I recently looked back over half a dozen years of summertime photos — I’m always interested to see the themes that emerge from year to year — how things look the same, and how things change.

While the images below show the ever-changing beauty of summer from one year to the next, I also spy a clear theme winner.

This year’s blackberries are just beginning to ripen. If I’m lucky enough to get to them before the birds eat them all, I can pick enough for a handful to sprinkle on my morning granola. And that’s the essence of summer!

— lucy