A Belated Farewell to Summer

Hello bloggy friends and readers! Happy October to you all.

Summer is well and truly over in Wisconsin. After what seemed like weeks of grey skies and heavy rain, we've now had several nights of frost. Soon the green and growing things will fall asleep for the winter, but in my photo files the flowers of August and September still bloom.

I'm sorry to be so late in posting these. After getting my book published, I fell into a long creative slump which included photo-editing burnout and a deep reluctance to write. (The state of our nation didn't help.) Now that the book dust has settled, I hope my blogging mojo will return.

So today's post will be short on words, and heavy on flowers - but that's a good thing, right? :)

August

From left, purple loosestrife, nodding onion, and ironweed, all growing along the Wisconsin River:

Found on country roads, clockwise from left, whorled milkweed, horsemint in bloom, flowering spurge:

Clockwise from upper left, knapweed, Queen Anne's Lace, wild chicory with red clover, Butter-and-Eggs (yellow toadflax):

A short evening ride with Mr. M, our shadows flying before us:

The photos in the next three collages were all taken on one glorious late-August ride, in which I found oodles of flowers.

Clockwise from upper left, wild sunflower (with Pennsylvania leatherwing beetle), boneset, cattail with purple loosestrife, Joe-Pye weed:

I was thrilled to find an entire field of prairie blazing star:

Also seen on this ride, clockwise from upper left, water hemlock (I think), goldenrod, pale pink thistle, and spiderwort:

Late in August, I rode to work one morning under soft clear skies...

...and rode home that afternoon with the sound of thunder ringing in my ears (just made it before the massive storm broke over our village):

The last ride of August included pumpkins in a field, pussytoes bursting into bloom, and Amish barns under blue-and-white skies:

September

Evening primrose, aster, and my own shadow along the river trail:

On a quiet road, a hint of the color to come:

Late September brought more colorful trees, lavender aster, and golden soybean fields:

One last photo, taken from the car on the last day of September, when a stunningly vivid double rainbow arched over the town where I work, fading and reappearing several times. I caught the last of it on my drive home that evening:

Next week I'll post some (more timely) October photos.

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I hope you're doing well. If you live where there are fires, may you have protection and clear air. If hurricanes or storms have passed your way, may your home be intact and free from flooding. If you live in an area of conflict and unrest, may you have peace and safety. May all of us stay as healthy as we can, and willingly take care to guard the health of those around us.

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