These flowers are growing in a couple of yards that I pass every day on my way to work. The petals are bright pink. I love the colors, especially after a rain, and I have been dying to photograph them for a while. As I passed one day last week, I noticed that one flower had broken off and was lying on the sidewalk. I brought it home and put it in a glass of water, hoping to rejuvenate it. Unfortunately, I think the flower had been on the sidewalk for a while before I got to it. Its petals are ragged and dirty... and not in a way that's aesthetically pleasing.

I still managed to take some photos of the flower's centre. It reminds me of the bristles on the surgical scrub brushes I use at work... or a plastic toy hedgehog I had as a toddler.

Summer is short, and the leaves are already starting to fall... The Canada geese whose arrival I anticipate each spring have started to mobilize for their fall journey south. The whole thing makes me sad... Summer is the only Canadian season I enjoy. With sadness comes beauty, and I have noticed how amazing maple leaves are when they change color and fall from the trees. I don't have any maple trees in my yard... but they heavily populate my route to and from work. Next thing you know, I'll be crawling around on the ground picking up leaves to put in my purse!

Blog posts here will probably be (even more) sporadic for the next while. My work schedule for the next 2 weeks does not look compatible with life, let alone photography. Then there is the exam... Once the exam is over with, pass or fail, I intend to spend a lot of time taking photos. Summer will be over, but I'm sure I'll find some interesting places and things to take pictures of, as well as some interesting new camera toys. And maybe one day it will be summer again.