it's that time of year

it's that time of year

a middle tennessee garden blog


finding beauty in the natural things around us makes for one happy self and a lovely life. ~marmee

dash home farm, leiper's fork, tennessee

Monday, August 24, 2009

summer images of beauty


isn't she lovely...isn't she wonderful.

the weather was delightful yesterday...so we decided to take a
walk into the fields and woods. with camera in hand and a
late summer zephyr blowing at our backs...we walked.

how nice to experience summer with balmy breezes.

there are so many things growing...wild honeysuckle...acorns...

dh found these adorable clusters of acorns...i love them.

walnuts were in clusters too.

there are drifts of white flowers lining the back of our property.
nature is stunning.
so many wildflowers...i will be breaking out the id book...
(national audubon society's field guide to wildflowers) but
for now i am just enjoying the variety in nature.

i am so glad it cooled off a bit so i could see all these wondrous sights.
wild susans?

.

.

this is the tiniest little flower almost unnoticeable until the lens
captures it's light lavender petals.


the two youngest children decided to join us.
jesse


the back of our land is left to be cut for hay...it has a glorious
purple hue...i love seeing grasses allowed to grow wild.

they stand erect against the blue sky...and right in their midst are
wildflowers of all sizes and colours...
.
.
.
painted by the hand of God.
today they are swaying gently back and forth...as if to beckon
you to take a closer look... to look at it's form...shape...details.

upon closer inspection...you notice things... things that you don't normally
pay any attention to when looking at the big picture...like how
poke weed looks like little flowers after the berries have been eaten.
~click to see what i mean~
...or how the tiniest little blossoms are literally under your feet.
...or how leaves unfurl like the petals of flowers.
...or how you can see the mating ritual of two insects.
it is all so fascinatingly beautiful.
as we continue our walk we find several felled trees.
it makes a perfect resting spot 'til...
we head home through fields of wildflowers
abbey has found something that attracts her attention.
;)
i love her little face as she ponders the intricacies of the passion flower.
then she does what any romantic would do...places the flower in her hair.
isn't she lovely....isn't she beautiful.
the bare thistle stands tall and catches our eyes on the way back.
we both admire it for a good long while.

as we arrive home i see a new bloom in the fenced veggie garden.
i can't even remember what it is...but it is beautiful(and my favourite colour.)

now we are on the home stretch...

what wonderful weather we have been provided with
for our family to go walking...fall is coming.


24 comments:

Roses and Lilacs said...

Hi Marme, I well remember the rides my friend and I used to take thru the Tennessee hills of Giles County. Wild flowers, sometimes glimpses of animals, old fallen down houses and barns, it is a beautiful place. I often wish I was still there.

Thank you for putting my photo and quote on your blog.
Marnie

Susie said...

Wish I had a lovely area like that to explore. I know it makes for some wonderful walks Marmee.

Darla said...

You capture the beauty of nature better than anyone I know!!!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Beautiful photos Marmee. Thanks for taking us on your gorgeous walk with you!!!! The weather has been perfect for hiking this weekend for sure.

Thanks again.
Hugs,
Betsy

marmee said...

good evening marnie,

you should come back to tn...it is a beautiful place to live...at least a visit.
you're most welcomed...i love it.

marmee said...

susie, until yesterday just to hot to enjoy for any length of time...but today and yesterday...glorious. we started homeschool today and spent the majority of it out of doors.

marmee said...

oh darla, that is just a very sweet thing to say...it is my passion.

marmee said...

betsy, we absolutely love to walk into the woods and fields...and it has just been way to hot until the last two days...it is such a relief.
i am an outdoors girls and need my sunshine fix. i am so delighted you joined us on our walk...we love having your along.

Lola said...

What a lot of lovely blooms to see on your walk through them & the trees. Sounds like heaven.
I use to walk through the woods when I was a kid at home. I sure miss it. There's no place like Tn.
Thanks for letting me walk with you.

marmee said...

lola,

so glad you could tag along for the lovely walk. i sure do like living is such a beautiful state. it's so nice being able to walk with the weather cooperating.

Q said...

Walking on your own land must be a dream come true!
I love the relationship I have with the grasses too.
I am a Prairie girl....
Abby is very beautiful...
I have been studying the prairie this summer and have loved the long walks.
Autumn IS coming the cool down we are having is fantastic!
Sherry

Gail said...

We live in a beautiful part of the state! Thank you for taking us along on your stroll...the weather was perfect and the flowers are oh so scrumptious! Those are Susans...go back for seeds! gail

marmee said...

sherry,

it is such a pleasure to walk our lands...i love being surround by nature.
abbey it a great subject and very willing which makes it easy to photograph her. my other children tend to put up there hand or turn around right as i am taking the shot.
i don't know how much time i have spent on a prairie but i love that you are a prairie girl.
i am looking forward to autumn so much. putting on a sweater instead of sweltering.

marmee said...

gail,

you are so smart...i should go back there for seeds...maybe on my next walk. do you think they would be a wild native variety?
i do so love living in tn...the only thing i don't like is ticks.
happy august days are winding down.

Cheryl said...

Hi Marmee a beautiful and magical post.....the wildflowers are stunning. Is you pretty plant an aster, by any chance?

Abbey looks so pretty with the flower in her hair.....You are giving your children a wonderful connection to the world around them.......

The tree limb makes a perfect place to sit and rest.......

BTW love the header......perhaps you may keep it for a while....it has such a magical quality about it.......

karen anderson said...

Just wanted to stop by your blog and look for any new photos of Renny. How are things going with him? Esther told me about the runaway episode, they can be little Houdinis! September is the month I worm the horses with Strongid paste, so you may want to thing about buying a tube, ha ha. Is he keeping fat and happy? Keep him on the good Equine Senior feed by Purina and he will always looks shiny and healthy! And don't forget to get those feet trimmed every 6 weeks or so to keep them healthy! Now don't I sound like a nagging Mom! we went to Grace's birthday on Sunday, it was nice to meet your Mom and sister there, lovely woman! Well, put some Renny/Abby photos on the blog soon, so I can have a look at the sweet twosome!
Cheers,
Karen

marmee said...

cheryl,

i do believe that is an aster...i haven't had a chance to check yet. i have identified quite a few of the wildflowers in the post.
abbey is one of my favourite subjects to photograph...she doesn't mind at all and is naturally photogenic. she loves nature as much as i do so she makes a walking partner. i am teaching her science in homeschool and we are science detectives searching for clues about nature. it has been great fun so far.
i do love that photo...it was my favourite in the series...maybe i will leave it there for a while.

marmee said...

karen,

i went ahead and just emailed you some pictures. i thought that would be the faster route. things are going great with renny...we love him. we still need an adult saddle so all us biggy people can ride. i am going to try to do that either in sept/oct. we have been riding bareback some but prefer getting a saddle. i answer most other questions in email...
i'm glad you got to meet some more of the family at grace's party. i heard it was a great little party. i wish i could have been there.
hope you are enjoying summer. it is starting to slowly move toward fall up here some cooler evenings.

Rose said...

Marmee, this post reminds me of the old proverb about taking time to "stop and smell the roses." You and your family are such a great example of how to take joy in the simple things and spending time together. I have been spending more time this summer, too, noticing how even what we call "weeds" have a beauty of their own.

marmee said...

rose,

we have made a concentrated effort to slow down and make our life more naturally simple...i have a huge word in my kitchen to remind us "simplfy."
it can be difficult given all the distractions this technical world has to offer.
when you do slow down and take a look around you closely you notice so many wondrously beautiful things you have been overlooking.

the inadvertent farmer said...

A simply magical post...I loved each and every flower and description...what a beautiful place to wander and see nature and spend time with your family! Kim

Meems said...

A magical walk, Marmee, through your magestic fields. What a beautiful transition to fall it is making. Oh, how I dream of a cooler day. Funny how we just get excited about the humidity dropping a few percentage points at this time of year. That alone makes us remember there's a chance for cooler mornings at least... maybe in September? I remember seeing those pretty little lavender wildflowers in Blue Ridge last year on our walks. I'll have to go back and look at those photos. Your images of all the grasses is simply delightful!
Meems

marmee said...

kim,

thank you...we are truly blessed to live in this exquisite place and experience natural beauty like this every day. i am so glad you came by for a look~see.

marmee said...

thank you, meems...we are liking a small drop in the temps at night. it has been nice. usually it is way to hot to have a nice walk in august plus all the biting bugs...but this day was exceptionally perfect. you just have to take it in and keep it close to your heart when the temps go back to blazing hot.
i have been looking up all the wildflowers with abbey in our field guides and believe that purple flower to be iron weed...not a very pretty name for such a stalwart flower.
oh the walks in the blue ridge mountains...we need to do that again.
happy august days. enjoy your new plantings.