mystical

Low tide, low clouds diffuse the blue of the sky, quiet inland waters contrast with ocean waves in the distance. This feels like a mystical glimpse of the coast.

parts

When I walk into a garden, the first thing I see is the shape of the beds and the color of the flowers. Next is the shapes of the flowers, then the petals, then the tiny pollen-producing parts. Each view is different; each carries its own beauty.

prairie sun

Early morning is a perfect time for a solo walk in the garden. I shared the space with rabbits and birds, no other two-legged creatures. As I stood still a hummingbird whizzed by my head, stopping several times to feed at attractive flowers. Goldfinch swooped through the wildflower garden, occasionally landing on a flower.

Many varieties of Rudbeckia hirta are in full bloom. This one wears the name 'Prairie Sun'.

summer afternoon

The air is warm and the sky wears blue decorated by puffy clouds. While the wind creates ripples in the water, a bit of a reflection is still visible.

delicate

Wandering in the garden between rain storms was my afternoon activity. Each time I visit I enjoy both new and changing flowers.

Today these tiny, delicate blooms caught my eye.

honeysuckle vine

There are so many different flowers in the garden that attract butterflies and hummingbirds that I often see the honeysuckle vine without any visitors.

The bright splash of color is wonderful.

chasing pollinators

Early evening is often my selected time for garden visits. For a change, today I visited Stevens-Coolidge Place in the heat of the early afternoon. I was rewarded with views of pollinators flying, buzzing, flitting among the flowers.

I tried to capture a hummingbird clearwing moth (with my camera). I've never seen one of these wonderful creatures with its wings standing still; they are in a state of constant movement.

a walk in the rain

It was a day of warmth, humidity, and rain.

After a Pilates class at the Y, I headed out for an exercise walk. The air was warm and full of moisture in the form of humidity. I was delighted when it started to rain since the falling water felt cooler than the humid air. The rain stopped, I continued walking. The rain started again, wonderful!

Later in the day blue sky appeared, decorated with billowing white clouds. My camera drew me out for a wander in Lawrence.

clouds, mill buildings, and the Merrimack River


a chair or a sculpture?

echinops

Last week's photo of bees enjoying the flower of an echinops ritro showed the flower as a globe of spikes, possibly a source of the plant's common name, globe thistle. A bit further into the growth cycle, tiny blossoms now show at the end of the spikes.

The bees are still happy.

wild roses

Wild roses, petals a bit past prime, create a splash of pink in the garden.

blue

This morning I headed to Portsmouth, NH for a walk and a garden visit. I parked at a lot just after exiting I-95 and walked into town from there. While I usually prefer a sky with interesting clouds, today's pure blue sky allowed a reflection of the blue to sandwich the I-95 bridge.

This photo was taken from the foot of the new Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, looking back towards the highway.

flower dancing

Flowers dance in the wind, spreading bright colors in movement.

echinacea in pink

busy bees

Walking through the garden in summer heat brings a multitude of sounds. I can hear birds chirping, and bees buzzing. Luckily the bees seem to be more interested in the flowers than in biting people.

The globe thistle (echinops ritro) appears to be a favorite spot.

inland view

Standing on Plum Island and looking inland presented an enjoyable view. The reflection of the sky's color in the water made me feel like I was looking at a painting.

pink

Tiny flowers bring a splash of pink to the garden.

During the blooming season I try to visit the gardens at the Stevens-Coolidge Place several times a week. I volunteer there on Wednesday mornings; that's a "without camera" visit. Since I enjoy the remnants of flowers that we clean up in our gardening sessions, I often visit late in the day on Tuesday, prior to Wednesday morning's garden clean up activities. Other visits happen as the need for color hits me; I love wandering through the flowers!

purple sand

Yesterday afternoon I gave in to a desire to see the ocean, heading to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge for a bit of a wander.

While the beach in the refuge closes every year on April 1st for the piping plover nesting season, the refuge remains open. There are places to wander on the inland side of Plum Island, and a boardwalk trail opposite one of the parking lots leads to an overlook of the ocean and beach. I walked the Pines Trail, took the connector trail to Parking Lot 5, and headed out on the boardwalk.

From the platform at the end of the boardwalk I saw a narrow strand of beach colored with purple sand. The man-made structure was a perfect spot to sit for a while, to absorb the beauty and the sound of the ocean.

The beach in the refuge is still closed and will remain so until the birds are done with it. For information on the (annual) closure, click to this information sheet.

a mixture

A wander through the garden shows flowers in bloom in the midst of some that have already faded.

dahlia delight

Summer days bring warmth and flowers. Dahlias delight the eyes as they emerge, providing garden decoration.

field of flowers

When I arrived at the flower fields in Prescott Park yesterday there were strong and moving streams of water spraying from the sprinklers. While walking through the garden at that point wasn't sensible I still enjoyed the flowers.

I look forward to another visit later in the summer.

to the coast

The ocean called to me this morning. I headed to the New Hampshire coast to satisfy my need for a walk by the water. I drove along the coast from Hampton Beach, stopping just before Odiorne Point State Park.

I headed to the water, walking on the somewhat slippery pebbled beach, stepping onto solid rocks that appeared to be dry as the tide headed out.

shadowed

A flower stands tall, shadowed, wearing a bright color.

remnants

Interesting shapes remain when the petals drop at the end of a flower's bloom.

late day light

The humidity finally dropped late in the afternoon. Drier air and late day light contributed to a pleasant walk at Harold Parker State Forest.

hot

The forecast calls for today to be the last day of the heat wave that started last Friday. I hope that the weather wizards are right; a bit less heat and humidity will be very welcome.

I've still managed to get a good walk in each day, focusing on the morning hours for slightly cooler temperatures. While I didn't check the temperature before I headed out for my between-two-exercise-classes walk this morning, my assumption is that it was probably in the low to mid-80s with a relatively high humidity. I was absolutely dripping when I returned, hot!

Heavy rain is expected tomorrow, followed by more normal summer temperatures. I look forward to returning to my usual afternoon wanders.

a pop of yellow

Flowers thrive in the heat of summer.

movement

There's a sculpture in Lowell that I find fascinating. It was created by Michio Ihara and is titled "Pawtucket Prism". It lives on a plaza at the corner of the Pawtucket Canal and the Concord River. The movement of the sculpture as it was originally created in 1987 was driven by both wind and water. After a number of years the water-driven part of the mechanism stopped working.

The sculpture was reworked by the (original) artist and re-dedicated in late 2016. The motion is now solely wind-driven.

It's easy to stand near the sculpture, mesmerized by the constant motion.

a walk at Maudslay

It's been close to a month since I last visited Maudslay State Park. It turned out to be a good day for a visit with the temperature in the park a few degrees cooler than at home. The addition of a light wind created a very comfortable environment for walking.

There were still some rhododendron in bloom. I also saw tiny flowers close to the ground, wild roses, and daylilies. Even with pops of floral color, green was the color of the day.

industrial

Yesterday afternoon I headed to Lowell National Historical Park for a walk. Canals, mill buildings, and rivers create an interesting canvas.

More photos can be seen in the gallery a walk in Lowell, 2018.