Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
“How sweet I roamed from field to field, and tasted all the summer‘s pride.” William Blake
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
A Summer Day by Lucy Maud Montgomery
I.
The dawn laughs out on orient hills
And dances with the diamond rills;
The ambrosial wind but faintly stirs
The silken, beaded gossamers;
In the wide valleys, lone and fair,
Lyrics are piped from limpid air,
And, far above, the pine trees free
Voice ancient lore of sky and sea.
Come, let us fill our hearts straightway
With hope and courage of the day. Contd below
For those of us who live in climates with clearly delineated seasons, summer is a time to shed the baggage of winter, the rains of spring, and embrace the lightness and colors of a new season. That lightness carries over to our clothing, our meals, the spring in our step, and the cascading colors of summer blossoms popping up everywhere. Summer flowers speak to me because they are my clearest indication that all the drabness of winter is surely being replaced by a burst of color. For this week’s Photo Challenge – Summer, I’ve decided to share some of the beautiful blooming flowers I’ve seen on my path to and from the aqueduct, and some I saw on my visit to the NY Botanical Gardens last summer.
“I know I am but summer to your heart, and not the full four seasons of the year.” Edna St. Vincent Millay
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
II.
Noon, hiving sweets of sun and flower,
Has fallen on dreams in wayside bower,
Where bees hold honeyed fellowship
With the ripe blossom of her lip;
All silent are her poppied vales
And all her long Arcadian dales,
Where idleness is gathered up
A magic draught in summer’s cup.
Come, let us give ourselves to dreams
By lisping margins of her streams.Contd below
It is amazing how all that once seemed lifeless, unfurl their wings and pop up their heads in a flourish of color in the summer. I’m always nicely surprised when I come across a new planting of flowers or the return of a taller, stronger looking version of an old favorite in the summer time… When I take my walks on the aqueduct, the landscape includes homes with beautiful gardens and flowering shrubs on the pathway. My camera captures it all and several of those pictures are in this post. The white flowering shrub/tree above gives off an intoxicating perfume and each time I walk by it, I stop to inhale the fragrance and watch the bees at work.
“Some people plant in the spring and leave in the summer. If you’re signed up for a season, see it through. You don’t have to stay forever, but at least stay until you see it through.” Jim Rohn
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer… See the bee?
III
Adown the golden sunset way
The evening comes in wimple gray;
By burnished shore and silver lake
Cool winds of ministration wake;
O’er occidental meadows far
There shines the light of moon and star,
And sweet, low-tinkling music rings
About the lips of haunted springs.
In quietude of earth and air
‘Tis meet we yield our souls to prayer.
Flowers and gardens have always been an important part of my life. From my earliest memories of my mother’s plantings, to my own efforts at gardening against all odds, I have come to appreciate the many steps flowering plants take to get from seed to vase… I appreciate the grace that protects hibernating perennials in the harsh winter and awakens them in warmer climes. So when I see a gorgeous bloom, I stop to both admire and applaud it. More below!
“Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language” Henry James
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
To Summer by William Blake
O thou who passest thro’ our valleys in
Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat
That flames from their large nostrils! thou, O Summer,
Oft pitched’st here thy goldent tent, and oft
Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld
With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.Beneath our thickest shades we oft have heard
Thy voice, when noon upon his fervid car
Rode o’er the deep of heaven; beside our springs
Sit down, and in our mossy valleys, on
Some bank beside a river clear, throw thy
Silk draperies off, and rush into the stream:
Our valleys love the Summer in his pride. Contd below
When I think about all the other wonderful things we enjoy in the summer; vacations, time at the beach, ice cream trucks, summer sandals and clothes, salads and top down rides in convertibles, I appreciate the season even more… But I still turn to the magic, grace and beauty of a summer bloom… and I am grateful… By the way, I have written a guest post. It is titled: Gratitude For Small Things and it is on my blog buddy Deb Bryan’s popular blog – The Monster in Your Closet. Check it out. Thank you! 🙂
“Warm summer sun, shine kindly here. Warm southern wind, blow softly here. Green sod above, lie light, lie light. Good night, dear Heart, Good night, good night.” Mark Twain
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer
Our bards are fam’d who strike the silver wire:
Our youth are bolder than the southern swains:
Our maidens fairer in the sprightly dance:
We lack not songs, nor instruments of joy,
Nor echoes sweet, nor waters clear as heaven,
Nor laurel wreaths against the sultry heat. via famouspoetsandpoems
When all is said and done, summer flowers add a burst of warmth and color to our hearts. They make us smile and give us hope for a brighter, happier world where variety adds spice, and people remember to appreciate the message flowers send us; bloom where you are planted, add some joy to a special event, cherish the offerings from things that last (perennials), and from things that give us joy, even for a short while (annuals).
Hope you enjoyed this! What are your thoughts? What photos on summer did you find? Was it easy/hard to find photos that made sense of your perspective on the subject? Were you drawn to certain types of photos for the prompt? Do share? Thank you! 🙂 😉
*Please bear with me as I continue to catch up on your blogs and commenting… Thank you all for your patience! 🙂
My fellow bloggers were equally creative with their selections. I listed several via Zemanta below. (I will update it and add more). We all appreciate trackbacks/ping-backs and LIKES from fellow bloggers too! Check out how others interpreted the theme – SUMMER – below. ***
This post was inspired by a prompt from WP Daily Post: Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer. Summer. Where you live, summer might be arriving soon, or (if you’re in the southern hemisphere), a fleeting memory. But what signifies summer to you? For me, it’s this picture, taken a few weeks ago in Rome, of me wearing shorts and shoes with no socks on the cobbled streets of Rome. When I’m able to dress like this for more than a week, I know that summer’s really here. Share a picture that means SUMMER to you!
Positive Motivation Tip: Summer is a great time to shed the doldrums and step out to play. Enjoy the offerings and remember time flies.
PHOTO CREDITS/ATTRIBUTIONS: All Photos from my personal collection.
Until Next Time…
Ask. Believe. Receive. ©
Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet
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What a gorgeous take on this weeks theme! Congratulations on your talent! Cheers for the pingback.
TY Rhianna! I enjoyed your submission too.
Lovely photos! And yes, northern hemisphere with their seasons are the ideal to experience the real joys & delights of summer. Thanks for the pingback 🙂
TY for your feedback.. I noticed a lot of conversation about northern and southern hemisphere and the weather changes… Nothing like a prompt to get us going. 😉 TY!
Your posts are so abundant – thank you!
TY! I’m wondering if that is such a good thing after all. 🙂
It’s a good thing!
Sure is… TY! 🙂
Great photos! I can’t believe the black eyed susans are blooming in NY already. Mine are about ready to pop but I am much further south. We scattered wildflower seeds everywhere last year and the Coreopsis have been blooming for weeks. Their bright yellow flowers amidst the purple Meet Me at The Garden Gate and Cornflower bllooms are beautiful. Because we had such a mild winter and a warm, early Spring, flowers that don’t normally bloom in tandem have done so this year.
Hi Freedom, the black eyed susans are not blooming yet and that is why I mentioned in my post that some of my photos are from my visit to the botanical gardens last summer. Good for you to have many flowers blooming… We’ll catch up soon. TY! 😉
Oops. That’s what I get for reading your posts so early in the morning! The caffeine hasn’t had time to kick in! Nevertheless, the photos are beautiful!
TY dear one! I need some coffee too. 😉
How beautiful. The summer will arrive soon.
And surely it will… TY! 🙂
Beautiful Summer flowers. Their colors bring joy and radiance just like Summer’s wonderful gift of fun, happiness and bliss. Wonderful thoughts that breathes inspiration. Thanks.
TY for your feedback… I love your effusiveness. 🙂
Very beautiful, summer with flowers. Great collection flowers photos
TY and I enjoyed your post on same too. 🙂
Wow, so many summer flower. Great. How do you compile the collection? Amazing talent..
I just looked through a few folders and chose the pictures I liked and then created a new folder for them… TY! 😉
LOVE this! I plan on planting flowers this weekend at the beach. Thanks for sharing!
b
Enjoy the process… I did some cleaning/moving today and will be doing more as the weeks fly by. TY! 🙂
Such beautiful photos! I also really enjoy to see all the flowers bloom now, yippee for summer. 🙂 Lovely post!
TY Ropcorn! Glad to see you here. I love the flowers in this area too.
love this post…gorgeous images…great thoughts
TY Jo! It was a lot of fun. 🙂
Beautiful summer flowers!!
TY! I left some of the flowers behind but thy are all beautiful. 😉
The signs of summer in the northern hemisphere always inspires me – flowers bursting with their glorious colours, saying “Look at me, look at me!” I remember it well.
A sincere thank you from me for those great shots Eliz.
Well said! We are just beginning to enjoy the blooms and they will increase as we continue into summer. TY! 🙂
What a gorgeous collection of flowers. Lovely, E!
TY Nancy for your feedback! 🙂
You always manage to come up with such wonderful photographs and they always go hand in hand with the text portion of your post. I love the poem as well. Beautiful share. So thanks once again for taking the time to dish up another superb example of the challenge at hand.
TY Orples! I was just writing stuff off the top of my head.. An ode to flora! 🙂
Thank you, Eliz…great flower photos and awesome poetry! Flower gardens have always had a special place in my life as well. 🙂 Some of my fondest memories are working with my grandmother in her beautiful flower garden…and my younger son tells me that some of his fondest memories are helping me in our fruit and vegetable garden when he was little. I’m writing a picture book series all about Peter and his garden experiences…the first book is called, “The Tomato Turner”…will let you know when it is published. 🙂
Wonderful! Congrats on your picture book series. I’m sure it will do well. I love flowers and gardening and have fond memories too. Glad to see you here again! 🙂
Okay, I just want to climb in here and pick some of your beautiful flowers!! I love the hibiscus…if you see it missing, you didn’t see me picking it. 🙂
It’s all good Sunshine. You can have the hibiscus… life is short and why not share anyway! 🙂 TY again for your support.
Such gorgeous summer flowers! Thank you for sharing 🙂
TY dear one! 🙂
Lovely post and great colourful summer shots.
TY Karen! I enjoyed my visit to your blog too. 🙂
Gorgeous photos … 😀
TY dear one… 🙂
Always wonderful to see William Blake being quoted and then James! great stuff and great photos too!
How lovely!
What a beautiful interpretation of this week’s challenge. As always love your pictures and words. 🙂
These flowers are stunning and certianly put me into thw mood to garden for the summer. The first photo is amazing.
B
Your post encapsulates the joy of summer! Lovely images to match!
it’s nice to see, how you love your garden!
TY for stopping by… None of the pictures were from my garden though. 🙂
The intensely vivid blooms of early summer do seem the brightest! How well you have met this particular photo challenge with these glorious blooms!
Oh, Elizabeth – the foxgloves! We had so many on the farm when I was a child. Opening this article to see them at the top brought memories flooding back!