The Month of June

Even though the month of June has arrived, I still have some spring flowers

that I meant to share here in the month of May,

but I never found the right moment to do a new blog entry,

for that, you need the time and the right mood,

especially the latter!

The above scene is taken from the big tulip park in the town of Morges.

The aptly named Tulip Trees were coming into leaf.

I just love the fresh green of spring, don't you?

The fresh green leaves of the Tulip Trees against the blue of the sky.

We got to the park nice and early to enjoy the park with a minimum of visitors.

It had rained in the night, leaving big puddles behind.

In the heat of the summer, these big overhanging trees create very welcome shade.

The late blooming tulips were still on show and was sheer joy to walk among them

and see all of their beautiful colour combinations.

A walk along the lake in the same town of Morges shows the lovely plantations, 

like this beautifully shaped yellow tulip.

Pretty in pink with pink Forget-me-nots

A closer shot without the lake in view to see the opening petals even better.

Elegant red and white stand tall and proud.

Deep pink against the dark water.

A sailing boat with the Mont Blanc Mountain in the background.

Sunshine yellow flowers growing against the railings of a lakeside home.

The beautiful Irises were just coming into bloom.

Something a little different!

After a beautiful and long morning walk, we stopped for lunch on an outside terrace.

I just loved the reflection of my glass of red wine shining on the white tablecloth.

In the base of the actual glass, you can see the reflection of the blue sky!

This was my first trip of the year out into the country to walk alongside the fields

and in the woods above the town.

I can get there by taking a bus, the metro and another bus.

It sounds like a lot of travel, but when connections are good, 

this lovely area can be reached in about thirty minutes.

I love visiting when the dandelions are in bloom.

Here is a wider angled view showing the blue of the sky mixed with soft clouds.

I chose this photo as my header today.

I just love being in the country, the peace of it all and being so close to nature.

Aren't Dogwood flowers beautiful, both in shape, style and colour?

These grow in front of a school in the neighbourhood above mine. 

I love to visit them each year when they're in bloom.

Another point of view against a dappled background of sky and trees.

Walking through the small park to go back home through the quiet streets.

I used to take my grandson here often when he was younger,

there are such good climbing frames at the other end.

These are the pansies from my balcony-garden this year. They have been doing so well.

Now I'm back into the swing of doing a new blog entry,

I've decided to do them regularly during the month of June.

I have so many photos to share taken during the sunnier days.

We have had such mixed weather during May and now in June too!

I hope that you are enjoying sunny days

 and doing all the things you love to do at this time of the year!

My latest crochet work:

Four crocheted coasters for a friend's June birthday.

I love making coasters and mandalas in the form of doilies.

When they're for gifts, I choose the colours I think will suit the person who will receive them.

These chosen colours make me think of sunshine and blue skies.

Here is a link to the site where I found the lovely pattern:

Color 'n Cream

Between Sunrise and Sunset

In-between two bouts of heatwave, it was decided to have an overnight stay by the lake.

The sunrise sky was so beautiful in the early morning.

We went out walking at 5.45 am in the delicious freshness of that time of day.

The street lamps were still lit.

A swan was enjoying this marvellous moment of the day as much as I was.

The rising sun hit the landing stage and created beautiful reflections.

A bit later in the morning, after breakfast on the outside terrace, we walked in the lakeside park

under the welcome shade of the huge trees.

It was lovely to observe the beauty of the environment and flocks of birds

flying across the sky in their hundreds.

I was unable to identify the birds.

I was wondering if they could be Cormerants.

Here they are again

Flying very high above the mountain peaks.

Click on the photos to see things in more detail when enlarged.

The port of Morges and the beautiful Mont Blanc mountain.

The atmosphere on the lake changes constantly. 

This lighting makes me think of a watercolour painting.

The lakeside Dahlias are stunning and there are so many varieties and colours.

This bright pink one caught my eye as well.

Sunset over the Mont Blanc.

Such peace.

I have been making fewer blog entries lately, mostly because of our heat

which seems to make everything a huge effort!

I have decided however, to increase my blog entries and just make them shorter.

I know that it's often discouraging to wade through too many photos

and especially too many words!

It was so beautiful by the lake and we prolonged our stay by one night!

Now we are experiencing yet another heatwave and going out in the early mornings

is the only comfortable time of the day.

The Irresistible Lake

Just walking alongside the calm lake brings me equilibrium.

There's something really special about those aqua and blue tones.

Through the overhanging branches of the weeping willow,

I can see the mountains in neighbouring France.

A family gathered on the jetty to enjoy the closeness to the water.

The steamboats are back again for the season 

and I love to watch them glide across the water.

If you look carefully, you can see that this one is called 'Vevey'

which is the name of another lakeside town not far away.

A swan passes by with puffed up wings. I have a feeling that

he's using them like sails to move along a little faster.

The cloud formations clung to the mountain tops, as they often do.

The mountain to the left of the little sail boat is called La Dent d'Oche

and is in France.

We stopped for a coffee at the Hôtel du Port (with the pink shutters)

with a great view on the lake.

This lovely tree, called Albizia julibrissen was in full bloom with these

colourful powder-puff like flowers!

This statue represents The Flight of Icarus.

Greek Mythology tells us the story of Icarus, son of master craftsman Daedalus.

Icarus and his father attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that Daedalus

had constructed from feathers and wax.

Despite his father's warnings, Icarus flew too close to the sun

and his wings melted and he tumbled out of the sky and fell into the sea.

Maybe you've heard of the idiom: "Don't fly too close to the sun."

I chose this lovely scene for my blog header for the month of July and August.

All the photos above were taken in Ouchy which is a port south of  the centre of Lausanne.

Now we're in the lakeside town of Vevey where I came to live when I first came

to the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

The statue represents a nymphe riding a seahorse on the water's edge.

There are two of them in the lake.

Another lovely boat on its way to Geneva.

This one is called La Suisse and is extremely elegant with a first class restaurant inside.

This is a view towards the Valais 

A closer view of the chain of mountains called Les Dents du Midi.

There are seven summits to this three-kilometre long mountain range.

the highest being Haute Cime which reaches 3.257 metres.

The range dominates the Illiez and Rhone Valleys in the canton of Valais, Switzerland.

The lake walkway in Vevey where beautiful flowers are always planted.

Now we're in the lakeside town of Morges, only twelve minutes away by train from Lausanne

The port is so pretty.

I love the hanging baskets of geraniums on one of the jetties.

This is the same jetty showing the imposing white building in the background.

This is the Casino Restaurant which has a beautiful outside terrace

 under the trees for welcome shade.

The tiny sailing boats were part of a sailing school and a motorized red dinghy

was there to give useful advice to all the youngsters learning new skills.

The flowers along the lake are always beautiful, like these Petunia blooms.

The Dahlias are stunning too.

I've never seen this kind before with amazing centres.

Their colour combinations quite take my breath away!

We all need colour and beauty in our lives right now as we do the best to live our lives

in complete safety, but still enjoy the loveliness of all that nature offers us.

Take care and be safe!

Note:

If you click on each photo, you will be able to see them in a much bigger size and you will feel part of the scene!