Beauty All the Year

 Here's some autumn pretty from Oriental. The color of these tall grasses is a soft metallic pink.

 It's only August, but some of our trees are turning and dropping leaves. We had a solid week of rain, and I think that contributed. I'm not sure, but I think these were from a tulip poplar. I found them at church.

 A lone dead tree juts above the soggy marshes across Whittaker Creek.

 However, a few intrepid summer roses insist on one last bloom.

 And a very pretty bloom it is!

Adam pulled a few quarts of honey in June, as you recall. We use a little to eat on toast, but at last I decided to take a few jars to the farmer's market to sell. They should go quickly.

Here's a boat we saw the other day. It's a sailboat, but it has a center console cabin, with those wooden slats on the side -- very interesting boat. I like it.

 Pretty wooden detailing makes this a lovely boat.

 A new power boat called the "Shellback" recently joined the ranks out at Whittaker Marina. She's very nice.

 Boats have all different shapes of sterns, and here I've tried to capture three shapes for you. The boat on the far end is a canoe stern, and you can see why.

The boat in the middle has a slightly raked (sloping in at the bottom) stern, or transom. The dark blue boat in the foreground has a transom that slopes the other way -- a reverse transom or stern. It's not a sharp reverse. Some power boats with easy access to the water for swimming will have a long, sloping reverse transom with steps down to the water -- almost like a skirt hanging off the back. Here's a chart I found online with the various types:

 Here's the website the chart came from, if anyone's interested in stern shapes.

When a town has boats, there's always beauty, whether spring, summer, autumn, winter. I'll be sharing more seasonal beauty with you as these cooler days approach ... or as my friend PomPom calls this time of year: "The Coming Season of Cozy." I like that!