Take time to relax
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: #Lazy Days of Summer

We are almost at the midpoint of August which means for many, summer is nearly over. Sure the weather will still be warm in the northern hemisphere, and maybe too hot on the West Coast (the wildfires aren’t helping matters), but school starts for many youth, teens and young adults in mid- and late-August!

The featured image above shows a strong leisure ethic in a college student the very first day of classes a couple of years ago.

Educators like myself are undoubtedly putting the finishing touches on course and classroom preparations, marking a clear end to the “lazy days” of summer which happens to be our theme this week for Sunday Stills. I know several students who are already back to school!

I remember as a kid growing up in San Diego, that we did not go back to school until the second week of September, well after the traditional Labor Day holiday. We did not get out for the year until mid-June, but my definition of summer always seemed like June through August to me.

Did you have time for some laziness this summer? I think I had more than my share after experiencing a crazy-busy spring. I took the whole month of June off where I didn’t do any course prep. I managed to write a few thousand words into my No Excuses Fitness book project, but I indeed felt lazy overall.

It didn’t help that we opened a Netflix account in May. Now both my hubby and I see the Millennials’ appeal of binge watching new and old movies or new-to-us Netflix series a couple of hours a night. However, that practice will need to be reigned in by early September!

Luckily my new Fitbit Charge 2 (not an ad) nags me every hour to get some steps in, so the appearance of laziness will stay in my own head!

I still have two more weeks before I step foot onto the college campus, so until that day arrives, I plan to experience a few more lazy days, now counted in just a few hours.

Here are my photo interpretations of “Lazy Days.”

I’ve been a little lazy capturing delta sunsets this summer. How perfect on a hot summer evening that the sun seems to rest a while among the wind turbines.

sunset among the windturbines 

Still obsessed transfixed with my backyard sunflowers, I captured the lazy opening of these petals on a newly-bloomed sunflower.

lazy opening of sunflower petals
Opposite of lazy? This bee on the same sunflower is heavily laden with sunflower pollen, giving “busy bee” a whole new meaning!

Busy bee is anything but lazy

All the photos in today’s post were captured by my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.

How do you like to spend your lazy days?

If you are on Instagram and have some sunflower shots to share, please join me for the rest of August using hashtag #monthofsunflowers
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmLnvtaBo1I/

Link here or share in the comments!

Camera graphic

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56 comments

  1. Terri, your sunflower and bee photos are really gorgeous. I always enjoy your articles about leisure as you promote good health with doing fun activities.

    It’s been too hot for me, and as we don’t have AC, nearly unbearable, The few early morning hours cool enough to get in some exercise are also the only time I can get in chores.

    I hope the AC is working in all schools. Awfully early and hot and smokey for kids to go to school.

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    • Thanks so much, Shari! I can’t imagine not having a/c, but I know there are areas in California where you don’t need it. I grew up in inland valleys of San Diego, and our wall a/c got used in late August for a whopping 3-4 days. Stay cool and watch for heat exhaustion…it’s sneaky!

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  11. I can’t believe you have such beautiful sunflowers in your backyard! Your photos of them are so amazing.

    I have trouble being lazy. I really have to stay active every minute but I did get to spend almost a week at the beach. Even then, I can’t just relax on the sand.

    This post really captures summer as I’ve come to know it in this country. You wait so long for it on the east coast and it goes so fast!

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    • I had to go to a bit of trouble to get the sunflowers properly planted, but it was worth it. We get quite a wildlife show in our suburban area with hummingbirds, wild turkeys and kites (like a hawk) who enjoy roosting and nesting in our 30 year old redwoods. We are at the delta this weekend, one of our last since the season will be over in less than a month! Today we went SUPing on the river with a bunch of people and picked wild blackberries on the other side of the river ( a mile across). Hard to sit still around here too!

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  12. Thank you Terri for reminding me to relax even though we are in Winter. Brisbane is glorious in winter time, with sunny days and mild temperatures, so no excuse really for not enjoying the outdoors. I just loved your photos and of course, sunflowers always make me feel happy. Enjoy the rest of your summer break and have a beautiful week. xx

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  13. AH—YOU ARE DEFINITELY HOOKED ON SUNFLOWERS NOW!! 🙂 Congrats & welcome to the club. Remember to harvest some seeds for next year…If the birds leave you any…

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  16. We’ve got lots of sunflowers in our garden this year, Terri. One variety is called ‘Tedy Bear’ which I especially love. Sadly, most are past their best now, but one sunflower came up from a place we weren’t expecting. It wasn’t a variety we had planted, so we figured a bird must have dropped a seed in that spot and left it.
    As for lazy summer days, well I’m not someone who fins being lazy very easy to do. I seem to be on the go all the time and like being so. I did, however, read a book this summer. Yes, a whole book! My dyslexia stops me from reading much. I find it hard to get into many books, but the one I read was great. I left a review for the author over on Goodreads and Amazon. I guess reading that book was my lazy summer.

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  17. I’ve had a lot of lazy days this summer, Terri, recovering from my concussion. As I’ve felt better, I must say I enjoyed them. I’ve done a lot of reading, making good use of my library card. I’ve soaked in a lot of warm sunshine, and taken daily walks. I’ve enjoyed the blossoms in our garden. We don’t have sunflowers, but your lovely photos make me wish we did. Enjoy your time before the school year ramps up. What are you watching on Netflix?

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    • So glad you are on the mend and you spent some much needed lazy days, Molly! On Netflix I watched all of “Mad Men,” a truly amazing series. Watching 1-2 shows a night of new Hawaii 5-0, Frasier, several movies and old Dick Van Dyke shows. About the only real TV I watch now is Good Morning America for the news and local weather.

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  19. I don’t recall too many lazy days Ter, but it’s definitely harder to feel inspired to stay in when the sun is shining for a few months compared to the long months of darkness and cold.
    The photos are stunning, especially the capture of the bee full of pollen.Amazing! 😉 x

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  20. Yay for fabulous photography from your phone camera. Especially since it is a Samsung. High five!!! Going to plan another photography post for next week and will include Sunday Stills photos. Keep the prompts coming!

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  21. Your sunflowers are gorgeous indeed 🙂 How exciting with your book project. I somehow managed to miss that you’re working on a fitness book.

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  34. Oh, I took a lazy summer photo! Need to create a photo blog post and link up with you. I took a photo of the prompts for September so I will have them on my phone. Your sunflowers are stunning examples of macro photography. The details you captured are amazing. Well done, my friend.

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