Monday, September 13, 2021

Summer's End


"Summer's lease hath all too short a date." ~ William Shakespeare

The wild grass is high and has gone to seed, the light is shorter and more golden, the mornings and evenings are cooler.  The end of summer is nigh. 



"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever"  ~ Carl Sagan

June, July, and August have passed so quickly! The weather was uncomfortably hot this year--we broke weather records for heat. Denver is currently tied for its 4th-hottest summer in recorded history (1872-present). The National Weather Service (NWS) defines summer from June 1 to August 31. We had five days of 100 degrees or higher, forty-six days of 90 degrees or higher, and five days either tied or broke the record high temperature. The weather felt even more oppressive this summer due to the high ozone from the heat and Western wildfire smoke in our atmosphere for many days.  I was happy that we invested in two Hepa air purifiers this year which ran almost constantly.

"If you don't like the weather in Colorado wait 15 minutes--
it will change." ~ Common Folklore

Speaking of weather....no, this isn't snowing...it is hail that fell during a recent afternoon thunderstorm!  We were out shopping and as we drove back into our community we began to see patches of white on the ground, even though the temperature was hot.  When we got home we saw that hail knocked off some of the tree leaves and battered a few of our flowers but thankfully no other damage was done.  As you can see from the close-up, in the photo collage above, the hail was about the size of a dime and a nickel.  Happily, it wasn't any bigger as at times Colorado has golf ball to softball size hail that is very damaging.



"Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures." ~ Henry David Thoreau

My garden is fading but I hope our figs will ripen in these last weeks of warm sun.  My roses formed rose hips and I'm drying the sunflower head to save for the birds to eat in winter. The last of summer to savor and anticipation of autumn's beauty to look forward to! Autumn is my favorite season--what is yours?



"Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be..." ~ Robert Browning

Our son's in-laws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in a fun way this month. They rented a private suite at Coors Field in Denver for a Colorado Rockies game for the entire family to attend.  It was catered with delicious food and we all had a fun time watching the game and all the festivities. We wish them many, many, more years of wedded bliss!




September 11th is always a sad day for us.  I have written many past blog posts about this day and our experiences that day as we lived in New York City at the time and my husband worked in #7 World Trade Center. We knew many who perished that tragic day.  On this 20th anniversary of the event, the memories are still sharp and the desire that good will prevail over evil is still my hope even more than ever.


“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn
that life is short and there is no time for hate.”
~ Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl

The pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, Jason Dahl, lived in our Colorado community at the time. His flight was the plane that the brave passengers brought down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to prevent further destruction in Washington DC. Our community put up a memorial of a flying eagle and the plaque above in his memory after 9-11.  Every year on 9-11 many gather at his memorial to pay tribute to him and all the others who perished that tragic day with a moment of silence. 

 A beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky this year during the memorial gathering. Another sign of hope! It is up to all of us to make the world a better place--spread kindness and defeat hate!

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41 comments:

Daniela said...

Dearest Pat,
When my commitments allow it to me, I feel so blessed to start my week with your post!
I so love fall and all its shades and parfums and in your shots you give such a lovely way to savor them.
Sending my dearest love to you
Xx Daniela at ~ My little old world ~ (Dany)

Michele Morin said...

Whenever we visit Colorado, we marvel.at the weather. Every season has its quirkiness!

Barbara Rogers said...

Your first shot that is so sharp and brilliant of marigolds and Swallowtail looks almost like a collage with the fence wires! Lovely to see everything, except the hail. Have a joyful week.

NCSue said...

I'm really not ready for summer to end yet!
Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-sistine-chapel-exhibit.html

Linda W. said...

Summer has been beastly here in the Pacific NW. Between record-setting extreme heat and smoke from wildfires I can't wait for summer to be over! I like fall much better anyway.

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

I love this post - deer, butterfly, and flowers - heaven to me

Samyuktha Semi Jayaprakash said...

melancholic yet hopeful!

Hena Tayeb said...

Autumn is definitely my favorite season as well.
Lovely to have a memorial service for the pilot.
We lost 14 members of our town that day and have a memorial service every year as well.

Ela said...

Wow ! What an amazing pics !
Greetings

Crafty Green Poet said...

Beautiful swallowtail and very cute deer !

Gillena Cox said...

Luv the Carl Ssgan quote. Thsnks for sharing your photos. Have a good week.
I am at #18 of the linky today

Much💖love

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

How true..it's up to us to spread love. It's been an emotional weekend. Love seeing your pretty flower photos and all the bright colors! We'll hang onto summer awhile longer here in the South. Hugs!

stevebethere said...

Nice post love the mix and the interesting photos thanks for sharing

Have a seasonaltastic week 👍

Lydia C. Lee said...

Sorry for your loss.

William Kendall said...

The deer make a sweet sight.

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Autumn is my favourite as well.

carol l mckenna said...

Wow! Lovely nature photos ~ Happy Anniversary ~ great way to celebrate and sad about pilot ~ Love is what we all need ~ Your post and photos speak to life in all its varieties ~ Xo

Living in the moment,

A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Ruth Hiebert said...

Thanks for sharing these lovely pictures of your summer. I think it was unusually hot everywhere and we also had smoke issues. i am thankful this summer is over.

Angie said...

Pat - that swallowtail photo is AMAZING! We will need to invest in those HEPA air purifiers, sadly. My garden is definitely fading ... our high Saturday will be 50 degrees and we are supposed to go camping the next day!!! I can't say what my favorite season is - I love them all! Of course I wish that September 11 had never happened, but I do wish we were as unified now as we seemed to be then! Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday!

Fun60 said...

The butterfly landing on the marigold flower is beautiful. It is images like that that gives me hope for the world.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Pat,

We had a hot and humid August, I am happy to see the cooler temps arrive.
Your photos of the deer, bunny and your pretty flowers are all wonderful. Gorgeous Swallowtail butterfly. Sept 11th, 2001 is a I will never forget. I have hope that good will prevail over evil. We need more love and less hate.
Great post, beautiful photos and quotes! Take care, have a happy day!

Christie Hawkes said...

Thank you for the beautiful photos, Pat. It's nice to have the GRAND Social back to remind me of some of the lovely blogs I haven't visited in a while. It's hard to believe summer (the meteorological measurement at least) is over. It was record-breaking hot here in Utah as well. Happy fall to you and yours!

R's Rue said...

Thank you for sharing all this beauty.

colleen said...

Love the warmth of the butterfly shot. I buried a second brother in a few weeks days before the towers were hit and all I could think about was that the whole world was in grief with me now.

ellen b. said...

Wonderful photos and experiences you enjoyed along with a more sober experience. It's good to remember and be remembered.

Veronica Lee said...

Love the swallowtail. And the very cute deer too.

Fabulous photos, Pat!

Linda said...

I love visiting with you! All the photos and news about what's going on....I love your life!

Jeanie said...

You have had a wonderful summer and enjoyed road trips and friends. I adore that butterfly photo. That one is a real treasure. Yes, 9/11 was a day we will never forget. I'm so sorry you lost personal friends during that. And sad for all.

Donna @ Modern on Monticello said...

That rainbow would have been amazing to see. Especially on that day. Thank you for sharing your memories and the last days of summer with us. #HomeMattersParty

Sandi Magle said...

So many lovely photos and sentiments. Yes, the days are waning, if only the temps would stay moderate. Chicagoland is looking at 90's again this weekend...plants and trees are very stressed here with the long, hot, dry summer! Sandi

EricaSta said...

Love to read your Post. Especially the wonderful captures.... and of course the fantastisc quote. Thank you for sharing.

Have a good week.

Rambling Woods said...

We had record-setting rain and heat for July and August...stay safe..Michelle

diane b said...

I can't believe it gets so hot in Colorado when you are so high up. Now you can look forward to the cooler, cold, freezing weather. My favourite seasons are Spring and Autumn.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

That is such a beautifully written and heartfelt 9-11 tribute with a personal and hopeful touch -- that means so much these days. And your end-of-summer activities sound lovely. I didn't know that the NWS says that summer is June 1 to September 1. That seems so sensible to me... we all feel like Fall has started then for sure no matter that "they" say it is mid-month!

Spare Parts and Pics said...

Wonderful post and summer tribute. With 9/11, even 20 years later, it's still close to the surface.

eileeninmd said...

Hello Pat,
I like the cooler weather but not the shorter days. I love all your cute critters, the deer and bunny. The Swallowtail is beautiful. Your flowers are lovely, I hope the figs ripen. The Colorado Rockies game sounds like a fun time. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, happy Sunday. Have a great new week!

Shiju Sugunan said...

These are very beautiful pictures. Many favourites.

My latest post:
https://craniumbolts.blogspot.com/2021/09/birding-with-rohan.html

Joanne said...

We are seeing definite signs of fall here too and can feel that summer is winding down. That hail is crazy! We have had hail storms on occasion but they usually don't last and we don't get much hail on the ground. What beautiful photos in remembrance of 9/11.

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

Thanks for sharing a great collection of photos! The sizzling sun really attracted my attention.

Indah Nuria Savitri said...

look at that amazing vista! I have missed going out and taking road trip like this. Lucky you to get a chance to do so. Stay safe..

Lowcarb team member said...

Thank you for sharing these photographs.
I did enjoy seeing the deer, and the butterfly is beautiful.

All the best Jan