“But where has the summer gone? It doesn’t seem a day since I came home that spring evening with the Mayflowers. When I was little I couldn’t see from one end of the summer to the other. It stretched before me like an unending season. Now, ‘’tis a handbreadth, ‘tis a tale.’”

Anne Shirley, Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (1915)

Technically, of course, it’s summer for two weeks yet. The goldenrod and asters still crowd out the faint touches of red at the maple’s edge. But we’re gathering the harvest and our memories of summer travel. Our correspondents have sent us postcards from near (to them) and far, from the piercing blue of a Yukon spring to the boardwalk of eastern P.E.I., from castles on the Rhine to gardens in Japan. May these beautiful photos stretch the season just a little longer.

Deborah Mantle (8 June)
A Summer Postcard from Japan: Natadera, Ishikawa Prefecture

In Japan, the grounds of Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples are often havens for wildlife. Founded in 717AD, Natadera is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture. Its 231,000 square metres of sacred space encompasses a moss garden, ponds and streams, volcanic rock formations, caves and many ancient trees.

David Neufeld (10 June)
Burwash Landing, Yukon

In early June I attended a fascinating science and traditional knowledge workshop hosted by the Kluane First Nation village of Burwash Landing in southwest Yukon. In summer 2016, a glacier surge in the Kluane Ice Fields blocked the north flowing A’ay Chu (Slim’s River), cutting off its flow into a now shrinking Kluane Lake. The “river” now flows south via the Kaskawalsh River into the Gulf of Alaska. Glacier scientists have noted evidence of a similar reversal during the Medieval Warm Period. Kluane people struggle to come to terms with the rapidly changing character of the lake.

Mica Jorgenson (31 July)
Vancouver Island

Rain! After two record-breaking fire and smoke years, the comparatively wet spring and summer of 2019 is a welcome respite. This photo was taken in the rainforest during a week-long writing retreat on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. I was working at the mouth of the Diitiida (Jordan River) on the traditional territory of Pacheedaht First Nation (whose name means “Children of the Sea Foam”).   

Catherine Paulin (3 September)
Greenwich National Park

This shot was taken during my summer road trip to PEI at the beginning of August, more specifically at PEI’s National Park. After a walk through wooded areas, old farmlands and wetlands, you can reach a lookout which allows for a wonderful view of the Greenwich parabolic sand dunes (a rare sight in North America) and wetlands (not to mention the beautiful beach on the opposite side, which we can’t see on this photo).

Jessica DeWitt (3 September)

I stayed in Saskatoon all summer and enjoyed the perks of low-carbon living. (Ed. Good for you!) One of the most memorable experiences this summer was inadvertently walking home directly into this massive hail and wind storm. Saskatchewan is indeed the Land of Living Skies. ⁦https://twitter.com/JessicaMDeWitt/status/1168954273427800065

Courtney Tuck-Goetz (3 September)

Summer memories! Pic 1: Floatin’ around at Wakaw lake with friends over the Labour Day long weekend Pic. 2: Spotted a 13-lined ground squirrel at Wanuskewin Pic 3: Taken on the way out to Peck Lake. https://twitter.com/CTuckGoetz/status/1168949736063328257

Charisma K. Lepcha (4 September)
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia

This was my pre-WCEH [World Congress of Environmental History] travel to the largest and highest salt flat in the world, which also became the world’s largest mirror as evening approached. Truly spectacular!

Kesia Kvill (5 September)

Visited a lot of water. NOTL, Lake Ontario. Eramosa River, Guelph. Rambled from Minster Lovell ruins to Burford, England. And enjoyed Discovery Harbour on Georgian Bay! I attended conferences and enjoyed the surroundings. https://twitter.com/kesiatk/status/1169611835680677889

Andrew Watson (5 September)

My @NiCHE_Canada summer postcard(s) was cruising down the Rhine and exploring the history of Marksburg, Sterrenberg, and Liebenstein Castles with @erikadyckhist & my relatives in Germany. https://twitter.com/awatson8381/status/1169607087422353410