SUMMER BEAUTIES

July is fading fast.  Does that mean summer is half over with already?  No, not by the calendar, but it does feel that way to me.  I'd like to find a way to keep the clock from ticking so quickly.  Lately I've been enjoying the sights and sounds of summer that include lavender colored flowers in my world.  In marshy areas and around the pond, Hardhack (in the photo above), Joe Pye Weed and Purple Vervain are blooming right on schedule.  I look forward to these beautiful purplish pink flowers every summer in July.

Joe Pye Weed and Purple Vervain

As I walked along the northwest passage this afternoon, dodging deer flies and stepping over wolf scat, I came upon a small flock of chickadees in the tamarack trees calling to one another.  Maybe they are getting ready to start a second summer family.

There is so much to observe in nature this time of year that it is hard for me to know where to begin writing about it all!  I am enjoying the renewal of everything that I enjoyed from summers passed, a little at a time.  I hope you are too!  Sooner than we think, autumn leaves will begin to fall and another summer, another chapter in our lives, will close it's pages and remain only in our memories along with the pleasant scent of Joe Pye Weed.                                                                                                                                                          

Jewel Weed or Touch-Me-Not

White Pond Lily