.
~ William Carlos Williams




Of all the wonders of nature, a tree in summer is perhaps the most remarkable; with the possible exception of a moose singing ''Embraceable You'' in spats.
~ Woody Allen




How sweet I roamed from field to field, and tasted all the summer's pride.
~ William Blake




Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.
~ John Lubbock




Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
~ Russel Baker




A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.
~ James Dent




These are the days of the endless summer
These are the days, the time is now
There is no past, there’s only future
There’s only here, there’s only now.
~ Van Morrison

More in a few days!

Couples and Posts of the Week

I apologize for my more lax than usual postings - particularly of the POTW. Summer just seems to get in the way. Blog visits tend to slow all around but once the less than beautiful weather eases in, I'm sure I'll be back to blog business as usual. I'm thinking December. February, at the latest. ;)

Below are a few photos of couples.




A pair of moulting mallards were practicing their yoga in the early morning sunshine.





Two tender, blue blooms of the wild chicory poked their heads through the chain link fence to greet the day.






I was warmed by the sight of this father and teenaged son, holding hands while walking. We nodded and smiled at one another as we passed before I turned to take this shot from behind.






It's been a very hot summer. My neighbour, Lloyd and Frank not only share a beer, but moistened wash cloths to help ensure cooler heads.






A since I rarely include photos of myself, I thought I'd share this one of Frank and me at a wedding we recently attended. Photo credit goes to my wonderful sister, Andrea. Frank insists it's a fluke that we both look okay in the same photo. I think I should drop a wet washcloth on his head.


And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.



 

FUNNY

The Standard Husband 2011
by Joeh
at Cranky Old Man

Here I Go Again
by Murr Brewster
at Murrmurrs

Nekkid, in a Room with Two Pretty Women (not my wife)
by Gary
at Gary's Third Pottery Blog



SO CUTE

Kitten Math
by Kerry
at Ed and Reub

PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Simple Shade
by Tabor
at Room Without Walls

Have You Seen?
by Daryl
at Through My Eyes

Grand Ole Osprey
by Daniel
at The Pixel Collective

The Cup of Wonder
by Fiona
at Lady Fi

A GOOD READ

 
Walking
by June
at Aging Gratefully

Change is in the Air
by Pauline
at Writing Down the Words

Free Cheap and Priceless
by Jo
at Whatever Jo

Then and Now
by Friko
at Friko's World
 

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

Splash!

A few weeks ago, I was walking Benny along the path which follows the creek near Frank's place

It was a very hot day, and a couple of kids were cooling off in the creek by splashing each other while their mom watched nearby. I had a zoomy lens with me so I was able to snap a few candid photos of the children from a distance.




They splashed and laughed, and I snapped and smiled at their joy.





I had forgotten how much fun it was to play in water with wild abandon.





I had forgotten how sweet the faces of children are while engaged in this fun summer activity.

Nah, I'm messing with you. I hadn't forgotten either of those things. But I had forgotten how Benny gets when he sees water in motion. And that he was off leash. I'll let you see for yourself how that turned out.




Always the clown, Benny doesn't hesitate to get into the midst of some water fun.





At first, the little girl was a bit reluctant to include Benny in their game. Notice the 'do-something!" glance she threw over toward her mother.





Did Benny care? No, not one bit. The little boy quickly fell victim to Benny's charisma.





Before long, a third kid came along to join the party.





By then, the little girl decided that including Benny in their play could be fun, after all.





The first two kidlets soon tired of the water but the third got quite a kick out of our dear little four-legged friend.





A little kid and a dog - what a perfect combination. All you need to add is water.





Am I wrong?





Often - but not this time.





The end!

Before and After

I'm still sorting through photos from June and early July, and I noticed that I seem to have a few before and after images of various plants around my place and Frank's, so I thought I'd make that the theme for this post.


Two clematis buds at different stages of opening. The outside of the petals are fuzzy and pale purple.




When in full bloom, the clematis blossom is a deep, rich purple.






And after they're done, even the dead heads look attractive to me.





By now, the milkweed have all turned to pods but when this image was taken in mid-June, the buds were just about to bloom.





Same day, different plant. The tiny pinkish-purple buds are beginning to open.





A couple of days later, the early evening sunlight gives the open flowers a vibrant hue.





Raspberries are long gone now but back in early June, the fruit was just emerging.





Two weeks later, their colour was beginning to deepen.






Almost ready to pick.





Thistle plants were in full bloom late in June. They attract butterflies and goldfinches.





The beautiful purple flower is so appealing to the eye despite the jagged spikes beneath.





By mid July, it has turned to seed - an explosion of feathery fairies take flight with the wind.





Once the wild roses have faded, the rose hip remains. Some stay green and others become a pretty coral colour. Last year I noticed a few that were quite different from the rest so I kept an eye out for those, this year and was not disappointed.





A few hips turn punk, and grow wild, spiky orange hair. Some time later, I observed what appeared to be bright orange powder on the walking path and nearby grass where many of the rose hips were. It would seem they popped open to share their flamboyance.


I hope you enjoyed these before and after photos. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever catch up to current photos. Probably not, but I'll have more for you in a few days.