Echoes of My Neighborhood, Sept. Entry

Sept. 9th in Jacksonville, Fl, at a lovely 91 degrees!  It was a lovely day to be outdoors in my simple, yet beautiful neighborhood.

Maybe the only thing that tells me Fall is coming is the drop in humidity lately.  For sure, the sun was still quite hot on this September day.  Yet I found the drier air to be a relief.  It seems a little more bearable, now that the storms and rainy aftermath of Hermine have left us.  It felt quite comfortable sitting outside today, for about 15 minutes, anyway!  This picture shows off some of our lovely flora and fauna in my neighborhood, as well as my neighbor’s lovely, lush green grass.  Looks just like summer, but the air is much lighter today!

Even Bixby enjoyed sitting out in the lovely air!  This photo showcases our crepe myrtle tree, still in bloom!  The grass was freshly mowed, hence the grass cuttings still sitting on top of our lawn.  It accentuates the contrast with our neighbor’s yard.  They have the best on the street!  By the way, our lawn hasn’t won any awards yet.  🙂  Now, if only this picture could fully illustrate Bixby’s sniffer going wild, as it does every time we are sitting outside….

Not a very good representation of my neighborhood, but here is where I’ll end my photo illustration of this day in my neighborhood.  My dog, Bixby, ended up on alert after seeing some neighbors walk by with their dogs.  You can see his ears perked up, as he sits on edge ready to strike in the spirit of protecting me from these wild dogs and their unknown owners.  (That’s in his point of view).  You’ve got to love their protective instincts!  At any rate, it grew pretty warm and I sat in the shade for the last few minutes, then decided we should go inside since my dog simply would not come next to me to relax in the shade.  Always on guard!

“Echoes of My Neighborhood” is a weekly blog challenge started by Jacqueline Obyikocha at her blog, A Cooking Pot and Twisted Tales.  Her most recent entry can be found at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/category/travel-2/dubai/echos-of-my-neighbourhood/ and illustrates her life in Dubai quite well!  Go and give it a look!

Having participated regularly over the summer in this blog challenge, I may perhaps join in every few weeks or monthly now that I’m back at work.  I am hoping my brief entry here showcases what life is like here in Florida!  That, and there’s the lovely profile of my favorite dog. 🙂

-Pamela

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The River. #echoesofmyneighborhood, #5

Is there anything as beautiful as a sunset on the water?  Well, maybe sunrise on the water.  I’d have to say they are equally beautiful.  Living in Jacksonville, Fl, I am able to enjoy both.  Above is a photo of a sunset on the St. Johns River at a county dock.  This is just a little ways down the road from me, heading out of my neighborhood, down a main street, and turning into another residential area.  However, our huge river winds all around town.  This county dock, on my side of town,  has a park and historical site.  It’s a great place to go and relax, take a short walk, and stop and gaze.  Many people also go to fish off of that dock.  It’s a beautiful location.

Walking back through the trails into the park, you still get a little glimpse of the river through the trees.  This photograph was taken on a day that had been rainy and stormy, and it was just winding down. There would have been a sunset, except for the clouds. You can almost see the breeze stirring through the Spanish moss.  The dark and light images made a wonderful contrast.

Here is the county dock again, pictured on a sweltering hot summer day, mid-day to be exact, from another angle.  I mean, it’s one of those days the heat seems to be cooking the wood, and some of the wood was new at that point, which may have accounted for the smell, but in my mind’s eye, it was the sun baking the wood.  I was also dripping with sweat.  No one goes out there too often on hot summer days. 🙂 Those from out of town don’t either.  You can sort of tell how bright and intense the sun is on this day, because a lot of the colors look faded, as if every color is reflecting so much light.

Such is the mixture of bright, sunny, cloudy, dark, and rainy that we get around here, in this place I call home.  You can get beautiful views on any sort of day.  Just keep your eyes wide open, and especially head for the water.

Echoes of My Neighborhood is a Thursday blog challenge, initiated by fellow blogger Jacqueline Obyikocha, who blogs at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com .  Jacqueline is very supportive of other bloggers and always inspires me with her poetry and photography.  Please stop by and peruse her blog.  While there, you should also visit her Echoes of My Neighborhood posts, or you can get to them directly at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/category/travel-2/dubai/echos-of-my-neighbourhood/   You won’t be disappointed!