Mock orange blossoms after the rain
It’s amazing how earlier morning light encourages me to get up in the morning. I wish I were a morning person, but on the whole, it simply isn’t going to happen. But as spring turns to summer the cool morning air provides respite from the heat of the rest of the day and great motivation to get out earlier!
This particular morning followed an exceptionally hot day yesterday. Can’t quite recall when my outdoor thermometer last registered 100 degrees, but there you have it. This day promises less intense heat, but there was a clear sense of “get out first thing or don’t bother” to spend time in the outdoors away from my air conditioning.
Blossoming wild blueberries beside the road
A quick, simple walk was just what I needed, and Silver Lake is just down the hill from my house. New camera in hand, I was determined to “learn by doing” by seeing how this new electronic gadget worked. Turns out, it works pretty well!
creeping phlox flowing over small wall
After the spring rains, and now intense heat, the flowers in our neighborhood, both cultivated and wild, are blooming profusely. 
We had some rain last night, so water droplets still perched on the leaves and flower petals, adding a nice touch to the pictures.
My goal was to get to the end of the lake to see the nesting mute swan. I hadn’t visited for several days, and friends have posted photos of ducklings newly hatched. Perhaps there would be baby swans swimming about?
Alas, the mother swan lay snug in her nest, sleeping soundly when I arrived. No babies were in evidence. Either babies are snuggling underneath their mother, or they have not yet hatched.
Maple trees add their own color to the display at the lake
Trees have their own way of flowering–this maple offered an exquisite show of subtle color as it showered the lake shore with its lovely “keys.”
On my way home, I spotted some well-meaning efforts to combat gypsy moths. I understand the sentiment and the frustration, but know it is an uphill, ultimately futile battle against the voracious critters. Last year was bad, and we can only hope this year the virus that attacks these scratchy caterpillars will do its work sooner rather than later.
And so the seasons change.
Marjorie Turner Hollman
Marjorie Turner Hollman is a writer who loves the outdoors, and is the author of Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, More Easy Walks in Massachusetts, 2nd edition, Easy Walks and Paddles in the Ten Mile River Watershed, and Finding Easy Walks Wherever You Are. Her memoir, the backstory of Easy Walks, is My Liturgy of Easy Walks: Reclaiming hope in a world turned upside down.
Marjorie Turner Hollman 