It’s the last day of August – but even without looking at the calendar I already know that summer’s end is fast approaching. The days are shorter, the nights cooler, and hundreds of sad, brown leaves have suddenly appeared on lawns and sidewalks in my neighborhood. I try not to notice them, but they lay there, taunting me. Some even have the audacity to crunch.

My sandals must be feeling neglected. Cool, damp mornings have sent me scrambling for my socks and sneakers – which is probably a good thing, since my summer pedicure (raspberry red polish this year) has seen better days.

My grandsons have gotten their back-to-school haircuts, too: another sure sign that the lazy, hazy, long-haired days of summer are over. You can see the boys’ smiling end-of-summer faces and new haircuts on my Photos page.

I used to dread this time of year, partly because I worked for a school district and had summers off, but mainly because I love summer and hate to see it come to an end. As someone with a June birthday, I like to imagine that my first impression of the world was a sunny and glorious one, filled with birds singing, kids splashing, and tons of ice cream. Yes, my love affair with June, July, and August goes way back.

But this year, rather than getting downhearted about the changing seasons, I’m trying to focus on the positive. I DID have a good summer. A pretty great one, in fact. The weather was good, especially for cloudy Rochester. I gardened. I walked. I mowed my lawn. I wrote and sang and played and took pictures. I visited family and friends. Family and friends visited me. And if all of that isn’t great, I don’t know what is.

Yes, the world is a mess right now. Some days I wonder how I can find joy in my surroundings when there are so many terrible things happening, but then I somehow manage to separate out the good from the bad. Getting outside in summer helps me with that. I go out and drink in the sunshine, and breathe in the warm air. I look around at all the living, thriving things, like trees, flowers, animals. I try and capture light and hold on to it for as long as I can.

Here is some light that I captured this summer, little moments that I enjoyed while being out and about with my camera. I’ll probably look at them again through the winter. I think that will be a little bit like sitting outside with the sun on my shoulders.

For more pictures of my summer (with captions so you’ll know what you’re looking at), visit my Photos page.

How was YOUR summer?

Brant Lake, Adirondacks, New York. I’ve always wanted to own a cabin there. I think I’ll have to settle for just driving around the lake and taking pictures.

Hopkins Sunflower Farm, Pittsford, New York.

Cardinal (male), Wild Wings walking trail, Honeoye Falls, New York. Wild Wings is a not-for-profit educational group that cares for permanently injured birds and has walking trails surrounding its facilities.

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