The Last Day of March

Just in time to wish you a very Happy Easter!

I really hope that you've had a beautiful day.

The catkins are dancing in the breeze, blossom is showing us fluffy flowers

against a blue sky.

Daffodils are still blooming

Dark chocolate Easter bunnies have been nibbled

and Honey Cat is happy just to enjoy life and the sunshine on my balcony!

Some tender pink blossom bringing us joy

Stretching flowery boughs up to the blue of the sky.

Cheery daffodils all in a row

and yellow Forsythia after the rain.

The first butterfly of the season

enjoying the blossom.

One day this past week, I went down to the lake and walked along

a pathway lined with flowering Magnolia trees.

It had rained quite heavily the day before.

Despite the residual clouds, it was much warmer and there was fresh snow

on the mountain peaks.

I sat on a bench contemplating this view and treated myself

to a vanilla ice-cream on a stick, covered in dark chocolate!

Sometimes, you just have to do what you fancy, don't you?!

I hope these pictures and words find you in good spirits and enjoying

the good things that come your way.

See you sometime in April with more spring images.

In the meantime,

"Don't wait, love your life right now!"

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.

Fields of Green

Fluffy clouds in blue skies

Overhanging boughs

Country paths 

and fields of green.

I should get into the country much more often

and it isn't so very far away from where I live.

So lovely here to see the yellow dandelions in full bloom.

Beautiful buttercups everywhere too!

To get up here, I need to walk up the hill from where I live to the nearest metro station,

only three stops away 

and then I need to take a country bus which leaves every fifteen minutes from the metro.

One bus goes all around small villages and it takes about fifteen minutes,

the other one is more direct and it takes only seven minutes to get to this beautiful area.

When I had a car, I came here several times a week in all weathers,

even with my snow-shoes in the winter!

I even saw butterflies!

A wooden cabin in the woods.

I love how we can see the forest and trees through the windows.

This place is called Chalet-à-Gobet

and not too far from the town of Lausanne.

Another lovely place in the country to visit is Apples.

This is further away and I need another country train to get here.

It's also great for walks, especially in the autumn when the trees change colour.

On a clear day, there is an excellent view on the mountains from the top of the hill.

It was a little misty on this particular day.

I do love shutters, especially the old ones.

With roses growing on the wall against a trellis.

The village had colourful pots of flowers

The rapeseed fields were past their most colourful, but still looked pretty in contrast to all the green.

Waiting at the station of Apples

to catch the country town back down to the nearest town of Morges.

Only one train per hour, so it's best not to miss it!

Metamorphosis

This is the brief story of a zinnia flower.

A flower I appreciate for its vibrant colours, gorgeous petal formation and, in the case of the single zinnia, the tiny yellow flowers which form in the heart of the flower.

Butterflies are attracted to zinnias and I love butterflies too.

Some time ago, I needed to choose a pseudonym for an online site and discussion group I joined.

I chose 'Zinnia'.

When I started this blog in 2010, using the same pseudonym just seemed to fall into place.

Now I have decided to come back home to me - and from today, I shall be using my own name

which is Sandra!

As you see, I am not a zinnia flower... though in truth I feel at one with all flowers!

Within a caterpillar resides the future butterfly

and within this zinnia resides a person!

Although the flower label has been put aside. I am still who I ever was and still am

with an 'S' instead of a 'Z'!

Sandra