Photo-a-Day-Challenge

A Week of Nothing in Particular

A week of daily photos

I always search for a theme in my week of photos. There wasn’t one this week. Each day was singular and unique with no connecting thread.

It was a week that ended August and began September. A week of high heat and slightly cool (for us!) mornings. A week of heavy rains and brilliant sunshine. A week of clear blue skies and foggy mornings. A week when tiny silken strands of autumn appeared ever so lightly.

Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa, is one of my favorite plants. Although I don’t have one in my garden, a neighbor does. I always look forward to the blooming of her roselle in the late summer. Native to Africa, the roselle’s leaves are edible and taste like spicy spinach. The calyces are used to make tea and other beverages, as well as chutney. It’s also harvested for medicinal uses. Locally, the roselle is known as Florida cranberry. Maybe I’ll add one to my garden next year.

Our front door has a sidelight window on the right. Often, when I walk Syau, Tango waits for us at the window. When Captain Argentina and I go anywhere, Syau waits at the same window for our return — often, for hours.

September began with a deluge. The heavens opened a few moments after Captain Argentina and Syau left for their morning walk at 7:15. They ran home, wet and bedraggled. The heavy rain continued until early afternoon. Although Hurricane Ida passed by too far to the west to affect us, our local weatherman said that Wednesday’s drenching was from the last southern band of Ida.

I feel sorry for Louisiana, the state that received Ida’s wrath of wind and rain. Then, the Northeast, particularly New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, received record-breaking rains that resulted in severe flooding. Even the NYC subway was suspended because of flooding! More people died from the Northeast floods than those who were in the direct path of Ida when she made landfall in Louisiana.

After the rain subsided, I put corn on the lakeshore for the ducks who didn’t get breakfast due to the rain. At the far end of the lake, I saw the ducklings. They are big now and getting their adult coloring, but still all together — all twelve. Incredible!

I think I may have figured out who their mom is, although I always thought she was too small to have so many eggs. Reina is a petite Muscovy and a regular on our lakeshore. Actually, she prefers to eat by the patio even if there’s corn by the lake. She also loves grubworms, which most of the other Muscovies won’t touch. Reina disappeared in July. I worried about her. But she showed up today. Alone. She might very well be the ducklings’ mother. I haven’t seen any other female Muscovy on our lake this summer.

Another favorite flower of mine is the swamp rose mallow. I see them in gardens and growing wild.

By mid-August, the Florida heat has slowed down the growth of many plants. Even the ever-annoying palmettos take a breather. And, it’s then that the vines take over. Fences, trees, signs, buildings, utility poles — anything that doesn’t move becomes a foothold for the vines. This fence row is a mass of different types of vines growing in, around, and through one another.

It’s 7 pm. I’m sitting on the porch. The evening is pleasant. 82 degrees, low humidity, brilliant evening sunlight. Moments ago, I walked to the lake with my camera, hoping to get a good shot of the setting sun on the water. Instead, I found these two in the shallow water near the lakeshore with the twilight illuminating their faces. Seemed like the perfect photo to end the week.

© Dennett 2021

A little more than a year ago, I started the Photo-a-Day Challenge to help combat the virus blues. I take photos every day and choose one (maybe, two) to represent the day. Then, add a one-or-two-word descriptor and maybe, some narrative. A simple way to observe and preserve.

Want to join the fun? It’s all about noticing and appreciating your environment and sharing it with us, as these photographers and story-tellers have:

Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Anne Bonfert / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston/ Lisa Bolin / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita / Susan Alison / LensAfield / Barbara Radisavljevic / Diana Lotti / Barbara Dalton / Kim Zuch / K. Barrett / Sandra Barrett / Shruthi Sundaram

(If you participated in the Photo-A-Day Challenge and your name isn’t listed above, please let me know.)

Please follow the Snapshot rules:

Lead with a photo/title and subtitle follow No more than 10 photos per post No more than 750 words per post Yes, we know that the photos are yours but you still have to state that they’re your work

And, have fun!