Summer was like a shy stranger, here in the Virginia highlands: she sometimes waved from the distance but never really joined the dance. And now it appears she took the fast train South, leaving behind her blooming meadows which thrived despite her benign neglect.
Field of wildflowers
Can you believe she just up and left?
Goldenrod behind the fence
How could she leave all of this behind?
Late summer wildflowers
Her pink and white dresses strewn across the field, recklessly:
Pink grasses and fleabane
And so much yellow, her favorite color – probably because she really adores Sunshine, her elder sister:
Yellow wildflowers
I wished you’d stayed a bit longer….I had my patio table set up and kept watermelon juice with mint leaves in the fridge, in case you came over for a visit.
At least say hello to my Australian friends when you see them.
The Beauty Along the Road 
I totally agree. It was a very moderate summer, which is unseasonable for this neck of the woods. And now we’re getting actual fall-like weather. Strange. . .
Nancy
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The old timers in the country are wagging their heads about the kind of winter we are heading into…but let’s not think about that while Autumn is dousing us with its beauty 🙂
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Annette, I don’t always respond to your posts, but I love them. It’s a little shot of beauty in my day…and I love the consistency of your spirit and your message in all your posts. I always know I’m going to open something wonderful when I click on your links.
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Oh Laura, that is such a beautiful compliment. My mission to explore Beauty hasn’t failed me then 🙂
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Here, here. A toast with my morning coffee. My feelings exactly.
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Wonderful post and photos! Thank you, Annette!
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Thank you, JF, for taking your time to comment.
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What a gorgeous post! Great photos and words. (Hmmm watermelon juice.) These photos need to enlarged and hung on the walls to get us through March when here in New England we begin to doubt that winter will ever end – or that there really is a summer.
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Thank you, Seedbud – I am re-designing my wall space and one of these wildflower meadow pics definitely has a place there. I think Mother Nature has changed her rules – now there are only two seasons: one cold, the other kind of warmish….:-)
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Our seasons are just beginning to change here. It was in the 100’s early in the week, yesterday 76. The leaves are beginning to drop and the mornings are cooler. We hope it all stay that way, as we’ve had a very warm and dry summer. Here’s looking to fall!!!
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Being that fall is my favorite time of year, I’m a happy camper 🙂 Beautiful picture of summer’s splendor, though!
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Annette, this is just beautifully written. I love how you address “Summer.” And you’re right, she didn’t hang around long this year, did she?
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Thank you, Barbara. I like thinking of the seasons as having their own person and character.
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Annette, have you ever listened to Joni MItchell’s “Urge for Going?” The lyrics are so beautifully poetic and are all about Summer having the “urge to go” with fall and winter closing in. You might like it.
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I’ll check it out, thanks.
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I just looked it up, love the line: “When the sun turns traitor cold”…that’s how I feel when winter comes along 🙂
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What a great post. Your words are are evocative, with the images perfectly attuned.
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Thank you, Robin, I enjoyed playing with this post…
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The LIKE buttons aren’t sticking today, but I had a good time camping out here today. I tried to leave nine or ten likes.
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Hi Russel – comments are even better than “likes” 🙂
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I agree, but with the amount of camping I do, it’s difficult to leave 9-19 comments. I’d never get to everyone if all I did was leave that many comments in every blog, and that would make me sad……….. 😦
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Sorry you had trouble with the Like button. I haven’t heard that from anybody else. When I’ve had problems with “likes” and “comments” on other sites, I’ve sometimes had to update my own Javascript. Also, Internet Explorer as a browser can be funny and may need to be updated. Hope this is helpful.
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I have the latest Internet Explorer and JavaScript, but out of 133 blogs I visited today, yours was the only one giving me problem with those dastardly LIKE buttons………. 😦
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Hmmm…. wonder what that is all about…any ideas?
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Nope. I run into that problem about once a week, which is out of about 800 blogs that I visit. The next time I visit the problem blogs, the problem is absent. So I don’t know what goes on……..
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I am impressed with the number of blogs you visit and read….
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I couldn’t do it without the speed reading course I took in September 1973 and without Dragon Naturally Speaking to dictate comments, as well as my own blog posts. Both save lots of time and allow me to do more.
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Those goldenrod flowers are so beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it. I wish we could have shared some of our never-ending summer in San Diego with you. This summer has been heatwave after heatwave, and September and October are the hottest months of the year. We’ve already had 108 temperatures for a week, otherwise 90+ is the norm. I really, really wish we had a fall season here. Hopefully you’ll post some very nice pictures of fall on your blog to compensate. 🙂
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I feel for you guys, the heat combined with water shortage – no fun. I’ll send some fall pics your way for respite 🙂
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Thank you!
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