Last Days of Summer..

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you
because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.
Those who don't believe in magic will never find it,"
~ Roald Dahl

Do you see it?  I took many photos of wildflowers this summer in an open space park near my home, and as I was editing them I almost cropped this photo to concentrate on the flower. At the last moment I saw the beetle hanging onto the blade of straw in the upper left corner.  If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you will see the beetle was looking at me!

"Blessed are they who see beautiful things in

 humble places where other people see nothing."

~ Camille Pissarro

I also captured this ant clinging to a flower stem with my camera lens.....

"To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles."

~Mary Davis

...and three beetles on this daisy.

"Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don't they should, 

for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers."

~ Ray Bradbury

My husband and I have been "busy as bees" this summer. We drove up a 14,000 foot high mountain, visited a historic ranch, two historic houses, and a fort that was on the Santa Fe Trail when immigrants crossed this country in covered wagons and Native Americans lived on the plains.  We attended a lavender festival and saw two operas in a 1872 opera house in an old Gold Rush town. We enjoyed barbecues with our family and had fun with our grandchildren. Now we are looking forward to an upcoming visit of a niece and great nephew from New York.

If you truly love nature you will find beauty everywhere."

~ Vincent Van Gogh

As the month of August winds down I'm taking a little break from my blog to enjoy the end of summer.  A little more time to enjoy the flowers, hummingbirds and young fawns that I see in my backyard, and a few more family barbecues and last trips to the community pool.  I will be back soon!