Iced Tea and Summery Things

I love that summer has (almost) arrived. Yes, partly...mostly, because I'm a teacher and that means 2 months of freedom. But also because I love so many of the things that come along with the summer.
Such as homemade, refreshing iced tea.

We have a tea cabinet... full of all different teas. These are two of my favorites for iced tea.

Over the last year, we have drastically cut back on the amount of soda we buy and drink. This is a good healthy trade off!

Of course, I add a small amount of stevia to mine for a slightly sweetened iced tea. This is my tea making procedure. It is very versatile though, you can't really mess it up.

Boil 4 cups of water. Steep 5 tea bags for 10-15 minutes. Add 5 scoops of stevia. Let cool. Add to pitcher. Pour in 3 more cups of cold filtered water. Stir and refrigerate. It is that simple.

Fun, summery skies.

Summer dew on tomato plants. (Nate took the dew pictures!)

Green grass and more dew.

Finding the perfect picnic spot.

Filling vases with seaside decorations.

Stumbling upon cute gardens, unexpectedly.

The sweet smell that fills the air from honey suckle.

This one is of a colorful bush I came across the other day, while walking in the park.

Backyard sunsets. 

These pictures were taken one right after the other, in my backyard. The only difference is that I used a filter for the picture on the right... However, it is the more true to life photo- that was what the sky really looked like. I love playing with the different settings!

Summer is fun for photographing... but then again, I say that about every season!