Early Morning Walks

During our heatwave, with temperatures reaching 32C,
I've been doing my walks very early in the morning.
Sometimes leaving home as early as 5.30 am.
Many of my outings have taken me to one or other of the parks. 
I did love these bright pink Hollyhocks.

The bees love them too

I often go down to the bigger park as I love the tall trees there
and the little pond with a bench right next to it.
This is the very early morning sunshine.

Here's another entrance and I really appreciate the shade of those beech trees.
The path is still wet as it rained in the night.

Don't you just love being surrounded by greenery?

I took this photo this morning around 7 am, just as the sun rose high enough
to filter between the trees and illuminate the grass.

There are beautiful flower beds of hydrangea

Both dark and lighter pink

Here's the little pond and you can see the bench on which I sat to have my picnic breakfast.

There are lily pads and lots of waterlily buds

The Agapanthus flowers are starting to open
against a bubbly green and blue bokeh in the background.

One morning, I sat by the fountain and a tiny robin perched on the lower part.
You can see him on the left in front of the pink hydrangeas.
Click on the photo to see all images in a larger size.

One morning, I met a friend in the nearby lakeside town of Morges.
I have to take the train to get there and I left home at 6 am
to be there before 7 am.
We sat at a lakeside terrace with this lovely view to have breakfast.
It was so hot that particular day, that we walked in shady spots 
and finished up on on a bench in the shade to eat a water ice and drink water!

Two more delicate Agapanthus looking fresh and summery against a house
with closed shutters.

A collage of the flowers blooming on my balcony garden right now_
Geraniums, Carnations, Begonias, Zurfinia (in the middle) and yellow daisies.

The Begonias on their own with the greenery from a big tree to the right of my balcony.



My homegrown strawberries
which were small but delicious.

My lavender which the bees just love

The Gaillardia flowers as they develop. 
They are just in front of the kitchen.

As for crochet, I made a sunflower granny square and then a second one
to make a little shoulder bag which is useful for my mobile phone, keys and a small purse
when I go out locally with my camera.

I've also started a new project in the form of a ripple throw in fresh colours.
 I crochet less when it's hot, but even a row or two helps the projects move forward.

I hope that you have been enjoying this month of June.
It's lovely to have the longer days, but I prefer it when it isn't too hot!
My favourite temperatures are between 20 and 24C.
How about yours?

12 comments

  1. Another wonderful post with a plethora of colourful flowers. Thanks for taking me out on your early morning walks xxx

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    1. Hello Sarn! Always lovely to have you pop in! I wanted to get in a new blog entry before the end of June and did it last night, so I had a couple of typos to sort out early this morning! Early mornings are magical in the summer and the perfect time for getting out before the heat of the day comes in with full force!

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  2. Hi Sandra, as always your photos are beautiful. It’s 5 am here in Las Vegas and already 85f will be 105 today🙈 just seeing the flowers, lush greenery and water photos that you post are so refreshing. There is some green here but it mostly starts drying and drooping now, even the palm trees look dusty.
    I continue to enjoy your posts and have been contemplating crocheting a small bag for my own very early walks, I will start that today. Thanks for sharing your colorful world. Jane

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    1. Hello Jane, how lovely to have you pop in and say hello! Yes, you have it much hotter than us here - and I'm guessing it's humid heat that you experience in your part of the world. I'm glad our greenery and water shots were refreshing to you! Good luck to you with crocheting a small bag for your own early walks! They are fun to do and granny squares are so versatile for all sorts of creations!

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  3. That is a great idea to walk early in the morning, Sandra--a wonderful way to start the day! I find that when I wake up earlier, I always feel so much more productive. Sadly, I've gotten in the habit of staying up too late and sleeping until 7 or 7:30. Anyway, you've shared such beautiful nature photos with us today--love everything, especially the variety of flowers in every color of the rainbow. Your little pouch is perfect for a quick trip outside the home to run errands. Very pretty work as always :) Hope your temperatures cool down--I like it to be in the mid 70s to 80 with low humidity. It's not the heat that bothers me, but the humidity. Enjoy your weekend ♥

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    1. It's always lovely to have you visit, Carol! I am naturally an early riser so it's no hardship for me to get out in the lovely cool air of the early mornings. It changes my whole outlook in life in such a positive way for the rest of the day.

      I do love my flowers so much because of the varied colours and sometimes their scent! I looked up your favourite temperatures to find the equivalent in Celsius and it's about my favourite temperatures too, maybe a tad warmer. I quite agree with you that it's the high humidity which makes the heat seem unbearable. Luckily, it's sometimes a dry heat too!

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  4. Ciao Sandra, your wonderful pictures give me a fresh breathe and a nice dream, as the heatwave here continues. Usually my thoughts are at my childhood memories à la ville et au lac de Bienne.
    Your crochet project are nice as usual.
    Big hug,
    Miriam

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  5. Hello Miriam! I thought we all needed some scenes of greenery and water to make us feel cool and lovely during this very hot weather. Right now we're going towards yet another heatwave! My walks have to be in the very early morning! Keep cool!

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  6. My favourite temps are between 70 and 80F. :)

    Lovely flower photos as always, and thank you for introducing me to one I had never heard of: Zurfinia. The little robin is adorable; so much smaller than our American robins.

    Your little crochet bag is so cheery, and looks very handy.

    I've been thinking about you as we watch the Tour de France ride through your part of Switzerland. It's so very beautiful there; we've been enjoying the scenery very much. I was wondering, too, if you had a chance to see the riders go through. I can't imagine how exciting that would be.

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    1. So lovely to have you visit, Sue. I wasn't really interested in the Tour de France, though did watch it on TV to see the lovely areas of Switzerland they were crossing. I read that over 100'000 spectators lined the streets here in Lausanne to cheer them all on!
      My favourite temperatures are rather like yours, though I prefer the highest to be a tad lower than 80F (26 Celsius)!
      It's getting very hot to be able to do a lot of crochet - but I'll maybe make smaller things and probably in cotton!

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  7. Lovely post Sandra, as always from you. I agree with the temp it is much better when it is not too hot. Therefor I love the autumns, the golden light is magic and temperature is much better (lower) :)
    Hope this comment gets through.
    Greetings Lasse

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    1. Your comment came through perfectly, Lasse. Thank you fo your lovely visit. It has been too hot for the last two months to want to do anything much, but in September, which starts tomorow, I shall become active again, including a new blog entry!

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