To happy (July) beginnings :)

"I grew up in this town, my poetry was born between the hill and the river, it took its voice from the rain, and like the timber, it steeped itself in the forests." .........Pablo Neruda

I may not have grown up in this beautiful valley that I call home now but locals who did, am certain will find a resonating sentiment in Neruda's words.......:) We woke up this morning to find the fog roll in the valley to greet us. It instantly brought back memories of the precious few days we spent in Northwest (remember the move that never happened!!!). I still remember how the ubiquitous fog would fade away oh-so-briefly to offer a glimpse of the houses, the woods, the road ahead and then return even before we could realize that those weren't the figments of our imagination. What a tease! :)

Daddy's little girl! :)

....I still am one and will always be, no matter how old I grow, how far I go. Love you, papa.

Remember my little friend from the breakfast event that I was a part of not long ago....I am meeting her tomorrow and intend to surprise her with a print of this collage I created for her for the Father's day. Do you think she will like it? I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Update: I gave the collage and earned a hug from the dad (with a joke, "You managed to get my best side" ;D) and a shy "Thank you" from her. Here's the smile she gave me (as you can see, she loves her "treats".....if it's not a muffin, it's a do'nut or a candy). And just one last thing before you do away with me for sounding like a gushing "Julie-Andrews-on-Ecstasy".....don't you just love her dark curls :)))

Summerville........

As sunny evenings and longer days lure me outdoors, I slather a broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF 70 (nothing lesser works) on my skin and cock-a-snook at Mr Sun by facing the camera lens straight into his direction……….More often than not, I am pleased with the resulting haze:) These pics remind me of my childhood summer holidays…....when we (my brother and I) would linger outside in the dusk, long after the little sparrows had disappeared into the thicket........Oh and that reminds me, I am what you can call an “empty-nester” now.......The finch family on my deck..remember the eggs I chanced upon??? Well, little by little they all learned to fly and left :(((

Cherry orchards in Michigan.

An evening in Michigan

Oh, Summer!

Scenes from our trip to Lake Superior shore in Wisconsin (the town of Bayfield), last summer. The gallery "Stone's Throw" with all its cracks and crevices is a very pretty building and the owner's gentle lab (Sweet Georgia Brown) was an added attraction. It may have housed some interesting (read unaffordable) "pieces of art" but I really did not need to step inside..for me the most appealing bits were on the outside. And as if the gallery wasn't charming enough, a used-books shop stood adjacent to it and an "egg-itarian" cafe (where most of the menu was egg-based) called "The Egg Toss" stood right opposite to it :)

Standing Tall

I had been meaning to share the images of this brick-walled light earlier but then I got distracted by the daisies :)

Little Sable Point lighthouse in Mears, MI was closed by the time we reached so we missed out on the view from the tower but the glimmering Lake Michigan had us enchanted for the better half of the evening we spent at the beach.......the sun lingered deliciously over the lake for a long time and eventually dissolved into it.....As we reached the end of our time on the lake, we dipped our toes in the now-cold water for one last time and reluctantly left for dinner.

PS: Those are the famous dunes in the background in the final image.