Invitation to Recollect on Summer's End

Autumn is the season that brings a sense of and here it is October. Last week, I invited slicers to join me at my Destination: Summer's End Padlet, the digital container for artistic expressions on the end-of-summer and the transition to autumn. Since then, the following slicers added their offering. Margaret Simon submitted three of her students' work and Bob Hamera (arjeha) uploaded his image poem. Molly Hogan will add her work to the padlet soon. 

The invitation continues with this short blurb.

If interested, please add an artistic expression, an image poem, an inspirational quote, a drawing, or a nature photograph to my Destination: Summer's End Padlet. Student work is accepted as well. I plan to showcase a variety of adult and children's poems in a gallery format. My padlet will let me know when a new end-of-summer creation is added. Each offering will be greeted with joyful thanks.

 

Now, I join Two Writing Teachers for the Tuesday Slice of Life with gratitude to the slicers who shared their image poems at the Destination: Summer's End Padlet.

Autumn: The Season for Letting Go

Now that fall has officially arrived, I watch the environment change slowly. It is the season for letting go and breathing in smoky and woody scents. It is the time to sit still, have a cup of spice tea, and agree with F. Scott Fitzgerald that "life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." 

Have you ever reflected on the magnificence of a fall day? I found a digitized photo I created last autumn and began falling in love with fall all over again. The digitized image below is of a "second summer" day, the revised name for "Indian Summer".

"second summer" days

glitter in golden hues

nature's bequeathal

©CVarsalona, 2023, Virginia

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

Nature finds its way to transition easily from one season to another. Living in New York State afforded me wonderful venues to witness nature's beauty. I thought those were strikingly appealing and peaceful but now that I am living in Virginia, I find the beauty of Autumn in another state. See below the beauty of the Virginia countryside I was able to capture in 2019 before we moved. 

I added a poem with a challenge presented by the Poetry Sisters. It is called a diminishing poem. I must admit this challenge was a CHALLENGE! You can read more about this poem at Writer's Digest and see samples written by Tanita S. Davis. Her blog post for today's Poetry Friday will point you in the right direction to read other Poetry Sisters' and #PoetryPals poems.

Autumn enters with plans to PLEASE.

Agrees to take an extended LEASE

Designing fall landscapes with EASE.

©CVarsalona, 2023, Virginia, diminishing poem

Autumn is the season of transformational beauty. The scenic vibes allow for peaceful contemplation and restorative feelings. I am ready to "just be" and let go of worries. 

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of autumn.” —John Muir in The Mountains of California

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

Have you seen my Destination: Summer's End Padlet? This week Michelle Kogan added her image poems and Margaret Simon offered three poems by her students. Please take a look by clicking on the title above. I hope more writers, poets, and students add their artistic expressions to the padlet this week. Thank you, Robyn Hood Black, Linda Baie, Matt Forrest Esenwine, Karen Elise Finch, Patricia Franz, Jane Heitman Healy, Sally Murphy, Janice Scully, Anastasia Suen, for your poetic offerings.

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

It is now time for Poetry Friday hosted by the marvelous hostess, Jama Rattigan. Be sure to follow me over to Jama's blog for some satire and poetic goodness.

🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂🍂

What's Coming Soon

Book Review of Amy Ludwig Vanderwater's The Sound of Kindness  published by Magination Press

Book Review of Matt Forrest Esenwine's The Thing to Remember About Stargazing

More poetry!

Destination: Summer's End

WELCOME TO POETRY FRIDAY

As host of this week's Roundup, I invite you to look backward to reflect on the mid-September days when the winds of change finally arrived. Overwhelmed by daytime heat and shortened nights, weather patterns slowed down into a rhythmic pattern during the last days of summer. Nature, dressed in sun-bleached colors, gifted earth with crisp coolness, followed by sunkissed skies. Butterflies danced among flowers and worker bees diligently collected nectar for winter storage. 

Life at the end of summer fell into place bringing a day of sunshine and mild weather for our community trip to the historic Hillwood Gardens in Washington, D.C. Hillwood mansion and gardens capture the vision of heiress, entrepreneur, socialite, philanthropist, and collector, Marjorie Merriweather Post, who rebuilt the estate during the 1950s era. The mansion showcases Marjorie Post's collection of 18th-19th-century French art and art treasures from Imperial Russia. There are thirteen acres of gardens full of summer flowers standing erect and posing for their guests while gardeners tend their care. Our tour through the specialty gardens was impressive. My favorite was the Japanese Garden area which was filled with tiers of cascading waters and lush vegetation that provides a Zen-like atmosphere. In the different gardens, there was a sense of harmony and peace in the air.  

"To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall." -Ann Patchett

summer ends

whispers goodbye

to longer days of active moments,

oppressive heat, drought, or heavy rains

moving on

transforming gently

into fall

©CVarsalona, 2023, trinet 

 

Have you savored the radiance and energy of summertime mixed with relaxation and renewal? Have you documented special summer days in photography or writing? 

INVITATION

If interested, add your artistic expression to my Destination-Summer's End Padlet where I plan to showcase a variety of adult and children's poems in a gallery format. Add your end-of-summer creation to the padlet here. 

Then, continue reading and following the directions to add your blog link so others can visit your blog post. 

salted sands, sunny shores

sacred sites for inner peace

summer slips away

©CVarsalona, 2023

🌞

"Nature is the purest portal to inner peace."

-Angie Weilan Crosby

🌞

Writers, Poets, Bloggers 

Are you ready to join the Poetry Friday Roundup?

Sign in below to add your link so others can visit your blog post. 

Visitors, comments are Welcome.

(Send questions to cvarsalona at gmail)

Photo by CVarsalona, 2023

Hillwood Gardens