A Summer's Evening Walk

Finally we have got rid of the desperately hot and humid weather....at least for now! We even got some much needed rain recently.

The humidity and heat was so unpleasant that nobody has been spending much time outdoors, unless they were immersed in water! Even the usually refreshing cool of my mom's pool wasn't much help....the water was so warm that it was more like taking a warm bath rather than a cooling swim.

Now that we aren't in the grip of the suffocating heat, it was pleasant enough for Erik and I to take a walk in our neighborhood and enjoy the cool evening air. I, of course, brought my camera to take a few snaps along the way.

This pretty Victorian just down the street from us is a favorite of mine and I pass it almost every day on my jogging route.

I'm especially enamoured of their white picket fence and the cheery sunflowers growing close along the fence, all in a row.

I am also totally in love with this enclosed vegetable garden in the very back quarter of their yard. The house sits on a corner, much like our house, so this garden is easily seen as you walk past on the sidewalk.

Look at the sweet arbor with a gate to enter the garden!! Love!

Right behind the picket fence garden, across some railroad tracks, we see this house. The siding is a little shabby (and probably is asbestos siding! eeek!) but it's surrounded by the prettiest flower gardens.

Just down the block, this pretty blue and cream Victorian, complete with turret, sits prettily in the shade behind this lovely fence. I have "porch envy" when I look at this house. I love all the decorative millwork on this porch and their fancy turned railings and skirting.

I always love to walk by this house and see what's blooming. The entire front yard is filled with flowers and the porch is loaded with baskets and pots of flowers. In spring, the yard is a sea of tulips and daffodils and in summer it's full of roses, daylilies, phlox, rudbeckia and many other perennials.

The front porch

There are also a few birdhouses and other garden objets d' art peeking from the lush flower beds.

This big white Victorian has a curious single stone pillar in the corner of their yard. A leftover from a long-ago stone wall or the corner piece to a wrought-iron fence probably. There are many houses in this area that have wrought-iron fences interspersed with these stone columns.

A rustic wood fence is the perfect backdrop for these orange daylilies.

A quartet of bright red Adirondack chairs sit quietly beneath a canopy of big, tall trees in another yard.

This Spanish villa-style house has always intrigued me. I love the curving brick walkway. Here you can see an example of the limestone columns and wrought-iron fence that I spoke of. One of the earliest industries in our town, when it was founded in the 1840s, were the limestone quarries. They are still in operation to this day. There are about four or five quarries in our area, two of them are right at the edge of town. The others are located in a nearby town about four miles away and there are several more in a small town called Lannon, which also isn't far away. Often times limestone is referred to as "Lannon stone" in our area, because of the proliferation of quarries in Lannon.

I love the flower pots on the upper windows attached to those little balconettes.

Red Adirondack chairs must be popular,because this house has some too:

These folks also have this wonderful stone arch over their front gate:

This house and yard is Erik's favorite; I think he has "front entrance envy"!

Thanks for joining me! I'll be linking up with A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!