Emerging from the Summer's Heat

 

I did not plan to take a two-month break from my blog,

but the repeated heatwaves just sapped all my energy

and computer time was not my priority!

These lovely sunflowers are growing from a plant on my balcony.

One day, this charming white butterfly visited my lavender plant and stayed there

for a whole hour. I couldn't quite believe it!

The windflowers (or Japanese Anemone) always flower towards the end of the summer.

This one growing in my neighbourhood is particularly lovely.

The roses are still blooming, much to my delight!

There were many trips down to the lake

and this was taken in the town of Vevey

I like the bright red Impatiens flowers and the lovely shadows of the railings.

This is one of two statues made of bronze just beyond the railings.

A water-sprite riding a seahorse.

I love seeing cloud formations in the sky.

This one seemed to be promising rain which did come in the night, but not enough.

It's so dry everywhere.

Can you guess what this is?

Returning from one of my walks, I saw this reflection of the sky

in the back windscreen of a parked car.

I liked the surreal quality of the seemingly 'floating' windscreen wiper!

There has been a lot of crochet during the months of July and August

mostly smaller items and in cotton because of the heat.

This is a bunting I made to hang up.

It was really fun to make.

African Violet Granny Square

On August 15th, it was Granny Square Day.

This is one of the nine that I made.

This year, I discovered iced coffee

It made a delicious refreshing drink after lunch instead of a small, hot espresso!

The days are getting a little cooler now

and this week, our temperatures are around 25 - 26C

which is a great improvement from 33-36C that we had in the heat of the summer.

I had to take my walks very early in the mornings

and then I pulled down the blinds to stop the beating sun from overheating my apartment.

I had a ventilator (fan) in each room

and sometimes it was necessary to have it switched on at night to be able to sleep.

Now I am beginning to enjoy the cooler days and especially the cooler nights.

I have lots of photos from the summer and my favourites will find their way onto my blog.

I have a feeling that there may be weekly blog entries for quite a while.

Each dawn

is a new beginning

Every day

we can start anew

Tiny crescent moon

leant back and smiled

in hues of pink and blue.

Yellow and Blue

 

I think we all now know what the colours yellow and blue represent.

They make us think of sunshine and blue skies

but right now, they remind us of the Ukrainian flag

and what the Ukrainian people are going through. 

Whatever we are doing in our own daily lives,

our thoughts turn, irrevocably and with empathy, to all the suffering experienced

by innocent people as they are forced to flee their beloved country.

This is the yellow and blue mandala I made.

I have not posted for a while as I have been very busy doing important crochet projects

for gifts, and they have been taking up a great deal of my time.

When they are completely finished, I will post them on my blog.

 I love going down to the big market on Saturdays 

to buy fresh fruit and vegetables and farm eggs.

There are often musicians playing and this young musician was playing his

cello very beautifully to earn some money for his musical studies.

I gave him something, of course!

As I passed one street, I looked up to see the elegant tower of Lausanne Cathedral

which looked so lovely against the blue sky.

I've received an early birthday gift of a book on photography

on the work and life of Vivian Maier.

She has become famous for her clever street photography and self-portraits.

Since I am still doing my self-portrait class. I was inspired to try out a similar style.

This shot was taken in a richly decorated shop window where there were also mirrors.

The reflections have given a double self-portrait!

One of the exercises given was to take a picture of our hands,

so I held up a glass ball to try and capture my garland of hearts!

I finally got the ball centred after several tries!

I did receive some beautiful red roses and decided to make a collage of different details

of the lovely petals.

My pink Amaryllis grew a second stem with stunning and photogenic blooms

The back views are beautiful too.

A few petal details in this collage.

There have been visits down to the lake in Ouchy

and our weather has been so beautifully sunny - even if the March winds

have made it feel colder.

Both these photos are taken from Ouchy looking over to the French side and mountains

and the town of Evian.

One day, I took the train to the lakeside town of Vevey. It's not far at all from where I live.

I did love the sparkles on the water.

It was a little tricky to take the photo as I was almost facing the sun.

This is from the same town, but with a closer view on the majestic Dents du Midi.

They are a three-kilometre long mountain range in the Chablais Alps

in the canton of Valais in Switzerland.

Closer to home, and in my neighbourhood, I saw these charming snowdrops.

On one of my daily walks, I noticed this tiny Harlequin Ladybird nestled

in the leaves of a flowering Viburnum bush.

Some of the south-facing Magnolia trees have started to bloom.

This particular one had such beautiful petals.

A yellow and blue collage for Ukraine.

The pansies are on my balcony

and I crocheted the yellow hearts set in a blue granny square.

It was also time to put a spring wreath on my front door. 

I chose pastel colours and a flower pattern

from Apple Blossom Dreams

where you will see many beautiful flowery patterns.

************

I hope that spring is waking up where you live and that the sunshine

and blue skies are uplifting your thoughts during these troubled times. 

We can help those in need by donating to the charities that are suggested in the media.

I like to use La Chaîne du Bonheur

which is a well-known and trusted Swiss organization

and also Doctors Without Borders.

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!