Farewell to Summer
August 21, 2009 by bellafiore3
Field of Queen Anne's Lace that became my obsession!
I became obsessed with my vision of the field of queen anne’s lace and decided to bring my camera on the next bike ride. Of course the towering blossoms were chopped down as I lamented in the previous post, but I still found plenty to photograph. I am enthralled with these images not so much because of their beauty. I do think they’re lovely, but they’re not really like an Ansel Adams photo or anything that great. I think however, I am clinging to them as I cling to the last days of summer before I return to teaching. These morning bike rides have been more than merely exercise and trying to get in shape. They have been meditative, a time to allow my mind to wonder and perhaps caress an idea or two, a dream about a queen anne’s lace holding court in midsummer perhaps or just an idea for the day. I never felt this imaginative stimulus when I was riding a stationary bike at an athletic club with the 4 TVs droning on about God-Knows-What! I am going to continue to try to ride the bike when I get home from work, but I know it won’t be the same. I will be stressed from the day and tired and who knows what else. The promise of a clear summer day ahead will be replaced by the worry that I need to get the ride in before the waning autumnal light gives way to darkness. There have been signs of fall the past few days on my ride…goldenrod is starting to replace the Queen and many of the Queen’s blossoms have curled up into skeletal formations that house the seeds that will spread the wonder for next year. Wild asters are popping up too, scruffy and short compared to their tamed cousins in the garden. I saw too, the newly formed chartreuse seed pods of the milkweed plant. These will dry and release a dreamy cloud of seeds in another month or two. So there are some lovely sights to look forward to as the cerulean sky and fresh greens of summer give way to the golden grasses and burnished leaves of autumn. Still I am a child of August and bidding adieu to my month is somewhat sad.
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