The Final Day

taken:
day ninety three
09.21.2014

Well this is it, the final day of my Days Of Summer 2014 Photo Project. It was another wonderful season and here I leave you with a pop of pink frilly cosmos, one of my favorite flowers.

I do believe this will be my last summer photo project. My fourth and final one. These projects have taught me so much and have been deeply fulfilling. Four summers ago I forced myself out of my comfort zone and took a leap. If not for taking that leap I would not have come this far. I'm so proud of what I accomplished and when I look back at all my photos, I smile.

I'm grateful for those of you who stood by my side, cheered me on and gave me kind blessings along the way. You are my sunshines! 

I definitely still plan to publish to my blog from time to time. Just not with the pressure of doing a photo a day. I also hope to still sell my prints online and who knows what other exciting things may come.

Thank you to all who have followed along this summer! Your support warms my heart and gives me the encouragement to maintain this little online space of mine.

Fading Sunflower

taken:
day ninety two
09.20.2014

As we round out the last couple days of summer we see the sunflowers fade. What once was towering upright, facing the sun is now drooping, facing the earth, becoming food for song birds. Another three seasons will pass before new sunflowers will be brought to life once more, bringing back cheery sunshiny days in the garden.

Mother Nature's Perfection

taken:
day ninety one
09.19.2014

It's all prefect. So prefect that it seems like someone staged it, the perfect cosmos blossom, the perfect sun flare from above, the perfect water droplets clinging to the stem. Aside from planting the cosmos seed, I didn't have a hand in the perfect moment, but Mother Nature sure did. There's no double that it was Mother Nature at it's best. I was just there to capture it.

Fall Decorating

taken:
day ninety
09.18.2014

On this day I chopped down all of my ornamental corn. A definite sign that summer is coming to a close. Here are the stalks tied with raffia ready for some fall decorating. I love the festive array of colors of the ornamental corn stalks. Each stalk has it's own unique variation of color.

Prairie Fleabane

taken:
day eight nine
09.17.2014

Some lovely little 'prairie fleabane' that grow nearby.

Flare

taken:
day eighty eight
09.16.2014

There's a big clump of this adorable puffy lavender wild grass growing along the road across the street from our mailbox. It's full of flare in the morning sunlight.

The Golden Hour

taken:
day eighty seven
09.15.2014

The golden hour; the hour just after sunrise or just before sunset when the sun is lower in the horizon, when sunlight is softer. One of my favorite times to snap photos. This 'snow puff' cosmos is basking in the golden evening sun. I love the halo effect of the setting sun when the subject is backlit by the sunlight.

The Season Is Almost Over

taken:
day eighty six
09.14.2014

The season is almost over and lots of flowers are past their prime. I'm not sure what kind of flowers these once were, they are in my mother-in-law's garden, but I thought these tiny seed pods were interesting.

Monarch Rescue

taken:
day eighty five
09.13.2014

This monarch has a sweet story. As I was meandering the shore of Lake Mille Lacs at my parents cabin I felt a fluttering flip by me. I turned and noticed this monarch floating in the water right along the shore so I went over and gently plucked it out of the lake. I put it on the rocks in the sun so it could dry. Then I sat down and watch it. It flapped it's wings softly and before long it started to walk toward me. I got up a couple of times to move out of it's way, I wasn't sure where it wanted to go, if it was coming to me or trying to go past me. Then I decide to pick some flowers for it. When I put the flowers in front of it, it took a few sips of nectar. Really cool! Then, after a few more minutes, I started to worry because it looked like it was dieing. It seemed to drift off to it's side and almost stop breathing and moving. I wondered if it was nearing the end of it's lifecycle and that's why it landed in the water in the first place. So I started to feel sad and didn't expect a good outcome. But then, all of a sudden, in a quick instant, it lifted off and fluttered through the air above me, all the way up to the tree tops. I was so happy! It was fun to rescue that precious monarch and share a special moment with such a beautiful butterfly.

Fields Of Cosmos

taken:
day eighty four
09.12.2014

I have a vision that all empty land could be filled with fields of cosmos. What a beautiful word that would be.

I Wonder

taken:
day eighty three
09.11.2014

Well hello, little grasshopper! Does the world look different from up there, I wonder, at the top of that tall sunflower?

Pretty Petunia

taken:
day eighty two
09.10.2014

I love the vein-y detail in the center of this pretty petunia.

Cloudy Afternoon

taken:
day eighty one
09.09.2014

Another sunflower, another bee, under a cloudy afternoon sky.

Face To Face

taken:
day eighty
09.08.2014

Who doesn't love coming face to face with a beautiful monarch butterfly. They are amazing creatures. Did you know that the monarchs that are born in September and October migrate all the way to California and Mexico? It seems impossible but it is truly astonishing that they can fly that far and still have enough energy to carry on and create the next monarch generation. Which will be the generation that will migrate back north in the spring and start the whole cycle all over again.

Getting Along Together

taken:
day seventy nine
09.07.2014

Morning glories can make their home just about anywhere as long as the have something to wind around. This morning glory vine decided to pair up with this pretty pink zinnia. It seems they are getting along together just perfectly.

Sparkle And Shimmer

taken:
day seventy eight
09.06.2014

It was a damp dewy Saturday morning. Dewdrops reflect some of the prettiest morning sunlight and it's one of my favorite times to walk around looking for sparkle and shimmer. Even spider webs look lovely in this kind of light.

At Sunset

taken:
day seventy seven
09.05.2014

French lavender at sunset.

A Lot To Offer

taken:
day seventy six
09.04.2014

A soldier beetler gingerly making it's way around an obedient plant blossom. The obedient plant must have a lot to offer because soldier beetles hoard their pretty lavender blooms day after day when they are in bloom.

The Place To Be

taken:
day seventy five
09.03.2014

Sunflowers are the place to be, this time of year, if you're a bee.

Glimpse Through

taken:
day seventy four
09.02.2014

A glimpse through the cosmos petals reveals a tiny little bee wing.