Summer Kayaking
Terri Webster Schrandt

Sunday Stills: #Lazy, Hazy Daze of Summer

By August, I feel the laziness or the daze that summer tends to bring. Poor August! It seems to be sandwiched between July’s holidays and family vacations, and September’s back-to-school vibes and the anticipation of Autumn.

“I’m very, very lazy. I love to sit in a chair and look out the window and do nothing.”
~ Ingmar Bergman

Or if you live in the southern hemisphere, perhaps you experience the winter blues as you anxiously await spring?

In the western US, many of us deal with not only the daze of coming home from weeks of travel and getting back to normal but also the haze of smoke from wildfires that we may experience as summer heat takes hold.

Unsuspecting sun setting in a smokey haze

Even sunsets feel lazy and hazy in hot smokey air.

Back in my days as a university lecturer, as I walked around the university campus in late August a few years ago, a student wasn’t shy about extending his summer break in his hammock during the first day of classes.

Hammock between two trees

“The reality of being here eludes me, I can’t focus, I am dazed…” ~Sonali Deraniyagala

Even the sunflowers are feeling lazy.

lazy opening of sunflower petals
Lazy Petals Slowly Open
sunflower
half-open sunflower and bee
Bee explores a half-opened sunflower
blue brushstroke

Lazy Daze Around Water

A day spent on the lake, river, or ocean can be anything but lazy. These kayakers might have paddled but the river’s current helped push them along.

Summer Kayaking

The water looked a little lazy the other day!

Quiet River Reflections

Before we made the welcome move to Washington, hubby and I spent many lazy-ish summer weekends at the Sacramento Delta.

RV camping

In 2019, not long after my foot surgery for which I wore a cast for 2 months, I was eager to get back on the water on a hot August afternoon.

Modified SUP with Kayak paddle

Unfortunately, I was out of shape and feeling lazy! ☹

A photo of my daughter’s dog Gideon attests to a relaxing day on the Delta beach.

White dog resting on the beach
Dog Days of Summer
gold paint swatch

July’s Tanka Tuesday: A Day at the Beach

It’s not unusual to feel lazy during the summer months. Who hasn’t dreamed of spending unstructured time lying by the beach or pool? Ironically, my former job as a parks and recreation aquatic director was to work super hard all summer to provide those lazy days to our citizens.

Lifguard at public pool
Image by freelancerphotos4u.wordpress.com

“Doing less is not being lazy. Don’t give in to a culture that values personal sacrifice over personal productivity.” ~ Tim Ferris

Each month I have been collaborating with Colleen’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry Challenge to provide an inspirational photo for the prompt.

beach scene lifeguard tower and truck
Getting Ready for Swimmers at the Beach

The image might personify a lazy day at the beach, but the poems I read brought the beach to life! My favorite was from Padres’ Ramblings. His poem clearly personified the busy days of lifeguards working at the public beaches of San Diego.

Arriving early
making ready for the throng
ever vigilant
lifeguards face the summer rush
and dream of autumn breezes

The Season, by Padre (used with permission)
blue brushstroke

Not So Lazy Entertaining and Travel

We had a house full of people for several days between July 22-Aug 4 (hence my short blog break). Not only were my brother and his partner and their two dogs staying with us, my other brother and his brood of 5 camped in their RV in our driveway for three days. We also hosted a BIG BBQ with 20 guests on our newly constructed backyard deck (26’x20’) that sits partially under our new patio cover.

Backyard deck and patio
Our New Deck!

The new deck is a perfect place to spend a lazy morning. Hubby felt especially lazy last week. He and his brother worked on the deck expansion for 5 days in 90+F heat in order to have it ready for our family!

Last Wednesday, my brother and his partner traveled with us by car for 5 hours to Radium Hot Springs, British Columbia for an overnight stay. It was hot and smokey in Radium and there was fire burning on the ridge.

Fire on the ridge, Invermere, British Columbia
Fire on the Ridge, Invermere, British Columbia

Radium Hot Springs has a cold pool and a hot pool (102F/38C)! The cold pool was under construction, so we endured the hot pool in air temps of 95F/35C).

View Radium Hot Springs Pool
Radium Hot Springs Pool

My time in the hot spring lasted five minutes. Needless to say, we felt quite lazy as we departed at 8:00pm to go to dinner. More about our Canada trip soon!

An old image/meme of my daughter sitting on the beach in Waikiki, Oahu. After a whirlwind day back in 2006, relaxing on the beach was welcomed.

simply because I need solitude
flower border

Inspiring Photo Challenges This Week

Each week I find inspiration from my fellow bloggers’ photo challenges. I enjoy incorporating these into my Sunday Stills weekly themes.

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post.

  • Remember to title your blog post a little differently than mine.
  • Please create a new post for the theme or link a recent one.
  • Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
  • Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
  • Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
  • I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

This Week’s Featured Bloggers

Sunday Stills is a wonderful community of bloggers, poets, and photographers who desire to connect with one another. Below are this week’s links from bloggers who shared their photos of lazy, hazy days. I add these all week as new links are posted. Thank you for sharing almost 30 links for Seeing Double two weeks ago!

Is the summer starting to drag on for you? Perhaps the winter is getting old if you are in the southern hemisphere? What puts you in a lazy, hazy daze this time of year? I am looking forward to your creative images and ideas!

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127 comments

  19. Terri,
    I think lazy sunflowers are beautiful. I love your deck and patio cover–it looks very relaxing. I keep waiting for you to add a swimming pool; you both have really worked hard to make your house a lovely place to live. We’re in Charleston, and it’s unbelievably hot here. Have a great weekend! Joe

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  22. Not all of your photos look lazy, Terri, but they all exude summer. The water photos are most welcome, though not the hot springs! We head to BC in about two weeks and I’m hoping the smoke isn’t too bad. Thanks for sharing your summer fun with us. Hugs.

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  25. I love the new decking, Terri. But I feel sorry for hubby and his brother working in that heat to finish it. Thankfully, we’ve had no heatwaves this summer, and none are on the horizon. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we will get to September without one. Many of my lazy summer days have been spent indoors, out of the rain and winds.

    I hope you had a great time entertaining, although it must have been a lot of work for you guys. But great that the family were all there.

    Stay safe with all those wildfires still burning. It can’t be very nice breathing in all that smoky air. I’m thankful our rain has meant no wildfires this summer in the UK. And the unseasonal cool nights are perfect for sleeping.

    I’m linking to a Wordless Wednesday post I did last month with the theme of lazy summer days.

    Lazy Summer Days #WordlessWednesday #Photography

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    • We love our new deck and patio cover, Hugh. Hans paid his brother to help him build the deck once the patio cover was completed (build by local contractor). I had to crack the whip a little to get them moving in time for the onslaught of my family! 😉 Hans and his bro are professional carpenters and got it done quickly. I am showing more of the work-in-progress for WW tomorrow 🙂

      We enjoyed a crazy thunderstorm last night to christen the new deck. It’s really neat to sit under the patio cover and hear the rain pound on the metal roof while we stay nice and dry. Easy to spend some lazy mornings with our coffee.
      No fires too close (yet). The one picture was taken near Radium, Canada where of course the wildfires are notoriously still burning in the whole country. Great to see your link. I will be back soon to read your post from yesterday!

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  26. Growing up we weren’t allowed to do nothing. If dad came by he’d assign us some chore, most of which were no fun at all. So you learned how to always look busy. I still feel that pressure.

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  28. Hi Terri!
    We, too, have been enjoying the Lazy, Hazy Days of summer! I am feeling your Summer Vibes in all your pictures! Your outdoor space at your place is fabulous! Great for entertaining. Loved your vacation pics too.
    Happy Lazy Days to you!

    I participated in your theme today on Tuesday Tidbits… it was so fun! Thanks so much for your inspiration and encouragement!

    Tuesday Tidbits #238 An All Day Rain

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  30. We are actually having a rather hazy summer so far, at least in the mornings before the fog burns off. I remember seeing and smelling the smoke from the fires last year when we traveled to through northern California… so sad. We’ve been spared so far and my fingers and toes are crossed that it will stay that way. I’m glad you had a good time in Canada. I’m looking forward to reading more about your trip!

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  31. Looks lovely Terri. At least you still get the sunset, despite the smoke. I haven’t seen more than a ray poke out for half hour at 430pm since the beginning of July here. I need a summer vacation! M3

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  32. Hi, Terri – Thank you for the reminder that August is meant to be lazy. Sadly, for me, that hasn’t quite happened yet. July and August have been on hyper-speed. September will also be action packed. I am putting all of my faith in a lazy-October! 😀

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  33. Terri, this is quite the array of Summer vibes you have here. The hammock photo reminds me of my boss who bought a hanging hammock that you sit in. Robb used to escape work for an hour or so, go out into the parking lot, hang the hammock from a sturdy pole which he rigged up in his trunk. Then he started riding his bike from our building to Belle Isle and getting his sun and exercise fix at the same time. I saw some lazy Sunflowers Saturday. I returned to where I got some great Sunflowers in late July 2022, to find two bedraggled-looking Sunflowers … lucky I found another source for pics.
    I like the deck – very nice job and whew, all that hard work in that horrible heat. It’s a shame to see that smoke from the wildfires in your photo. We are just getting the smoky gray haze and particulate matter, mostly on ozone action days, from the Canadian wildfires.
    I like that solitude quote … that fits me to a “T” because I am used to being alone, having no family and all. Also, I enjoy being in an outdoors setting and hearing the “calls of the wild” instead of the chatter of humans unless we’re bonding over what we see which sometimes happens. People at the park where I walk on weekdays insist on joining me on the path, which usually ends up in a complaint session about current events so, as we near the election next year, I may just dodge people altogether like I did the last time.

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      • A deck is a worthwhile investment for sure. I take too many photos too – it tends to irritate fellow walkers … plus, at my daily park, I stop to feed the squirrels who often pretend they didn’t see me put peanuts and seeds at our designated spots and waylay me. 🙂

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  36. Beautiful images Terri and a perfect challenge for this relaxing part of Summer. Your new deck looks gorgeous and such a wonderful outdoor space. Wishing you many more fun and lazy days of Summer too! 💛

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  39. Terri, that’s a great deck. What a wonderful space for a summer gathering, or just for relaxing alone. We too are in a summer haze, and most of our activities are confined to places with AC – malls, movie theater, home. Of course, we are also on hurricane watch until late November. Fun times…

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  41. Hi Terri – welcome back!!! It looks like you had a wonderful time with your family and friends – your backyard deck is the perfect place for entertaining. I bet you’ll get so much use of it. I enjoyed the mix of photos you shared, they all represent the lazy days of summer so well. Yikes a hot spring bath in that heat – you’re brave!! Your photo of the fire was the first I’ve seen from someone I know that has seen the fires actually burning. I look forward to your post about your visit to Canada. The photo and the poem are beautiful – nicely done and a great choice for your favorite. Happy August to you – I’ll see you back here on time next week 😉🥰

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    • Thank you, Shelley! Our deck turned out so well and timed perfectly for our whirlwind family reunion. Some photos were old but seemed to work for the theme. We’re we’re super excited to visit British Columbia and may go back to visit Banff and Calgary in early September but only if the smoke clears. I couldn’t resist the shot of the Canadian flag flying against the ridge of smoke from a fire. Happy August and thank you as always for your kind comments ❤️

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      • You’re welcome! That was perfect timing for a family reunion indeed.
        I haven’t been to Canada since I was a child. I’ll enjoy seeing your photos if/when you get back there in September. I wish the fires would stop – they’ve been going on way too long!
        Happy August to you too, I enjoy and appreciate your comments as well 🥰🤗

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    • Hi Kirstin! I’, glad you are not getting much smoke. When we headed to Canada, we kept seeing a fire burning near Kimberly but it was contained and by the time we got there it was out. Not so much at Radium–there were several! Still a great trip.

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  46. Love all your photos, Terri! I especially like the picture of your daughter and the quote. So sweet and so true. We’ve had a wonderful summer weatherwise so far this year, blue skies and sunshine, moderate temps, and almost no rain or smoke from wildfires. Couldn’t ask for better, especially while the rest of the country is suffering the extremes. But as far as lazy, hazy, not really. Summer seems to come on for us like a freight train and so busy, I can hardly wait to slow down for my favorite month – September. 🙂 🙂

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  48. Hi Terri, welcome back! I enjoyed your summery post and certainly felt the lazy hazy days you shared. Your deck looks great and must make such a difference for you. I love having outside spaces to relax in. I can’t imagine swimming in a hot pool with the outside temps so high! Hope the smoke haze dissipates soon, it’s definitely not much fun for anyone. I hope you didn’t mind me turning the seasons around for my post https://debs-world.com/2023/08/06/lazy-hazy-days-of-winter-sundaystills/

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    • Hi Debbie, thank you! I don’t know I have always felt this way about August. I suppose three months into any season gets old after a while. We are loving our deck and patio cover, perfect timing for upcoming weather changes. Not so smokey here (yet) but there are wildfires to the north and west. I hoped you would flip your hazy winter for us. I loved it!

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  54. This is the idyllic summer vacay post, Terri. I love your new patio/deck. The water pictures are wonderful. I would love to get out in the water in a kayak. Vince is not into that kind of activity, kind of weird for a Navy vet, but we’ve had some nice times with friends and neighbors doing what we do best – eating! LOL. Now that our patio is done, I want to put together an evening of chatting with our neighbors. All we need is some water in the background. We had a wild animal of some sort leave us a treat on our porch right by the back door this morning. That was pretty hazy. 🙂

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  55. Terri, this was a fabulous post. I loved all the sun, heat, sand, and water photos! I can’t believe it’s August already! Where does the time go? I’ve been cleaning… the dust is unreal this year. I think I’ve been lazy! LOL! 🧡

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  56. I love this post it’s so constant and reassuring! Here we never know what’s to be …rain, shine, winds, gales and thunder and hail . Today we drove out son to an airport 50 miles away …. We drove through four seasons there and back !!

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  58. Fabulous selection showing lazy summer days. I had to laugh at the student in his hammock! The Sacramento Delta looks beautiful, no wonder you loved spending time there. Gideon is so cute 😍 My daughter has just got a red fox lab puppy, we went to pick her up a couple of days ago…so gorgeous. I love your deck too, a wonderful place for hosting guests.

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