~and I think I would call it America~

June.
30 days of it came and 30 days of it went.
In the blink of an eye, those precious first moments of summer are now gone and with the last remaining hours of this, the very last day of the month we can only sit back and wonder how the time flew by so fast.

The answer is probably quite simple.
They call it Life.

We returned to the heat and humidity of the Texas prairie summer early this morning after spending 5 wonderfully cool days in the Pacific Northwest.  It's a place where water falls aplenty and flowers grow like crazy.  We saw some of the most beautiful ones this time and every where we went, our cameras were out recording images of floriculture that one can only imagine.  The sights were breathtaking.

These gorgeous flowers caught my eye immediately because of their brilliant hues of orange, purple, and pink with a sprinkling of emerald green leaves mixed in.  They do well in the Puget Sound evidently.  The purple ones were my favorite.  I could have looked at them forever.

This unusual tree is called a Monkey Puzzle.  The picture doesn't really do it justice.  We walked past it each day as we explored the area around our hotel.  I thought it was quite unique.

These unusual flowers were perhaps my favorite ones.  We never did learn the name of them, flowers that at first glance appear to have been spray painted in their color.  They probably won't do well on the plains of Texas, but if they did I would surely try planting them.

Over and over, Mike and I remarked about how different life is between the two places and that difference is shown in many ways.  Boats in the harbor, the rising and falling tide, a ferry that shuttles folks between the islands and the mainland, and tourists galore give belief to the fact that not only were we not in Kansas anymore, we weren't in Texas either.  

Now we are back and the rest of the summer awaits us here.  Before I know it, the first school bell will ring and life will continue on.  It's always a joy to see something new but an even better joy to return home when it is all over.  

It's a gift to see this great world of ours.
It's an even greater gift to find home.

This was perhaps my favorite picture of all those that I took.  I loved the colors of the ships and if I were to give this photo a name, I think I would call it America.