Every year, when the end of August unravels, the shadows sadly get longer, the sunsets come earlier and earlier, and the evening's air becomes noisier with the chorus of crickets and bullfrogs singing in the pond nearby.  The touch of yellow that brightened the foliage in the spring has long ago drained away, leaving the leaves fat and a deep, dark green.  The countryside often looks unkempt with lush foliage pouring out everywhere from roadsides and fencerows all across the area.  Unfortunately, many of the flowers are enjoying their last few days of rich color and are still attracting throngs of bees, but the approaching first frost and the end of some of the insects and foliage is clearly not far off.  For a photographer, this can be among the richest of life's seasons.  By now, many of the dragonflies and bees and spiders are abundant everywhere you walk.  The shadows are deeper, the skies are just a little bluer, and the clouds a bit more dramatic.  From the photographer's point of view, t is interesting how this summer's light in Maryland has been so crisp and bright on some days--almost like the bright skies of the Southwest.

As the summer wound down this year, we have had many opportunities to get outside with the camera and have tried to capture some of the warm days, the remnants of which will still linger into September, thank goodness. The galleries include some new photos from the Brandywine, Pennsylvania area--one of our favorite haunts year round--as well as some of the local and regional landscapes that have unfolded around us. Some of the photos posted in our galleries will disappear in coming weeks and may return with a little additional tweaking in the weeks to come.  Keep checking back.  Meanwhile, we will need to start getting ready for fall colors.