gloriosa daisy

Although it blooms in summer, the color of this gloriosa daisy reminds me of autumn.

teddy bear

A sunflower without long petals? I think this is a teddy bear sunflower, a variety with double, deep yellow blooms. The bees seem to like it!

bright

I love the bright colors of these African daisies.

ripening

It's a good time for ripe tomatoes fresh from the field.

Celebrate the flavor of all sizes and colors, a true taste of (late) summer.

a dahlia and a bee

A dahlia, tipped toward the ground, provides a feast for a very busy bee.

mirrored

Almost calm water wears small ripples and reflections of the rocks above.

reflections in a quarry, Andres Institute of Art

early apples

I stopped at a local farm stand this afternoon to pick up some pickling cukes and tomatoes. I always look to see if anything else catches my eye (and leaves me wishing for a taste).

Today some Zestar! apples jumped out at me. The sign indicated they were local, crispy, and had a sweet-tart taste. That was enough to convince me to try them.

My verdict? I like them!

If you see this early season apple, it's worth a try.

sculpture in the woods

Yesterday it felt like a good day for a visit to Andres Institute of Art.

At Andres Institute of Art, we bring art to our community by making the experience of art an everyday relationship. Our purpose is to underline the interface of nature and culture in order to bring the visitor into a closer, and perhaps more comfortable relationship with the works of art. Both the location and the environment of Andres Institute give us the opportunity to continue to build a place in which individuals may experience art and nature in tandem. By placing sculpture within nature’s framework of trees, boulders, critters and mushrooms, viewers are free to consider the undercurrents of the inherently beautiful art form nature has to offer along with each piece of art work. The untouched quality of the Institutes’s 140 acres furthers the experience of a personal connection with nature. from the Andres Institute of Art web site

I spent a couple of hours walking, following the signs indicating "sculpture trail", hoping that eventually I would end up back in the parking lot. I'm sure I missed entire sections of the park; certainly a future visit is needed!

I saw new-to-me sculptures as well as many that I saw when I visited last year. My favorite of the day matches my favorite last year, a wonderful piece that has been in place for the last 15 years.

Enjoying the Stars by Alexander Molev, Russia (2002)

More photos from yesterday's visit are in the gallery Andres Institute of Art :: 2017.

obedient

Did you know that there is a perennial known as an obedient plant?

Its proper name is "Physostegia virginiana". According to Wikipedia it is commonly known as an obedient plant because a flower pushed to one side will often stay in that position.

The flowers are delicate and beautiful.

a sea of flowers

At this time of year, the cutting garden at Stevens-Coolidge Place presents itself as a sea of flowers.

looking inland

I headed to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge this morning to walk the newly opened Stage Island trail. It leads to the tip of Stage Island (on the inland side of Plum Island), an area also known as the Ipswich Bluffs.

The trail provided views of Plum Island Sound. It was a good place to walk on this warm summer morning.

Luckily the greenhead flies appear to be gone for the season although there were plenty of other flying insects when I was close to the water.

morning flower

Early morning calm and cool air convinced me it was a good time for a walk in the garden. Other than the birds, bees, and tiny animals, I had the garden to myself.

I enjoyed the solitude, soaking in the beautiful colors of summer.

on the walls (again)

Yesterday morning I ignored the forecast for rain and headed back to Salem. I had a sneaking suspicion that I had missed a couple of murals on my last visit; I needed to fix that.

My first stop was the office of the North Shore Community Development Coalition. They own the buildings in The Point that are the canvas for the murals. I was delighted have the chance to chat with a manager there and to find out more about the project. It was an opportunity to see some of the murals in the office and to confirm that I did miss a few on my first visit.

I loved this one - there is a purple background mural on the wall in the office, with a set of windows allowing a view into the space behind, a space showing the eyes of a face peering through the windows.

Outside, I walked the same streets I had seen before, continuing past my previous stopping point to find two more pieces of art.

The first was a very large and multi-colored cat person covering the entire side of a building.

The second set of art that I missed lives in the open courtyard in front of a building. It is made up of columns of brick, painted on all four sides and showing faces of different ages and nationalities.

More photos from yesterday can be seen in the gallery walls and water :: Salem, MA starting with this photo and ending here.

red

Berries create a pop of red among summer's green leaves.

on the Royal River

Royal River Park in Yarmouth, ME is the site of a path that parallels the river. A good part of the trail is a bit of a tease since the river is hidden by the trees. An unobstructed view is available at a few places, and the bridges are very helpful.

watching

A sea gull stands on the beach, watching as the tide recedes.

coneflowers

Some flowers are still showing bright flowers; others are fading.

A garden full of coneflowers (properly named Echinacea) caught my eye as I wandered in Prescott Park. This patch was still bright even though the petals are starting to show their age. The flowers wear a shape that perfectly matches their name.

These flowers are beautiful, aren't they?

chasing butterflies

Yesterday's visit to the gardens in Prescott Park (Portsmouth, NH) gave me a chance to watch the butterflies as they feasted on flowers. This beauty, hanging from a butterfly bush, stayed still for a moment and posed for me.

peaceful

A quiet beach is a very peaceful place, a good destination for walking and thinking.

dancing

Delicate cosmos (flowers) seem to be dancing in the wind.

simplicity

A shell sits on smooth sand as the tide moves from high to low.

back to the beach

A large section of the beach at the Parker River Wildlife Refuge reopened on Friday for people. The beach at the refuge closes on April 1st of each year for the piping plover nesting season, opening to people when the birds are done with it.

As of last Friday there were 45 fledglings and 6 chicks at Parker River. The portion of the beach that is still closed will open once the biologist confirms that the 6 remaining chicks have fledged.

It's good that this very narrow (and long) beach is closed each year for the birds. I think it makes me treasure access to the beach even more; it's a favorite place to walk along the water.

Yesterday I headed to the refuge for a peaceful stroll, looking, listening to the ocean, enjoying the beauty.

on the walls

The article "Artwork highlights Salem neighborhood’s true colors" in the Boston Globe two weeks ago led me to add Salem to my list of must visit places. It's less than 20 miles from home, but it's a place I hadn't visited before. Yesterday I headed to to Salem to walk and absorb beauty.

The mural project is impressive.

Punto Urban Art Museum Our vision is to create a world class urban arts district in Salem’s Point Neighborhood, one that embraces its rich immigrant and architectural history and present a dynamic opportunity for the neighborhood’s future. The Punto Urban Art Museum has two primary goals: to create a beautiful, uplifting environment for Point residents, particularly for children to grow up in, and to break down the invisible divide between the Point and the rest of Salem by inviting visitors into the Point to experience world-class art first-hand. credit: North Shore Community Development Coalition

Some of the murals are in very narrow alleys; even with a wide lens it was a challenge to capture them with my camera.

I'm sure I didn't find all of the murals, and I know I plan to return and wander again.

More photos can be seen in the gallery walls and water :: Salem, MA.

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Click here to see a video on the Punto Urban Art Museum published by the North Shore Community Development coalition. It's a wonderful presentation of the project.

curves

The curved petals of this just opening flower are reaching to the sun.

away from the edge

An observation platform at the Marconi Station site in Cape Cod National Seashore provides a wonderful view of the high dunes and the beach far below. The platform is fenced and wears a sign warning of instability. I always wonder how many people ignore both the fence and the sign; a step too close to the edge could end with a long fall.

What a beautiful place!

dreamy

Flowers moving in the wind create blurred and dreamy visions.

signs of summer

Emerging dahlias are a sure sign of summer warmth.

one flower

In a garden full of color I captured a single zinnia against a hazy background showing the colors of other flowers.