Happy Summer!

Today marks the summer solstice, longest day of the year and the first official day of summer! All around us are the signs of summer, too. The wild blackberries are full and ripening, the hummingbirds buzz back and forth hungrily sipping at the feeders, fireflies are twinkling brightly at night, and, in this part of the country, the temps and humidity are sweltering. It's definitely t-shirt and shorts season!

The return of the perennial day lilies is such a beautiful sight this time of the year. I love seeing these stately flowers growing en mass along the roadsides here in the country. The woodland trails in the woods I played in as a child were lined with day lilies. Just the sight of these bright orange blossoms brings back treasured memories of those long-ago summer days spent enjoying and exploring those woods.

The first poem I ever published was an ode to summer and I'll share it here.

Happy summer to all!!!

SUMMERS DAY AGAIN

Shining eyes on sparkling morn,

Jewels of daisies fields adorn.

Sprinkles and drops of morning dew,

Rainbow bright, so full of hue.

Fields abound with life a buzz,

Toads, mulberries, moth wings fuzz.

Sky so deep and stars so bright,

Dancing fireflies now in flight.

Quiet the field, cool the earth,

Dawn will bring new rebirth.

Our Wedding Anniversary

On June 14, Kevin and I celebrated our first Wedding Anniversary. We've been together about five years now, but our days of wedded bliss number just a few over the one year mark. Even though our first year was full of health challenges, we faced them together and came out all the stronger as a couple because of them. What an incredble gift to be sharing life with your soulmate, your true love, someone who inspires you to want to be your very best! We both were so happy to find each other and combine our solo journeys into one shared by two.

Kevin gave me a beautiful vase to mark the special occasion of our first anniversary, which you can see in the photograph above. The blues in it match the cornflower blue color of my wedding dress. I gave Kevin a hand tooled leather journal with the Tree of Life on the cover. We were tickled to find we both chose gifts with tree motifs for one another. We both love trees and our cabin is surrounded by them. Both of us are also dedicated members of a group that aims to help preserve our local forests.

It seems only fitting that I end this blog with a photograph of a tree...a lovely pink magnolia tree in full bloom. It could very well be the type of tree that inspired the artist who hand painted the design on my beautiful anniversary vase.

Calvert Cliffs

Over the Memorial Day Weekend, Kevin and I took a day trip to Calvert Cliffs State Park, noted for its towering red-colored cliffs that run along a portion of the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The stretch of beach in front of the cliffs is an excellent place to search for fossils and sharks teeth among whatever mix rolls in with the bay surf. The cliffs themselves are now off limits to the public, in an effort to prevent erosion.

To access the beach area, park visitors follow a windy trail through the woods for approximately two miles. Despite the heat of the day, the trail was shaded by tree cover, so it was comfortable walking. A narrow stream paralleled the hiking path, its tiny waterfalls adding sparkle.

On route, we passed a large pond where we saw a crusty, old snapping turtle eager to catch a small blue gill for lunch. A school of blue gills, as well as a lone, larger-sized bass, glided through the murky shallows. Further on down the path, we spied a tiny, metallic colored skink that scooted out of our view into the understory. We also got a glimpse of a young black snake as it lazily essed across the trail.

The woods were a mix of hardwoods and pine...and some of those pines were huge! In the photograph above, you can see evidence of the feeding habits of the yellow-bellied sapsucker in the rows of holes left behind after its excavation efforts for insects within this sap-laden pine tree. We didn't see the sapsucker, but we were very fortunate to catch sight of an uncommon red-headed woodpecker atop an old snag, so named because its entire head is covered with bright red feathers.

Before reaching the beach destination, we passed a series of swamps, vast areas of lily pad covered still waters alive with the chorus of chirping frogs. Brightly colored tiger swallowtail butterflies criss-crossed the water, fluttering in between the old tree stumps and new greenery.

Finally, a glimpse of the beach and the cliffs beyond. A group of boys search for sharks teeth among the surf. When we arrived at the shore, it was high tide and the beach area seemed very small. It was such a nice holiday weekend, so what beach there was was packed with people all eager for an early taste of summer mixed with a bit of adventure.