I love the fact that our small town has so many little parks and areas to go walking and hiking, exploring and discovering new places and revisiting old ones. The late summer feel that is in the air right now is so rich! Birds are starting to congregate in small flocks to get ready for fall migration. The crickets and locust put on their finest summer music at night and the tree frogs add their part to the chorus. Trees are bearing fruit, bringing in hungry birds and their babies for snacks.

We had a few days of much cooler weather earlier this week, which really made it feel like fall! The summer is not over yet, though, and yesterday we had a 100 degrees again here in our neck of the woods. It's that time when I just want to soak up every moment I can of this beautiful, warm summer weather because it's gonna be gone before we know it!

I love the soft glow of summer evenings, boats out on the river, birds singing and all the wildflowers blooming. The giant goldenrod, forget-me-nots, and rose spirea are some of favorites from this time of year.

The choke cherry trees are really bearing fruit right now which is bringing in all kinds of birds . The ponds are pretty low right now due to it being so dry, but the all the ducks are finding places to dine on bugs and whatever other creatures live underneath those murky waters. :)

The mallard males are mostly gone now but the females and young remain behind, lingering in flocks, sunning themselves on the islands, preening and swimming. I do believe they are the happiest ducks around. :)

Sometimes I take those winding back roads and just explore along the river and enjoy the beautiful scenery. With the seasons here being all so unique and it seems like everything is always changing, it makes so that it's never boring and it never gets old. Summer is truly a beautiful season and I am so grateful that I get to live here in Montana, surrounded by all of nature's finest art.