The seasons wait for no one. In Nova Scotia, this is especially true with our springs and summers, which always seem too short.
Looking back on a summer that flew by more quickly than most, I notice myself scrambling to find a few small things to take with me into the cooler seasons ahead. There may not have been any long hot days at the beach to look back on, but that’s ok…
Sometimes, the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.
~ Winnie the Pooh
Children playing in the sunshine, a warm breeze enjoyed while hanging out the laundry and flowers glimpsed coloring the wayside… these are the little things that will still provide warm memories of summer next January.
Perhaps it’s their vulnerability that endears these small things to us. Wild roses growing on the edge of a busy road…
Or tiny caterpillars crossing the trail…
Perhaps it’s because the blooming time for many small wild things is limited to just a couple of weeks a year.
Come the dark days of November, their presence will seem to have been as fleeting as that of a butterfly.
And the rising summer sun a brief kiss of light.
Is it so small a thing
To have enjoyed the sun,
To have lived light in the spring,
To have loved,
To have thought,
To have done?
~ Matthew Arnold
This post was inspired by Summertime written by Isabelle at Isathreadsoflife’s Blog.
Flandrum Hill 
Amy-Lynn, this is astonishing: I just posted a piece on our second day of vacation in Grand Marais, all about how it’s the little things there that mean so much to me, and then I saw your subject heading for today. Exactly! Your laundry is beautiful…. The roses remind me of Grand Marais…. Love that last image, too. All of it. Small, brief, but oh so precious and beautiful!
Wishing you a lovely, lovely day–
Pamela, I love these small coincidences in the blogging world 🙂
I spent a lovely sunny day walking in the marsh 🙂
I love your small things of Summer, Amy-Lynn and am so happy if you felt inspired by my own Summer. The little boy walking amongst wild flowers looks like an impressionist painting. Of course I loved your quilts-in-the-wind. Matthew Arnold’s poem is precious and so true. Thank you, dear Amy-Lynn.
Isabelle, we may live far apart with an ocean in between, but it doesn’t matter when we share such a love for these small things 🙂 Thank you for sparking my imagination.
So true, so true…. thanks!!
You’re welcome catharus 🙂
Loving the small things along with you, Amy-Lynn. So many times we humans keep our eyes on the larger picture, when the smaller picture contains a precious gift. The local native Americans say that the gift of the large picture, the eagle view, lives in the eastern direction. The gift of the tiny view, the small things, is the gift of the southern direction. The interplay and balance of both is important. Love the picture of your small one toddling away along the late summer path.
Kathy, seeing both the forest and the trees is important. Native Americans would have so much insight into that. Thanks for adding the relationship between the views and directions. I love that photo of Joshua heading along the path too.
What a big thing a small thing can be! These are awesome photos! I love the look of the last one!
Martina, little things can indeed become big things. It’s just a matter of where we choose to focus our attention. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
What a lovely post Amy-Lynn, the pictures are gorgeous, as well as the words. I just know those are your quilts. Is there any end to your talent!!!
Ha ha Lynne. I only made the blue and yellow quilt. You may recognize the other from when it covered your little Poppy this summer on her visit to Canada.
And at last – at last! – the slooooow diaup reveals all the photos and I send butterfly kisses eastward to all tiny grandchildren and all loving grandmas who hold tiny hands – and let them go – at just the right time.
Gerry, there were a lot of photos. I wondered about dial-up time. Sorry about that. Thank you for the butterfly kisses 🙂 Letting go at just the right time? Now that’s a tough nut to crack 😉
The small things are what make life so special Amy-Lynn.
The last shot is my favourite !
Sybil, small things like that little hint of Irish moss seaweed tangled in the kelp in your hair. I know what you mean 😉
I have learned to accept the daintiness and promise of Spring, but all year long I am yearning for the drama of Autumn.
The birds are quiet now, and the daring colors of the flowers are gone too – I do miss them. But it is time for Nature to change her palette.
You have written a beautiful farewell – and yes I too love the final picture! An open meadow and an endless path: who knows what lies at the end?
Aubrey, none of us know what lies at the end of that path. Perhaps just more path. I’m looking forward to Autumn’s bright and fiery palette too… but maybe just not yet. We seem to be having more summer here this week which is a wonderful treat at this time of year.
i complain about the heat all summer and then when the first cool day comes, i look back wistfully. thanks for capturing that in these pictures.
Wind, I complain about the heat too and wonder how anyone manages to get any work done near the equator. It just goes by so quickly though that we Canadians spend most of the year complaining about the cold.
Love that caterpillar… hope it makes it.
wolfsrosebud, it is a pretty thing and will likely change into an even prettier winged creature. I’ve seen so many of these in the marsh this year, but unfortunately many of them have been trampled by walkers and bikers.
Beautiful, Flan… 🙂
It’s so important not to miss the small things, which is why I have started recording the funny little things my little girl says and does…
http://thingsisayanddobytalise.wordpress.com/
Pepsoid, the older you are, the more important these small things will become. What a good idea to keep a record of your daughter’s little sayings and doings. I’ll check it out.
Thank you for checking out, subscribing to and commenting on my daughter’s blog! 🙂
(I say “my daughter’s,” because I am only really her secretary…)
I have the same kind of thistle growing in my yard, do you know specifically what kind it is?
The cruel shortness of summer is somewhat softened by the fact that’s followed by wonderful Fall!
Grace, despite all my searching around I still am not sure what it is. Let me know if you find out.
Falls here are indeed pretty. The colors are just on the verge of changing here.
I can sooo identify with the need for “more summer, please, – this was not enough”.
Ours has been especially wet this year, – and chilly. Will have to tour my photo albums for the little details, too. 🙂
By the way, I love your washing 🙂
Eldrid, it never feels like enough here. But we have been having an autumn season that’s warmer than usual so we can’t complain.
I knew you’d love the washing 🙂 It’s my favorite kind to hang out on the line.
It has been a long time between visits for me. Great to see you’re still sharing lovely work. Kind regards,