Seasonal Scenery – Weekly Photo Challenge

“To one in sympathy with nature, each season, in turn, seems the loveliest.”

Mark Twain

SIGNS OF SPRING

“Spring time is nature at its best.”

Lailah Gifty Akita

Our challenge this week is to illustrate the seasons, either literally or metaphorically. I’ve chosen some captures that to me are a clear announcement of each season’s arrival. Here on Kiawah we are on the cusp of spring. Flowers are beginning to bud, birds are reinforcing their nests, and bobcats are readying their dens. Above, a beautiful egret in full breeding plumage prepares for spring’s next generation.

KIAWAH SUMMER

“Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”

William Shakespeare

A pair of bicycles on Kiawah’s 10-mile beach brings to mind the warmth of summer. While most of the U.S. delights in summer’s sun, those of us in the south tend to find ways to escape her humid heat. Interestingly, while many of our full-time residents head north for at least part of July and August, those are the two busiest months for visiting tourists, who come from their inland homes to enjoy our beautiful beach with its cooling breezes. Proving once again that it truly is all relative.

FALL FOLIAGE

“Autumn…the year’s last, loveliest smile.”

William Cullen Bryant

Autumn on Kiawah brings a burst of color quite different from those of our many years in the north. There, reds, oranges and yellows create dazzling landscapes, while here our seasonal changes take a more subtle approach. The marshes turn to vast fields of gold while inland the pinkish-purple of our sweetgrass makes its all-too-brief debut. A major difference vs our friends in the north however, is that while our plants and grasses may change color less dramatically, they continue to flower and bloom throughout winter – delivering color throughout the year.

WINTER’S WRATH

“If winter comes, can spring be far behind?”

Percy Bysshe Shelley

In 16 years of living in the south we have seen snow only twice, and only once did it say for a full day. Despite the very rare extreme cold, I did venture out to capture its beauty. We worried at the time that its severity would create lasting damage to our plants and grasses, but nature once again proved her strength and within days everything was back to normal.

As my husband and I were thinking about leaving behind the bitter winters of our northern home, we agreed that having four distinct seasons each year was important to both of us. While I might complain about the occasional cold, or my husband about the heat and humidity, we remain convinced that seasonal changes are a special element of our lives here on Kiawah….especially as we enjoy the arrival of this year’s spring!

 

 

 

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Tags: seasons, weekly photo challenge

• February 21, 2016
• Kiawah, Nature, Photography
• 75 Comments