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.

April is Here

Early mornings are what I love the best!

All is quiet until the birds start to sing their pre-dawn chorus.

We had a few dull, rainy days, so I put a cheerful table-topper on my little round table,

made myself a mug of peppermint tea and had a peaceful read before breakfast.

I like to choose my mug according to my mood

and I have chosen spring flowers for this morning.

The yellow pansies are growing on my balcony.

Every morning, at a certain time, the sun shines in through my kitchen windows

creating pretty patterns from my heart-decorated net curtains.

I love seeing my spring flowers growing in pots on my balcony:

Yellow Allysum, red Camellia and three Begonia plants.

Here is the dark pink Begonia

After lunch, I went out for a walk in my neighbourhood.

I came across some cheerful dandelions and noticed some fallen pine needles on the path.

I'm wearing my comfortable lace-up walking shoes which are perfect for all the hills here.

The primroses have been wonderful this year, covering grassy areas in carpets of yellow.

I did like these very much growing next to some violets.

Tiny Anemone growing in shady spots among last autumn's fallen leaves.

The crocus are nearly over now. I do love their bright yellow centres.

So beautiful in yellow too.

On the first day of April, it snowed!

The pansies in my window box were a little surprised.

This purple one contrasts well with the white of the snow.

This chunky blossom is called Japanese Flowering Quince.

I saw this today on my walk.

The cherry blossom is one of the first to come into flower.

I saw the first ones in March, but these are flowering now in April.

There have been walks along the lake.

This was taken from the lakeside village of Cully.

The old wooden jetty taken from the same place.

The view was quite misty that particular day.

Last week was a challenging week with several electronic devices giving me problems:

my computer was frozen for several days until the technician could come and sort things out.

My iPad needed an upgrade and even my new landline telephone would not work.

As things sorted themselves out, I saw this little crystal angel downtown...

I thought that she would like to come and live with me - and so she did!

I made a collage of my latest crochet project.

It's going to be a couch throw called 'Granny's Secret Garden'

The pattern was created by Marion on her blog.

 You can visit her site by clicking on the name of the blanket.

I'll explain the pattern so far: on the upper left are the flowers which create the middle part,

then we come to a round of yellow and blue squares which represent Forget-me-nots.

The last round in pink and red are for the cherry blossom in flower now.

The plain coloured squares will be on the next round.

Here they are finished and attached. They make a pretty frame for the garden!

Right now, I'm making a second round of plain squares.

It takes quite a long time to do, but I work on it about an hour a day, sometimes more,

and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished blanket.

I hope that you are enjoying this month of April.

What are your favorite flowers at this time of the year?

Out and About

Mother swan and her four cygnets

Always so touching to see on the lake.

The month of May seemed more rainy than usual with rather few really beautiful days,

but I did get out and take photos when the weather was sunny and dry.

So I have some photos from the sunny days in May that I still would like to remember

through my blog!

These water Iris were just starting to come into bloom.

Mother's Day is on the second Sunday in the month of May

and I received this beautiful bouquet from my son.

I met up with my daughter and grandson.

We had a lovely lunch together at home and then went for a walk down by the lake.

The Lilac bushes were in full bloom in my neighbourhood and my evening walks

were filled with their fragrance.

The deep purple flowers seemed to have a particularly lovely scent.

On one of the sunny warm days, it was lovely to walk along the edge of the forest

for coolness. The moss was so prettily illuminated by the filtered sunlight.

I do love to see the Chestnut Trees in flower.

I love collecting conkers too in the autumn!

Birthday collage.

My birthday falls in the middle of the month of May.

Three of my birthday cards, a gorgeous Peony flower and a picture

by Loretta Grayson entitled "Still I Rise"

I love her art.

Some beautiful pastel roses in memory of someone important in my life

for May 27th.

The Rhododendrens have put on a beautiful show of colourful flowers

They look especially lovely against a blue sky.

Or behind some railings.

The Dogwood flowers stayed in bloom for a long time.

I love seeing red poppies growing in the long grasses.

I even passed some sheep enjoying the luscious long grass when I climbed the hill from the station

to visit my daughter who lives out of the town centre.

A collage of my balcony flowers:

Blue Campanula, Daisies, Asters, Osteospermum, Bidens and the tiny lavender stalks

not quite in bloom.

My latest crochet project which is a lovely pattern from

Apple Blossom Dreams

It is called 'Mitered Blossom Dishcloth,

but I think it makes a really pretty mug mat.

The loop can be useful to hang it up on a hook in the kitchen.

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.