ROWLEY PICTURESQUE DUNELAND 315 



Club, which has for years realized what a treasure house is at its 

 very door, for if we consider nothing but the flora of this region 

 that alone is sufficient to make nature trips of real value. 



The Dunes are beautiful and picturesque at all seasons of the 

 year. We may go out in the Spring after the Winter has gone 

 and all nature seems quite secure in another year of growth. 

 Then we find the lovely lupine in blossom. It grows so abundant- 

 ly and luxuriantly, that at times, we seem to be looking not at 

 the earth, .but at a sea of blue. When we behold such glory, 

 we feel like saying, "Spring is indeed the most beautiful season 

 of the year at the Dunes." 



In summer, to many it is simply a hot, dry place. We will 

 admit it is not the season one would choose for long excursions 

 but it is the time to enjoy the lake. Along that whole length 

 of shore line is a beach that cannot be surpassed. It is also the 

 time of year for glorious sunrises and sunsets, not only do we see 

 the beauty in the heavens but that beauty is reflected in the 

 wet sands along the shore. In looking at these sunsets we feel 

 like saying with the poet of old, "The heavens declare the glory 

 of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork." 



From the point of view of the artist, perhaps no season of the 

 year is so beautiful as the Auttimn, when the leaves change their 

 colors and the yellow of the witch-hazel and sassafras blend so 

 beautifully with the reds and browns of the oaks and maples. 



But what has the Dunes for us in the winter? An abundance 

 of oxygen, sand hills not entirely covered with snow but a sufficient 

 amount to m.ake a background for the trees and twigs, making 

 them appear like etchings. We make our own trails through 

 the snow and we often stop to admire the long shadows of the 

 trees, the brown leaves and grasses that refuse to remain hidden, 

 making a striking contrast in color to the whiteness of the snow. 

 The combination of water, sky and tawny sands of the dunes 

 produces, at times, marvelous and even spectacular atmospheric 

 effects. At sunset, especially, we may see the Alpine Glow of 

 distant Switzerland reproduced on minature Mount Blancs 

 and Matterhoiiis of sand. Is it any wonder that each year our 

 unique and beloved Dunes grow in favor? We who know them 

 well return again and again as to a place enchanted, never tiring 

 of their endless charms and of the opportunities they oiler for 

 a fuller appreciation of the wonders of nature. 



