Nothing Lasts Forever

The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a Ferris wheel when it pauses it its turning.The weeks that come before are only a climb from balmy spring, and those that follow a drop to the chill of autumn...

--Natalie Babbitt from Tuck Everlasting

These words perfectly sum up my feelings about summer. All the rhythms of my life gain momentum and strength and excitement as spring passes into early summer, and eventually reach their zenith in the first week of August. I feel a pause and an exhilaration as I realize that I'm at the height of summer, my favorite time of the whole year. 

Yes, it feels exactly like that moment on a Ferris wheel when you realize that you are sitting right at the very top. 

Sadly, with both Ferris wheels and seasons of the year, once you have reached the top, the only place to go is down. 

I never want summer to end. I dread the changes in the sun, as it rises lower and lower in the sky each day as we head toward the winter solstice. I hate to see the high, airy clouds of summer give way to the low grey cover of rain. I miss my summer fruits - luscious berries, sweet cherries, juicy peaches. I regret that the fragrant, flamboyant flowers of my summer garden must give way to dead autumn leaves. 

So these waning days of summer are not easy for me to celebrate, but I'm trying. These photos represent my best attempts to find beauty in the ride down from the top of the wheel.