Photo-Essay: A Summer Day by the Lake

My apartment balcony provides me a panoramic view of a constantly transforming landscape and sky; whether it's experiencing a terrifically theatrical summer storm or witnessing the transition of seasons over the past few months, I feel as if I am privy to an unique set of nature's performances every day. I am currently enjoying the vista of numerous trees crowding the horizon; they collectively appear like a sea of green and yet each tree possesses its distinctive shade of green, like a personality quirk. After it rains and each leaf is washed clean, there is such a fierce glare to the green when the sun comes out and drenches the trees in light that it threatens to become overwhelming.

The next few months are going to be quite eventful and hectic; so, this weekend, I really appreciated the opportunity to spend a few quiet hours at a nearby wooded park. It was a gorgeous summer day: mellow sunshine, blue skies, and a minty cool breeze. Strolling beneath tall, looming pine-trees, we found a quiet, secluded spot by the lake where we could sit and contemplate it from. As I sat upon a carpet of dry rust-brown pine-needles and leaned against a deeply wrinkled, twisted, protruding tree trunk, I studied the ripples making the water surface dance. Above me, a leaf gracefully detached itself from an overhanging branch and glided in the air before elegantly diving into the water. As geese and kayakers ploughed through the waters and passed us by, I felt that I could sit there for hours, my world compressed and contained within a ripple.

Oh, if it could always be summer!

Here are memories from the day...

Ripples

Blue and Gold

Framed

Tree and Shadow

Fleeing Geese