my summer photo-walk in the nature preserve

remember a couple posts back...

how i mentioned that i had not yet gone outside this summer

to snatch up some images of flora like i usually do?

well, after mr. b. got home from work one night last week,

he "let" me leave le bebe with him

so that i could go check some "to-do's" off my list.

one of the places i needed to go

was somewhere that would change the oil in my car.

but in my search for such a place,

i could see that rush-hour traffic was everywhere.

so i turned around and headed back toward home.

on my way, i realized how close i was to one of my favorite places...

an almost magical nature preserve

that makes one feel as though they are far from any city or town.

so i passed the street i would have turned on to go home

and kept right on venturing...

here.

i parked up here at the top of this hill,

where a beautiful view awaited and greeted me.

after taking in the larger scheme,

i walked down the hill to be where the flowers are.

and now i've taken those flower pictures i wanted...

cone flowers

{that seemed to do a dance with tall and slender blades of grass},

queen ann's lace...

complete with tiny passengers enjoying a wind-blown ride on their delicate surfaces,

some lovely yellow gems of which i know not the name

{perhaps "black-eyed susans before they got in a fight"?},

and these purple lovelies of which i also do not know the name.

{some blossomed open, some still waiting.}

as abundant as the flowers were,

so were the mosquitos... and then some.

so i moved on...

around the lake, over to the bridge

that hovers over a blanket of the greenest algae.

and above it hovers the strongest tree.

{i must ask... how could something this strong weep?}

it seemed to possess a quiet strength... almost protective.

i like to meet humans beings who have that kind of quiet strength.

its flowing leaves adorned the path

like a thick mane.

from the bridge's vantage point,

i could see what seemed like an endless display of lily pads

{a view framed by the swaying willow branches}.

floating on water that sparkled like diamonds.

it felt like monet must have been here

with his brushes and easel and paints

at some point.

on the other side of the bridge...

even more lily pads!

these, though, were set against far-away views that beckoned me to keep exploring.

but for lack of time,

i stayed right there to focus up-close and personal.

though i would like to have stood there all day

to enjoy the sights and sounds,

i went back, hugging the lake via the same path i took to get there,

and climbed back up that hill toward my car to return home.

but before i left,

one

more

photo

of the many-armed tree that stood right in front of my car as if to guard it...

arms that seemed to stretch out and say,

"please come again. it was lovely to have you here today."

so i uttered back,

"it was lovely to be here."

i hope you enjoyed it as much as i did.