August Images
Sunday, August 7, 2011 at 9:00PM Today the sky was hot and heavy, like a sultry woman breathing too close to the earth.
There was a sprinkling of rain, just enough to add moisture to the thick air. It is what is expected of August in Alabama. Yet August is different from July. Still hot summer, yes, but a month of transitional images.
August shows some age. There are signs of things passing, flowers dying or plants heading into dormancy:
I notice the weathered wood:
And rocks that have been here far longer than we:
But the year is not yet old. There are still things growing and green:
And flowers with bright colors:
'Tropicana' canna lily leaves are spectacular this month:
'Tropicana' has amazing seed pods, too:
And August holds promise of things to be. Look close to see the ants working in the first photo below:
Burford holly berries will be red by Christmas.
My birthday is this week. I am showing some age, depending on the body part, but life still has a lot going on and plenty of promise of things to come.
Happy August!
Reader Comments (32)
I don't know where to start. So much to see. The canna leaves are beautiful in photos. I like how you framed them. And Tropicana's pods, what a great shot. We too got a sprinkling today and it is so much more appreciated after the dry spell, even though it was barely negligible. Everything perked up and the temps were lower. Your wood studies are nice too, and so easily overlooked.
Happy Birthday this week! I have never seen such seed pods on the Tropicanna! Amazing! Glad you got a sprinkling of rain. Still waiting here.
Nice description of August. I love your pictures, really great photography and nice angles, too. Great post.
I wish you many years of happiness in health.
Thank you for visiting my blog and I wish your plants a long silent rain too. Not only the plants and the air refreshing, but also you can.
Deb, your Tropicana canna lily photos are spectacular. Can hardlly belive August is here. Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday Deb, enjoy it along with your garden ! Rain is so welcome after a long dry spell, if only we could turn it on each night. Our tree leaves are beginning to turn colour too but there are so many perennials still to come, it can't be autumn yet !
Advanced Happy Birthday, Deb! So many celebrations going on.
Your canna lily leaf patterns are wonderful. Enjoyed going through your photos. I had a chuckle at your eco-friendly weed killer.
A weed eating rabbit! If only our population (we have so many, so many) would stick to just the weeds in the lawn and leave other plants alone. Your zinnias and black eyed Susans look so fresh and clean, despite the fading of summer.
Dear Deb - a very Happy Birthday and thank you for these beautiful images. Have you a new camera or just taken a giant leap forward from what your already great photography skills? Many of these would be perfect for a garden calendar - especially like Tropicana seedpods.
Beautiful pictures! So much colour, even in the ears of the rabit. Happy birthday!
Wishing you a very Happy Birthday Debs, and thank you for sharing your lovely images of your garden :) As you mentioned August can be a transitional month, some fading away, some just perking up. So much beauty to take in nevertheless. Enjoy your special day!
Happy Birthday. Another thoughtful and beautiful post.
Verbal and visual poetry! I loved your post.
Thank you for checking out my blog, I really appreciate it! Glad that you are getting some rain now! It really does help the plants out a bit! I love your photos, the pictures of the rocks are really neat! The persimmons are neat too, bet you'll be glad when November gets here and they ripen. Thanks for sharing all the neat photos! Happy Gardening! Mindy
I love those pictures of the rabbit - fantastic that he eats your weeds! We had many rabbits until our neighbor cut down the trees where they had their warren.
I'm so thankful for the change of seasons and thankful there are buds and berries to heighten our anticipation.
happy birthday, celebrated mine last week. Over half a century here. lol
Happy Birthday Deborah and may you have lots and lots of happiness and blessings. Those photos are very artistic finds, very vivid and beautiful. I especially love the collage on rocks and barks.
Happy birthday! Great photos
Happy birthday! Those persimmons will be a great gift! I especially love the Tropicana seed pods. So very interesting – have never seen before.
Happy birthday!!! I'm so glad you have a helper bunny. I need one to help me water! :o) Wonderful post full of beautiful plants and gorgeous photos!!
Happy birthday debs!
Wishing you all the best.
Happy gardening my friend~!
~ANGEL~
Happy Birthday Deb!! Everything looks so beautiful and OH how I wished I'd planted Zinnias!! What's wrong with me!!! Must be OLD age!! hahaha!
I love your rabbit friend, have you named him yet? Things have gotten away from me here as the building of the shed has taken up all our time! and the heat...that's a bit hard to deal with!
Hope your birthday is a wonderful one!
Happy Birthday! !
Beautiful pictures. I love the pictures with the flower buds and fruits. I agree that August does show some age, some years more gracefully than others. I'll be happy when we transition to some cooler weather!
Happy Birthday, Deb!
I also have creatures who eat weed. They are Goldee & Clifford. Sometimes when I pull out weeds, the dogs would quickly lie down right in front of me, as if protecting the weeds. I would change spot and so would they. Weeding is harder than necessary.
I have the same seed pods in my garden but no bunnies.
Beautiful collages!
Deb, Happy birthday! This post has especially nice photography. I like the cana lily abstracts. And that seed pod shot is simply wonderful! What an interesting structure the pod has. Your bunny looks like an older version of the ones eating up my vegetables. Now, if only I could train my baby bunnies to go for the weeds in the lawn, instead of the vegetables in the garden!
Happy Birthday, Deb! I love the colors in your Tropicana canna. In Maine, too, August has that transitional feel -- some plants are just starting to open, others are going dormant, and the air sometimes has a nip of fall.
Deb - Happy Birthday ! I like the way you muse about your garden in a state of transition. Lovely photos too.
Happy Birthday Deb! I've never seen a canna seedhead before - what an impressive seedhead that really is. I've just noticed that you grow the same grass as me in that photo beside the Dahlia (5th set down) - I can't remember the name it just now but mine's in the wrong place and I really need to move it beside an autumn flowering plant.
Happy birthday to you and great pics!
Best
R
Deb, what a lovely depiction of the way August both fades and thrives. It is a complicated month. :) The skyscape beautifully captures that heavy air and heat. The rabbit statues that preside over your garden have clearly given your weed-eater some helpful guidelines...
Hope you had a wonderful birthday!
Great pictures...the nature is one of the most beautiful things that we have on this world
August is such a bittersweet month. Still lots of greenery and flowers, but the signs of fall begin. Don't get me wrong, I love fall, but I'm not ready yet!