Summer has arrived in the northern hemisphere. Kids are getting out of school and graduations are being celebrated. Backyard grills are being fired up and picnics planned. Before you take your children to their summer camps and head off on an exotic vacation (at least we can dream), I wanted to ask the burning question, was your spring as crazy as the one we had.
When I think of spring, my first thought is of the many wonderful flowers and the sweet aromas of their blossoms that attract the beautiful butterflies and bees.
I always look forward to the breath of warm air that caresses our cheeks and the gentle rains that encourage the tender green shoots that are just emerging from the ground. As the saying goes…April showers bring May flowers.
On the first day of spring we got the biggest snowstorm of the year. I should have know that it was going to be a very crazy spring after that first day.
This is the apple orchard at our home in New Hampshire…it was buried in 14 inches of snow on the first day of spring. By the way, that is not a black and white photo…just a gray spring day. Once the snow melted, the weather warmed up to record levels. Our apple orchard bloomed one month early.
The water level at the lake in Maine where our summer cottage is located was at record lows this spring. We could have opened the cottage early but it went from record warmth to record cold to record rain. Too many RECORDS…and too much water. The lake went over its banks, submerging all the docks (including ours) and stressing all shoreline plants.
There were beautiful blossoms this spring that I enjoyed for their brief appearance. Unfortunately they didn’t last because of the heavy rainfalls. Now summer is bursting forth with summer blossoms. Nothing says summer more than an abundance of sweet smelling summer roses, the smiling faces of daisies and bright orange lilies.
At last it is finally summer! I’m hoping that it will be a pleasant summer but we went from a high of 68 degrees F. on the last day of spring to 96 degrees F. on the first day of summer.
Back Road Journal 
So many gorgeous images. I just love the first one with the butterfly on the blossoms. I’m so glad summer has arrived for you. The contrast in your seasons is amazing. xx
Thank you Charlie for your nice compliment. I must have taken a dozen or more photos to catch that butterfly. New England does have four totally different seasons…that’s for sure.
What Spring? 🙂 We went straight from shoveling snow to running the air conditioner. Beautiful photos Karen.
Hi Lea Ann, Thank you for your compliment. Your spring did seem to be nonexistent. We just had an A/C unit installed at the cottage. Hopefully we won’t have to use it often…most summers are very pleasant at the lake.
Have a nice summer days dear Karen, your photographs are so beautiful… Thank you, with my love, nia
Thank you Nia, I appreciate your compliment as your photos are so lovely. I hope you have a pleasant summer as well.
We’ve known big early spring snowfalls in the past but not this year. Our spring was warm, then cool, then warm. Up until the past few weeks, it was wet. Now our grass is a not-so-lovely shade of ecru. We were in Rhode Island at the end of May and thought the weather perfect.
Best,
Bonnie
H Bonnie, This spring was not our usual but I’m hoping our summer weather will be nice. It is good to hear that you had nice weather in May for your visit to Rhode Island. Hope your grass greens up soon.
Lovely picture of the Swallowtail butterfly. When I was growing up in England I had a real interest in butterflies. The swallowtail is England’s largest variety and I longed to see one but they are so rare I never did… moved to Canada and they were all over the place!
Hi John, Thank you for your compliment. We have had more butterflies this year than I have ever seen. It may have something to do with our mild winter. Whatever the reason, I am enjoying their beauty.
Beautiful photographs, as usual! How many rejected snapshots do you have to take to get one good one to post here?
Hi Jimmy, Thank you very much for your compliment. I had to laugh at your question. I was having a problem yesterday with my camera…I had to eliminate over 700 shots stored in its memory. The chip is just a couple of months old. I take a lot of photos to get what I think is a good one.
Ok, here’s MY burning question:
Did you get a good fruit set in the orchard?
It rained the entire two weeks of bloom time here, and I’ve got only a handful of apples on my three trees. There are two pears that I can see…
Gorgeous photos…
Hi Marie, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Thank you for your nice compliment. To answer your question…yes and no. The pears were the first to bloom, they always are. It was a dry week and the bees did a good job of pollinating the blossoms. The trees are loaded with tiny pears. Now I hope the porcupines will leave the trees alone and I should have a nice crop of pears. The apples, not so much. We know that the bees don’t like cold, wet, windy weather and that is what we had most days once the apple trees were in bloom. I won’t be a good crop of apples. Sorry to hear that you will have such a tiny crop from your trees.
Your photography catches the essence of summer my friend, beautiful 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Thank you for your kind words, Uru. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
You have some great pictures here…beautiful!
The extremes in temperature have been crazy this year. We had the warmest Spring on record which caused most of the fruit trees and vines to start blossoming prematurely. Only to be killed off by later frosts. From what I understand, most of the fruit crops in our area are ruined…blueberries, grapes, apples, etc. It is going to be a sad little harvest year. This area is known for its road side fruit/vegetable stands, blueberry festivals and farmers markets…hallmarks of summer.
Happy that you are drying off up there. How did the tomato plants do?
Hi Bliss, Thank you for your compliment as usual. Sorry to hear that your area will not have a good harvest this year because of the crazy spring. Not only do you miss out on wonderful local crops but the poor growers loose so much income. Everyone here was worried about the frosts…our orchard escaped damage. I was looking at one of the wild blueberry bushes recently…it was loaded with berries. But the birds always get to them before I do. We are drying out and the tomato plants are doing very good. Photos to come in the near future.
Gosh..that snow photo has stolen the summer show..really…so beautiful and peaceful.
Hi Angie, I’m glad that you enjoyed the photos. A 14 inch snowfall made everything beautiful. Unfortunately, by the first day of spring I am looking forward to sun and flowers and very tired of snow. The nice thing is that at that time of the year it doesn’t stay on the ground long because of warmer temperatures.
Talk about lovely photos… 😉 And I’m especially loving the ones you captured of the butterflies ~ I love when those rare moments happen and they are able to be caught on camera. Funny, the snowfall on the first day of spring, you’d think you were here in Minnesota. 😉 We had an early spring here this year though. Having an orchard must be wonderful, you are blessed!
Hi Jewels, Thank you for stopping by and your lovely compliment. When I see butterflies, I always run for my camera. They are such beautiful creatures. Minnesota does have some brutal winters…ours wasn’t bad this year at all. My husband and I are blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the country.
Your photos are just gorgeous. Here in Central Mexico, we felt like we have had summer (it is hottest here in May-June, then gets cooler). And now we are waiting to reap the benefits of the recent rains. The countryside should come to life soon. Your photos always inspire.
Hi Victoria, I’m happy that you enjoyed the photos. I know that where you live has to have beautiful landscapes…so different from where I live. I hope that your recent rains brings forth beauty to your lovely area. Thank you so much for your kind words.
We had a gorgeous day yesterday .. people at the beach and in the cold water – today when we celebrating MIdsummer the rain is pouring down. Yesterday when I was out with me little camera I thought – haven’t seen a butterfly yet this year .. strange. Here you send me one, my first for 2012. Thank you so much. Wonderful photos again .. and thanks for bringing the summer back to me. Feel so sorry for all the Midsummer organizers – so much afford has gone into dressing the may pool and arrange for bands .. and it’s soaking wet out there.
Hi Viveka, I’m happy that I have given you your first butterfly of the year. I’m so sorry that your weather has turned bad for your wonderful festival. I know that it is such a lovely and much anticipated event. Thank you for your lovely comment.
I too enjoy your lovely photos. Oh yes, summer has arrived in the Hudson Valley, and did it arrive, high 90’s on the first day of summer, I think the record was broken and the heat wave continues. Spring was unusual to say the least, but all things considered cannot complain.
Thank you Norma, I am glad that you enjoyed the photos. We have to take the good and bad where weather is concerned. It was a crazy spring but I would have to agree that I can’t really complain. I guess the gardener in me just wants it to be perfect…if only we could be so lucky.
Great shots – I don´t think our spring was quite as crazy as yours, although we may have lost quite a lot of olive blossom due to high winds. Fortunately we had an amazing crop this year!
Thank you Tanya, I’m happy that you enjoyed the photos. It is nice to hear that your spring was good and that you had an abundant crop.
These photos are so wonderful and I’ll join the chorus and say I love butterfly shots. I hope your summer brings less inclement weather than spring did (although you’ve gotten off to a pretty hot start).
Thank you Siobhan, for your nice comment. Summer has gotten off to a hot start but should be back to more normal temperatures next week. I hope you are enjoying you visit…I know it is hot in New York as well.
Lovely, lovely. It’s been crazy here, my boyfriend recently ran a half marathon, in which he was training in the rain and even hail but on the day it was stupidly hot…. now we seem to have a windy storm…. crazy stuff! Here’s hoping for warmth and sunshine for us all 🙂 xxx
Hi Katie, Thank you for your compliment and wishes for a nice summer. The weather has indeed been crazy. Your boyfriend sounds like he was very dedicated to his training…I hope he did well in the marathon.
Well he completed it! And raised over £400 for charity 🙂 x
Tell him congratulations on a job well done…not only for the race but for the nice sum he raised for charity.
I will thank you, I am very proud of him 🙂 x
Great Post – loving your photos! Have a Beautiful Weekend:)
Hi Adventurer, I’m glad that you enjoyed the post and photos. Have a nice weekend as well and thank you for your compliment.
Happy Summer Karen! 🙂 Love your photos!
Thank you Sibella. I’m happy that you enjoyed the photos. I hope we all have a pleasant and fun filled summer. Thank you for your nice compliment.
Spring was a little insane! Record temps in April during spring vacation, hot classrooms because the A/C wasn’t on! End of the year exams for students and me! Home renovations, inside and outside. Cleaning the landscape, expanding the veggie garden, cleaning the flowerbeds and expanding some! I’m re-exhausted just thinking about all of it! LOL!!!
Your photos are beautiful!
It sounds like you need a nice relaxing time at the beach, Mary. Here’s to a peaceful summer. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and thanks for the compliment.
Well, down here in the south we didn’t have winter pretty much, and our spring was bordering on summer by the end of March, and now that summer is officially here, it’s more like August than June, although it’s low nineties today instead of the upper nineties you are experiencing…so yes, I think it’s been a crazy year so far! In spite of the harsh contrast in New England, you sure had and have some gorgeous flowers, Karen. All of your images are quite beautiful.
Hi Betsy. Having lived in the south (Texas and Florida), I know where you are coming from about the heat plus you have so much more humidity than we usually do. Wishing you a lovely summer and some shade to escape the heat. I do enjoy having pretty flowers and I’m glad you like the photos. Thank you for your nice compliment.
What’s that expression – “strange doin’s”. Your photos are marvelous and those roses just beautiful. I was sad that the spring blooms (my peonies especially) bloomed then got drowned out. I was only able to rescue a few for inside.
Hi Diane, Strange doin’s is right! Our poor flowers did take a beating. I missed getting photos of many of my flowers because they were beat to the ground. We never know what Mother Nature has in store for us from one year to the next. The roses are at my New Hampshire home and thrive on total neglect all summer while I’m in Maine. Each time I come back home for a few days, they are waiting for me in all their glory. I’m glad that you enjoyed the photos…thank you for your compliment.
Hi Karen, all the colors are so beautiful! Looking at the snow covered orchard is so cooling! Last summer, when we had a record (another one!) high temperature above 100F for several months, I was “cooling” myself by watching on Netflix documentaries about Alaska… 🙂
Hi Marina, That is too funny…I love your idea of how to cool down. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and thanks for your compliment.
Enjoy summer!! Lovely pics and flower!! It is ice cold and raining in Cape Tow today!
Thank you Polkadot, for your nice compliment and wish for summer. Stay warm and have a comforting meal this evening.
Some beautiful photographs Karen that illustrate so well the records set this spring! It’s been a year of extremes already, hasn’t it? and the year’s barely half done with us! In answer to your question, no, our Spring in the NW was not as wild and crazy as yours. But wet, very very wet. Summer’s arrived (I say that carefully because it may be too soon to say) but summers are gentle here as a rule and it’s a lovely place to be. Wishing you temperate gentle summer days! You’ve earned them! In spades!
Thank you Spree, for your lovely comment. You certainly did have a very wet spring. I appreciate your kind wishes. Here’s to us both having a nice summer on both coasts.
Summer iris and what a great start, even the overly warm first day. At this moment I’m sitting on the porch overlooking the harbor, enjoying the bird sounds and blooming things and thinking how lucky I am!
Hi Lulu, I know you are enjoying your lovely summer home. I was thinking about you the other day when the weatherman was talking about the fog on the midcoast of Maine. I love iris, they are such a pretty flower. I think we are both very lucky!
lovely butterflies and flowers, hope you’ll have a great summer filled with happiness and laughter with your family and friends ^^
Hi Trang Quynk, I’m happy that you enjoyed the photos. Thank you so very much for your lovely wishes.
Such magical photography Karen – just too beautiful.
🙂 Mandy
Thank you Mandy, I take that as a nice compliment coming from you. Your photos was always lovely.
Dang, that’s a lot of snow!! Especially for the first day of spring. Gorgeous pictures, as always Karen. The shots of the butterfly are stunning. 🙂
Hi Caroline, It just snowed and snowed that day. 14 inches is a lot in one day…especially on the first day of spring. That butterfly kept flitting all over the place…it didn’t know I wanted to make it famous. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Thank you very much for your nice compliment.
Great photos. Apple blossoms just make people happy…you know there is good stuff coming.
Hi Putney Farm, Thank you for your nice compliment. Apple blossoms are pretty and have a wonderful fragrance. Our neighbors always say that they love when our orchard is in bloom…they roll down their windows when the drive by to enjoy the sweet smell.
I’m glad you are getting some sunshine – it’s still raining here 😉
Thank goodness we are getting some much needed sunshine…I hope you get some soon, Mad Dog.
That certainly is crazy weather! Gorgeous photos, Karen! What a pleasure to see!
Thank you, Dana. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and I appreciate your nice compliment.
You live and vacation in the most beautiful places. I envy you the gorgeous scenery. Even the snowstorm was lovely … enjoyed from the comfort of a snug home while having a hot beverage of your choice. 🙂
Hi Boleyn, I do think that we are very lucky and have two wonderful places in a beautiful part of our country. When the snowstorm ended and the sun came out, everything looked like a Currier and Ives painting. Inside with something warm is much better than outside shoveling. Thank you for your very nice compliment.
It’s been very very chaud here.. we always say it’s too cold..too hot..too humid..too wet..too dry..too windy:) Or you should have seen my garden yesterday:)
Malcontents..Just kidding but we have to accept what mother nature gives us while helping her along as well we can..
I too love the gardens the blooms the blossoms and a favorite sight of mine are roses climbing up a trellis or and obelisk or arbor..and of course against a picket fence..or a beach dune fence.
Love butterflies and bees too..
Bon weekend~
Thank you Monique for your lovely comment. I think our weather is very similar and you are right…too much rain and now too hot. It is supposed to cool down next week but the rain is returning. We do have to accept what mother nature gives us and just handle it as best we can. My roses climb over the roof of my garden shed each year and along my picket fence. They are old fashioned and have a wonderful fragrance. Have a lovely weekend as well.
Just lovely. Glad to see you’ve gotten some respite from the rain.
Thank you Little Sis, for your nice compliment. Sunny days make me happy and certainly the plants are responding as well.
Great images!
Thank you Chunklet for your nice compliment.
What upsa daisy weather you’ve had! I hope it all settles into a warm, gentle summer for you. Great photos, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Upsa daisy…that is a perfect description of the spring weather. I appreciate your wishes for a good summer. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and thank you for your compliment.
HOORAY for summer! I couldn’t agree more – nothing quite says summer like a big, blooming rose bush with a little picket fence! Beautiful! 🙂
I agree Charles…hip, hip, hooray for summer! I have two old fashioned bushes that give me so much pleasure. I always wanted pink roses growing on a picket fence for summer and they never disappoint me.
My mother has a beautiful purple “old english tea rose” variety outside her dining room window. I think the variety is Blue Moon… the smell is just intoxicating… I could stand there and just inhale it all day!
I love the old tea roses…the fragrance as you say is intoxicating. Unfortunately many of the absolutely beautiful roses grown today have no fragrance to speak of. I guess I’m an old fashioned kind of girl…I want my roses to smell wonderful and thankfully mine do.
You’ve included so many beautiful photos, Karen. Those iris are stunning but, I have to admit, the opening shot of the butterfly is just incredible! Really well shot. I hope your rain issues have settled a bit. Better still, I hope some of your rain can come this way. Celi and her neighbors could use it. 🙂
Thank you John, for your lovely compliment. We had a whole week without rain and the water has gone down. It should be normal soon although we are supposed to have rain for three or four days next week. As long as no monsoons, we should be good. I wish I could have sent some of our rain out to your area of the country.
Beautiful photos, Karen. I love the roses on the picket fence – they remind me of my grandmother’s rose garden!
Thank you very much Laura, for your nice comment. I always wanted to have a garden with a picket fence around it. The two rose bushes I have grow along the fence and up a trellis and over the roof of my garden shed at my New Hampshire garden. I’m only sorry that I don’t get to see their beauty everyday since we spend most of our summer at the cottage in Maine. I’ve been told it would be very hard to grow roses at our cottage.
Despite the crazy weather your flowers are beautiful, Karen. I don’t mind Sping showers but am always sorry to see the way the downpours beat down the fragile early flowers. I enjoyed your stunning photos.
Thank you Cathy, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Spring showers are wonderful for the flowers…it’s just the day in and day out downpours that can do them in. In spite of all the bad weather this spring, there were some lovely flowers to enjoy.
The weather has truly been extreme this year, hasn’t it?
Glad you at least get to enjoy a lot of blooms. But the lake! My goodness!!
Hope all returns to “normal” –whatever THAT is, anymore!
Have a great weekend, Karen!
: )
Hi Sue, Yes…where we both live the weather has really been extreme. I remember the photo of your garden on a very gray day…much like our orchard in the snow. I do hope that we both get a growing season that is more normal this year. I hope you have a great weekend as well…you must be getting close to home. I hope you have enjoyed your trip and look forward to see how your gardens have done while you were away.
I hope you do have a good summer – no more records except for lots of lovely things growing in your garden 🙂
Thank you Silverbells, for your very nice wishes. I would love to have no more records and a great growing season. Hopefully, I will have a nice crop of tomatoes to post about and share some recipes using them. Thank you!
Beautiful pictures, Karen! The juxtaposition between summer and winter is crazy!
And I love the pictures of daisies 🙂
Hi Daisy, Yes…you would enjoy the photo of the daisies in particular. I didn’t plant them…a gift from Mother Nature right next to steps that lead up to our front porch in New Hampshire. There are six nice size plants and they make me smile each time I see them.
It has been wild weather! Live the pics! 🙂
Hi Kristy, It really was an unusual spring to say the least. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos…thanks for your comment.
Every photo is postcard perfect!
Hi Bam, Thank you for the compliment.
so many beautiful photographs! You captured it perfectly!
Thank you Kelli, for your nice compliment. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
Did you take a class? Read a book? Major in college? Or do you just have real talent in your photographing abilities? I just find the pix you take AMAZING! I envy whatever it is that gives you this gift!
My goodness…what a compliment. No classes, etc. I haven’t even read the book that came with my digital camera. I am definitely an amateur photographer. I have always been artistic but I think it’s about taking lots of photos. If you take a lot, something is going to be good.
Summer one minute, winter the next. Floods, droughts…the whole world’s going crazy!!! The flower’s didn’t seem to mind it though…the roses look stunning!
Hi Jenny, The weather has been very unusual so far this year. My roses seem to do very well each year and have such a sweet fragrance. Thank you for your compliment.
So how’s the water level in the lake now?
These photos are so beautiful.
I certainly understand how quickly the weather can change. I went to my junior prom in May with a foot of snow on the ground.
Hi Maureen, Thank you for inquiring about the water level at the lake. The flood gates at the lock are still open and the water had gone done about three feet. Girls shouldn’t have to go to the prom in the snow…oh no! Very crazy weather indeed. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. Thank you for your compliment.
Your photos are just brilliant! Such amazing images! And yes, I’d agree with you that your spring was a bit out of control! Those were mighty high temps for all of a sudden, though, so I hope it wasn’t too much all at once! 🙂 Glad to know summer has arrived. May it be a bit consistent for you! Debra
Thank you for your kind words, Debra. I’m hoping that we all have a lovely summer. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
that first photograph is AMAZING! and speaks of warm spring days and lovely summer afternoons 🙂
Thank you Tandy, I was so lucky to get the photo of the butterfly…it kept flitting all over the flowers.
Spring in Ohio was crazy too, although we didn’t get the snow. The fruit trees here bloomed just as early as yours, then had to suffer through two hard frosts. Now, we’re to the point of getting desparate for rain. The old timers predict an early fall and hard winter. Weather is so fickle sometimes!
Hi Julie, I do hope that you get your much needed rain. I do hope the old timers are wrong about the hard winter. As you say the weather can be fickle. Thank you for sharing about spring in your area.
Gorgeous photos, Karen. When one lives so close to the nature every seasonal change or anomaly have a real importance. We hardly notice them in city centres. (Although this years’s awful spring is the one I will remember for a very long time…).
Hi Sissi, Thank you so much for your compliment. I think you are right about how relevant the weather is depending on where you live…especially in city centers. You did have a terrible spring. I hope we all get to enjoy a lovely summer season.
These flowers have absolutely brightened my morning!
That is so nice to hear…thank you Joanne.
A lovely post. Cheers to summer and let’s hope it’s a great season!
Thank you Marlene, I’m glad that you enjoyed the post. I hope we all enjoy the upcoming season not matter where we live.
Beautiful flower and butterfly shots Karen and our spring was more like early summer weather with one little cold snap thrown in. I fear the earth is undergoing changes that we will continue to see as very different weather conditions.
Thank you Larry, for your nice compliment. The warm weather certainly seemed to do wonders for your garden. I agree with you about the changing weather conditions. We put an A/C in our cottage in Maine as the summers seem to be getting warmer each year. Most summers we have had to sleep under a feather comforter at night. I hope we don’t have to use the A/C often.
Beautiful pictures, Karen! 🙂 Certainly reminds us to appreciate the beauty of nature… It sure has been a crazy Spring this year and looks like it will be a hot summer. The world is changing and we are part of it.
Thank you Ming, for your nice compliment. I’m glad that you enjoyed the photos. I think you are right…weather around the world is changing.
Wonderful photos and review of spring into summer! My favorite was ‘tiny but flamboyant!” I had to laugh out loud as I think that might describe a few people I have met in life! As I write this – the heat wave has finally broken with rains overnight – like a true New Englander… I am unhappy when it goes over 75 degrees! (60-75 degrees is the perfect zone for me!)
Hi Carol, I’m glad you enjoyed the post and I thank you for your compliment. New Englanders really aren’t used to heat and humidity. The last couple of days reminded me of living in Florida and Texas. Yes…the heat wave has broken here as well. For those out there in blog land that may not know…the term “heat wave” in New England means three days of 90 degree F. weather in a row. Thank goodness we don’t get many!
Like people always say ..”it’s not the heat but the humidity!” but even when I traveled to hot, but dry regions – I only like it for so long. I would miss fall and snow!
Summer has arrived indeed! Your pictures are beautiful. I love the one with butterfly. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Simple Sustenance, Thank you for stopping by and your nice compliment. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
What stunning photos. Nature is sure swinging from one extreme to another these days.
Hi P.W., Thank you so much for your very nice compliment. The weather certainly hasn’t been what we would consider normal. I hope the rest of the year is pleasant for all of us.
Summer has arrived with vengeance here in Colorado. It was 103 degrees! We escaped to Vail for the day where it was still hot, but I’ll take 81 over 103! Your pictures are gorgeous and your snowstorm reminds me of our erratic spring. We get gorgeous thunderstorms with amazing lightning. Enjoy the summer!
Hi Nazneen, I hope your weather turns a little cooler. We have had a break in the heat and back to normal today. When I lived in Florida, we had lots of lightning but it is not that prevalent in New England. Thank you for your compliment…I hope you have a lovely summer as well.
Karen what beautiful pictures! A lovely post! Makes me miss the beautiful northeast. Have a beautiful day 🙂
Thank you Karista, for your kind compliment. The northeast really is beautiful…I’m so happy that we have our home here.
What gorgeous photos! I love the apple blossoms – so pretty.
Hi Beth, I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. The apple blossoms are so pretty. You can imagine 300 trees in bloom at the same time…the fragrance is just wonderful.
Beautiful series of images. 🙂
Our spring was odd, too. Warmer than usual for the most part, and not enough rain (after record setting rains last summer and fall). We didn’t get enough snow over the winter, either (we usually get 100+ inches every winter, but I don’t think we had more than a foot or so all told). Summer is continuing the odd trend by behaving like mid-July/early August. Every time I go out for my daily walk I have to remind myself it’s still June.
Hi Robin, Thank you for stopping by and your nice comment. Let’s hope the weather starts getting back to normal. Although I do have to say that I don’t think I would complain about not as much snow as we have had some years. I hope you get a break in the heat.
Hurray for summer! What beautiful flowers. I am sinking into that love of summer, especially after enjoying your photos.
Hi Kathy, Thank you for stopping by and your nice comment. I’m happy that you enjoyed the photos.
Love your photos! I love black and white photography and had to take a closer look at the “not black and white” orchard photo taken on a grey spring day – wow! And the blossoms – captured so beautifully.
Thank you Jean, for your nice compliment and visit today. We do get many days during the winter that look like a black and white photo. I’m glad that you enjoyed the photos.
Thanks for coming by my blog ( Foodin New England) and showing some love on the carrot cake 🙂 Your photos are beautiful! What are the scarlet and yellow flowers? LOVE! Great to see another NH-ite here too!
Hi Kim, Thank you for stoping by to visit and your nice comment. I’m always happy to find another New Hampshire The little flamboyant flowers are primrose, as is the bright pink one with the butterfly.
Hi Karen, (my real name is Karen too!). You stopped by my blog this weekend so I popped over to have a look. Your flower photography is outrageously gorgeous! It appears you have quite a lot of fans, too. Anyway, thanks for the hello at my place, and I’m sure pop in again to see how your summer is going.
Hi Karen, It is always nice to meet another Karen in the blogging world. I love finding other bloggers that enjoy gardening. Thank you for your compliment and visit today.
Hi Karen. Same-same here in the UK. Wettest and coldest on record. We have one day of sun followed by 6 days of grey clouds and constant rain. It seems that the jet stream has moved north which is causing all the storm fronts to come cruising through our corner of the country. We have sun today, high expected 20C, so the washing machine is jumping in the utility room so I can dry everything outside today. Happy summer to you!
Hi Misky, Our weather seems to be the same, doesn’t it. We have had several days of sunshine and it was so nice to get outside. Here’s to a wonderful summer for us all.
Lucky you its summer time now, here in NZ is starting to get wet and freezing cold. At least I can enjoy the sunshine from your photos
Hi Raymund, I hope that your winter will be a mild one. Stop by anytime to enjoy the sunshine and warmth.
Karen: What beautiful pictures of the wonderful season of summer. Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Southern, I’m glad that you enjoyed the photos. Thank you for your nice compliment.
A wonderful look back at Spring Karen, and so much to look forward to this summer, the flowers really are starting to come out and show us their best. And as you know we’ve had a very similar Spring here, so fingers crossed for warmth and sun !
Hi Claire, I’m glad that you enjoyed the look back at spring. We certainly have had the same weather lately. I’m really looking forward to warmth and sun as well but today we are having thunderstorms.
Simply stunning butterflies. We get plenty of them right in my backyard too, but they’re very difficult to photograph. Those shots really show off your photographic skill. 🙂
Thank you Hannah, for your lovely compliment. I have never seen as many butterflies in Maine as I have this year. Photographing a butterfly is easy…you just have to take a million shots of the fluttering creature and one is bound to turn out. LOL.
Lovely pictures of the flowers! Glad the flowers are in full bloom and you’re getting summer weather. We’ve had a very un-spring and un-summer weather pattern here in Southern California. It’s been in the mid-70s and mild all spring and summer. We’re loving this weather. Terrible that a lot of the rest of the country is having so many weather related issues.
Hi Ducky, Thank you for your nice compliment. I’m happy to hear that you liked the photos of the flowers. Thank goodness that we finally got sunshine. It really is a shame that there are so many terrible weather issues facing so many people.
Oh Karen, awesome pictures…I enjoyed everyone of them…thank you so much for posting.
Hope you have a wonderful week ahead 🙂
Thank you so much Juliana. Awesome is a very good thing as far as compliments go. I’m so glad you enjoyed the post.
Love the roses on a picket fence photo. Here’s hoping that things are a little more stable this summer!
Thank you Barb, for your nice compliment. I think all gardeners would love to have a picket fence with roses. Mine fit perfectly with our historic house. I do hope that summer will be a lovely season for all of us. And for all my friends in the southern hemisphere, I hope it will be a mild winter.
Sooo, many beautiful photos in there Karen. Such a stunning area you live in despite the weather being a little up and down 🙂
Thank yo CHFG, for your nice compliment. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos. We do live in a pretty part of the country.
How lovely photos. I enjoyed that You had a winter photo also just to be compared.
Hi Sartenada, Thank you for your nice compliment. Actually the snow photo was taken on the first day of spring after a snowstorm that gave us 14 inches of snow. Some way the start spring.
I enjoyed all of these photos so much. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you very much Amy for your nice comment. I’m glad you enjoyed the photos.
Beautiful photos ! I live in Singapore now which is just eternally humid and hot – your post made me really miss seasons.
Thank you Carolyn, for your nice compliment. I haven’t been to Singapore but have been to Hong Kong and Thailand. I can imagine the heat and humidity that you have to deal with on a daily basis. Thank goodness for A/C.
So beautiful. I’m loving summer as well.
Hi Fuzzy Bee, Thank you for stopping by for a visit and your nice compliment. I look forward to your return.
What a beautiful collection of frame-worthy photos!
Thank you Ashley. I really appreciate your nice compliment about the photos.
Gosh Karen, what a beautiful post! I just finished reading several posts back and am amazed at the rain you’ve had. We had quite a bit here in Texas which helped our drought conditions considerable but now that the temps are soaring beyond 100 I wish we would get more! I am so envious of you and your two beautiful homes! We visited Maine one summer for about 10 days and had a glorious time. It is on our list of places we will definitely go back to. Anyway I totally enjoyed reading and seeing your photos of Maine, gardening, and all the local fun in that area. Love LLBean – we did have to stop there before heading North on the Maine coast when we visited. I still an orange water bottle I bought there!
Hi Linda, Thank you so much for your lovely compliment. The rain stopped for about a week, the sun came out and the water was rapidly going down. Now we have had over three inches of rain in two days and the weather is in the 60’s. It is a yoyo effect because it will be sunny and about 90 by the weekend. I can’t believe how hot it is in Texas and you always need the rain. Crazy! I do hope you get a chance to return to Maine…there is so much to see and do.
Those daisies make me very happy!
Daisies make me happy too, Dena. These were a gift from mother nature. Several plants just popped up by our steps and I couldn’t pull them up…too pretty.
Hi Karen,
Wind and rain here in South Wales today. Poor plants don’t know what to do…one minute sunshine then the next minute it’s cloudy and chilly. Last night the temp dipped to 9C. Not many sightings consequently of butterflies at the moment so your photos were a real tonic!! Many thanks indeed!
Hi Dragonette, That certainly doesn’t sound like summer weather to me. I just took the feather comforter off our bed a couple days ago. Very strange weather for us all. I’m glad the photo of the butterflies brightened your day. Thank you for your lovely comment.
Wow, Karen! Mother Nature has been throwing you some curve balls this year, but you’re handling it very well. I hope the floods didn’t cause to much damage to your property!
Thank you Ruth for your concern. Thankfully everything has recovered nicely. Native ground cover right at the edge of the lakeside garden seems to be the only thing we lost.
Nature has to do something to resist our abuse to her. We had a crazy winter here in Greece but I am saying that we deserve this. Summer is here too but with very strong winds and fires like every summer burn whatever is left from previous years! Your photos are beautiful!
Thank you Katerina, for your nice compliment. I’m glad that you enjoyed the photos. I do hope that Greece is spared the terrible fires of the past.