Lens Artists Challenge: Summer

~ oneletterup

Lens Artists Challenge #104: Summer

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“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” – Cynthia Ozick

Up until 2020, summer was a fairly predictable time of year. I could plan trips and get togethers with friends and family…without a second thought. Including return visits to favorite summer festivals and fairs.

I painfully realize now how much I took all of that for granted…thinking oh we can come back next summer…when the 2019 schedule got crowded. This summer…it’s all cancelled.

I actually look forward to the seasonal chore of storing away sweaters, hats and mittens. And then dragging out the “summer clothes” from a high closet shelf. Pulling out shorts, T-shirts and sandals. Ready For Summer.

Well, I can still switch the clothes around…but that’s about it.

However…thinking back on life “before”…

During my earlier days of parenthood, summer always included extra family time together with my children. Camera always in hand.

Nothing fancy. Sometimes just day trips…

summer93 copy
York Wild Animal Kingdom, Maine 1993

For over 20 years we established a family tradition. A week away…to connect and just enjoy each other. Most vacations were only a 90 minute drive to a special place on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. The last 2 were cross country on the California coast.

summer2000 copy
San Diego, California 2000

Fast forward about 17 years…and summer included the next generation…

beach summer
Hampton Beach, NH 2017

During the 36+ years we lived in a house with a yard, we delighted in beds of flowers that exploded into life every summer.

One of our favorites: black eyed susans…

black eyed susans
We have continued one summertime activity through the years, despite moving to a condo and emptying the nest. Picking fresh blueberries! They are amazing when eaten within hours (or days) of being picked.

One of our neighbors, where we used to live, let us pick from his carefully tended bushes. Now we visit a local farm that has a “pick your own” field of blueberry bushes. Fortunately you can still do this during a pandemic by following the posted rules: Wear a Mask and Social Distance.

No Problem.

Here is this week’s harvest…

blueberries
Fresh New Hampshire Blueberries

They taste just like summer.

Published by oneletterup

23 thoughts on “Lens Artists Challenge: Summer”

  2. Thank you for sharing your precious memories. I love fresh blueberries. 🙂
    When I was looking through my photo archives, I, too, realized that “how much I took all of that for granted”.

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  3. The hardest thing about the pandemic is the disruption of visits with remote family. This year the annual clan get together with my 4 brothers and their families at the beach in Delaware was cancelled for the first time. I have a new great-niece I’ve not met and another one due in August that I won’t see until Christmas (assuming we are traveling by then). Loved your family memories OLU and hope your family is together again this summer.

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    1. Thank you! I absolutely agree Tina. My kids and their families live in DC – a plane ride away. It is the hardest part of all of this. I never imagined a scenario such as today’s reality. So sad you won’t see your brothers and those babies for so long. I hope to see my family this summer. There is a plan in place if we all stay healthy. But so much is out of our control in the end.

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  7. Oh gosh, those blueberries look so good!! I enjoyed the other photos too–Black Eyed Susans, and the beach. Lake Winnipesaukee –isn’t that the lake featured in “What About Bob?” (film)? Wonderful post, as always 🙂

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