Wet and Dry

 I had a few comments on my previous post about how it still looks rather green here - and as I replied to some, for one thing we've not had the same long-lasting extreme heat as further south in Europe (Britain included); and for another we've probably also had more rain (even if mostly rather unpredictable showers combined with thunder). 

In our area/town there has also so far been no ban on using sprinklers for watering, which means that the places where I usually walk and snap photos - like the old cemetery nearby, and the park down in the city centre - have had extra help to remain predominantly green. 

However, today I walked a different way down to the riverside, and snapped the photo below to show you one example of places nearby where it's more obvious that it's really "fundamentally" rather dry around here too:

 
This is the grassy hillside below the cemetery up on the hill; and on the other side of the street, a slope down to the railway running in a valley further down below looks much the same.

But then down by the river, it's quite easy to forget about the drought again for a while. (There are dams at the northern vs the southern end of town to adjust the water level through the city centre, and it has been kept normal so far.)

 Water lilies are now in bloom in certain places in the river - here, yellow ones. (Alas as I only had my phone camera, I could not really zoom in the flowers properly.)

 

More Autumn Colours

 

Autumn is still in progress, slowly changing the colours in nature.

 

Some trees have turned more yellow than others.

 

Flower bed in autumn colours along the river in the city park.

 

The water lilies are still in bloom, and like Monet I never grow tired of them... ;-)

Sunset clouds from by balcony (Sunday evening)

Yesterday I took down my two parasols from the balcony rail - the afternoon sun is no longer so hot that I need them. Gradually I'll also be taking in some other items from out there; but no need for that just yet.

Last week I also started shifting some clothes between the wardrobes in my flat and my storage room in the basement. Not all of my clothes go through that procedure - only the most wintry vs the most summery items. But the time has definitely come when I'm not going to wear shorts or sleeve-less dresses again until next summer; and I may soon find myself needing a thicker jacket on a windy day. Plus, I have to confess it's also a good idea to do a seasonal inventory of what I already have, before I might get tempted to buy something new - only to realize later that oh yeah, right, I already had something rather similar... ;-)

Water Lilies

 

 

 

 Walking into town yesterday, I noticed the water lilies in bloom in the river. 

"It took me time to understand my water lilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them." ~ Claude Monet

Claude Monet - Water Lilies, 1903
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(Postcard)

Rainbows and Water Lilies

 

"It took me time to understand my water lilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them." / Claude Monet

“Where does the rainbow end, in your soul or on the horizon?” / Pablo Neruda

 

Red Water Lilies

Red water lilies (Nymphaea)

(Viskan river, Borås, Sweden)

I Spy...

I spy with my little camera eye... Do you see what I saw?

Mrs Mallard with her young ones out for a swim in the river - rather well camouflaged among the water-lily leaves.

Mummy, look! We can walk on these things floating in the river...

Linking to:

Gasping for Water

It’s not been raining much lately. Nature in general is still looking fresh and green; but I noticed today that the water lilies in the river aren’t feeling too well:

A Sunny Afternoon Down By the Riverside

Photos taken today in the Town Park. I saw a dragonfly (or perhaps damselfly) as well, but it kept fluttering about and did not sit down anywhere to give me a chance to zoom it in.

Linked to Weekend Reflections and Shadowshot Sunday