Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Summer Vibes
Andre is the guest host for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week. His theme is Summer Vibes. He posted some biking, mountain climbing, hiking, swimming, diving, sailing, surfing, kitesurfing, and beach sailing photos.
He said, when it comes to the style of spending this most valuable time of the year, wishes would differ following their personal preferences.
I spend a lot of my summer in my garden
I love the cheerful sunflowers. The bees like them as well.
This baby grasshopper stayed on the African lily long enough for me to take a few photos. It’s the size of a grain of rice.
The monarchs have been doing very well this summer. I’ve raised about 50. There are still two chrysalises and one caterpillar. Then I’ll be done for this year because I’ll be away quite a bit the rest of the summer.
I also take summer trips with my husband and family
Hubby Lynton dived in Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
Our family went on a whale-watching trip at Huntington Beach.
Photo on the left, Lynton and I went hiking at Waimoku Falls in Haleakala National Park. Photo on the right, we watched the crashing waves on Makena Beach, Maui, Hawaii
I love to watch my granddaughters having fun in the summer
Autumn and Nora were building sandcastles at the beach in Three Creek Lake Campground, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon.
Autumn is getting good at paddle boarding at Three Creek Lake, Deschutes National Forest, Oregon.
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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Summer Vibes
What are your favorite summer activities?
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The Showers of Blessings 
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Sommer fun, Miriam! The little ones are sweet, and the tiny grasshopper made me smile. You are doing good with the monarchs – I read they are severely endangered now.
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Thank you, Ann-Christine. Yes, the National Geographic just has an article about the International Union for the Conservation of Nature added monarch as endangered species closed to extinction. I hope this will bring the public awareness and do what we can to conserve them and bring them back. The number of migrating monarchs in the north America is from millions 10 years ago to thousands in the last couple of years.
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Hola Miriam, Wow, Monarch butterflies, beautiful photography and darling grand-daughters…The way to go! Enjoy the rest of summer too. Hugs xx
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Thank you, Joy! We’ll be seeing the grandkids in a couple of weeks. We’re excited. Have a wonderful summer. It must be hot where you are. We went to Spain in August. It was hot. 💕💖
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What beautiful summer photos, Miriam. Toni x
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Thank you very much, Toni. I like your FB photos.
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Thanks Miriam ❤️❤️
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Fun for sure Miriam! Loved the little ones especially – they are just too much fun in the summer 😍
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My daughter and her hubby try to make the most of summer to have outdoor fun. I went with them last year and got the video of Autumn paddling the board. She’s getting better this year. There’s a river close by for them to do paddle boarding. Of course, the beach is not too far away. They can’t do too much in the winter on a regular basis because of the rain.
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Wonderful summer fun photos, Miriam. You sure do get to some wonderful spots. And the grandchildren are adorable, of course. I’m so glad you get to see them so frequently. Have a wonderful day, my friend. Hugs.
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The International Union for the Conservation of Nature just added migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” – two steps from extinct. We have to wait for organizations such as this one to do more to conserve the monarchs.
I’ll try to publish my book in the next week or so. I’ll be gone most of the summer from August 11. Have a wonderful trip, my friend. ❤ ❤
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I was amazed that you raised 50 Monarchs, Miriam. Wow! Have you considered a “How to Grow Monarch Butterflies” book? You seem to have it down. 🙂
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I probably will do it, Diana. Now that monarch became endangered spices, I might join the campaign to do a book. With that in mind, I documented the growth of caterpillars.
The pesticide from the bought milkweed killed many of my caterpillars.
One thing the National Geographic pointed out was the spraying that kill the monarch and caterpillars. Another thing was cutting down trees and the migrating butterflies had no place to stop or stay in the winter.
I’ve done quite a bit of research the last few years. But I need to focus on what to put in the book. 🙂
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You have so much great information, Miriam. And photos. I think you’d have a great audience including me.
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Thank you, Diana! I’ll let the idea brew for a while. My sister-in-law texted an article from LA Times about the monarchs endangered status. She wanted to plant some milkweed. The migrating monarchs in north America used to be in millions, now is in thousands. Pete Springer’s brother volunteers in in a group that organizes the counting of the monarchs. It’s interesting.
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I want to make a concerted effort to grow milkweed, next year. My precious crops never made it.
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Let me start with planting seeds in my daughter’s garden. The milkweed dies in the winter, but it comes back in the summer. Don’t worry about it now. If the big guy are doing anything, it still takes at least 10 years to turn the tide. CA have to stop cutting down trees and stop spraying crops which is hard to do.
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Gorgeous summer pics. My, those girls are growing up quickly!
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Thank you very much. Yes, they’re growing up fast. I can hardly wait to see them in a couple of weeks.
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Summerie! Summary?! No. Summery! Beautiful.
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Haha, John! You said it all! 🙂
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What fun pictures, Miriam! I loved them all! I’m so impressed with your butterflies. I hope you continue to have an amazing summer!🥰
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The butterflies keep me company for several months, Vashti! I’m a little bad when the season is over, but I purposely got rid of some eggs before they hatched because I won’t be here to take care of them. We’ll spend a lot of time with the grandkids this summer, and take a short trip for the two of us. Hope you’re recovering nicely and enjoying your summer. ❤
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Thank you, Miriam. Enjoy your vacations with your grandkids and family!
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You’re welcome, Vashti!
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These pictures are beautiful, Miriam! I’m a huge fan of sunflowers, but I enjoyed all of your photos. Thanks for sharing them with us. 🙂
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Thank you. I like sunflowers, Yvette. There are so many kinds. I tried different kinds every year. 🙂
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HI Miriam, these are gorgeous pictures, especially the ones of your granddaughters. You have done marvelously well raising Monarch’s this year. Congratulations!
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Thank you, Robbie! I’m glad the monarchs turned out well. My grandkids are very active outdoors. They’re not afraid to do things, such as climbing rocks and paddling the paddleboard. Nora is doing paddle boarding this year. I took the photos for this post last year.
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It all seems wonderful after 2020 and 2021.
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Beautiful pictures Miriam! Thanks for sharing summer fun with us. ❤️
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You’re welcome, Balroop. We still have half of the summer to go. Our vacation will start soon.💖
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You do so much, Miriam! And mostly out of doors. What a fun life.
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I like gardening, Jacqui! Raising monarchs doesn’t take too much time but it’s fun. I just step outside to watch them once in a while during the day.
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What great memories you’re making this summer, Miriam! The Monarchs are goregous! Have a lovely and safe trip!
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Thank you, Deborah! I’m glad to have raised so many monarchs this year. I’ve planted many milkweeds, so I may raise many more next year. Wishing you a wonderful summer!
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The monarchs are beautiful, Miriam. Congratulations (and thanks) on being successful. Your family photos are wonderful to see. All your photos are great. You certainly know how to enjoy summer!
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Yes, the monarchs are beautiful, Dan. It seems like a few other people in our area also raise monarchs. We share milkweed and seeds with a Facebook group. My daughter’s family is in Oregon. They try to maximize the summer time to do fun things with the kids and visit friends. It’s hard to go out when it rains in winter. I go with them on some of the trips!
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That’s a very big paddle for a little girl!
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Haha, it is. That’s daddy’s paddleboard, but the paddle is very light. She is getting very good at paddling!
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I am so happy that your Monarch project was so successful this year.
Enjoy you Summer vacation 🙂
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There were many casualties this year, Brian! I don’t know what happened. I lost at least a couple of dozen monarchs. But they are fragile. I did my best. 🙂 Enjoy your winter.
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One must expect some casualties but that is a high rate of loss. I guess your home grown feed milkweed? did help a bit this year 🙂
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Nice to see family enjoying summer activities. So pretty sunflower on bee. Nice you doing work in garden .
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The sunflowers are very big and pretty. Summer is a good time to do different things. Thank you, Rajkkhoja!
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You are most welcome 🌷!
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Good to see the family enjoying various summer activities.
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My daughter’s family just went to Anchorage and the kids dipped into the water, holding a block of glacier ice in their hands, and hiking in the glacier park. Perhaps summer is a good time to go to Alaska.
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We went to Anchorage before Covid started. I’ll never forget getting into town around 10;45 p.m. and the sun still being in the sky in the middle of summer. As a fussy sleeper, I have trouble sleeping when it’s light outside. It’s frequently in the 60s in July and August in Anchorage.
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I love these pics.
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Thank you for checking out my post. My husband’s family is from Australia. He and I went to Sydney and then went north to Caine. I like it there.
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Carins at this time of year is soooo awesome. In January it’s 40 degrees C and raining every day though. I love the rainforest and the reef. Glad you enjoyed.
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We’ll go back soon.
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Awesome
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Thanks for joining, Miriam. Growing butterflies is also a funny activity for summer 👍
From your images, I love the coastline with the waves most. By following this line with your eyes you’re pulled into it.
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Our summer started early this year, Andre! The first monarch came back in March. I love the beaches in Maui. This particular beach is small and lined with lava rocks catching the waves crashing on them. I took some short videos also. 🙂
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👍
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Wonderful fun photos, Miriam! Guess what my favorite was! …the baby grasshopper!! 😀
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Thank you, Lisa! I was so happy to have gotten the grasshopper’s photos. I was also surprised to see the clear antennas. It must be there sitting very still!! 🙂
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It sounds as though you’re having a wonderful summer! I’d say that my favorite summer activities are just getting outside and visiting my favorite places (mountains and seaside).
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You’re fortunate to live close to the mountains and seaside, Liz. I’m nowhere close to the mountains and about 35 miles from the beach. My major summer vacation is still to come.
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Yes, I am!
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oh what wonderful pics Miriam and lovely summer you’re having. How proud and happy you must be to have 50 monarch baby butterflies and a human one too!
Great post and keep having fun!
💖
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Yes, I am proud of the monarchs, Cindy. When I see monarchs flying in front of my window or in the garden, I thought, are they my babies? I’m learning more and more though. When they got away from the milkweed and climbed on the wall of the cage, I thought they escaped. I picked them up and put them back on the plant. I just learned they need to do that to shed the skins. I’ll do a better job next year! ❤
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awww thats so sweet Miriam!!! always learning! This is a stupid question I’m sure you answered but how long do they live for? Do you think they know you? I love that you do this!! soooo cool! 💖💖💖🌟
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