Kite and Pinata Festival at Springfield Botanical Gardens

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Last weekend the Springfield Botanical Gardens hosted a festival along with sister cities in Mexico and Japan – a Kite and Pinata Festival. It was well attended. There were people directing traffic into the garden when we got there, and we were pleased that we found a good parking place. There were already kites in the air! It was a sunny breezy day, perfect weather for the event.

There were food trucks and vendors. My daughter and I shared an anpan (a Japanese sweet roll filled with red bean paste)…tasty. I bought some Japanese earrings as well.

I noticed a new sculpture near the visitor center and took a picture of the butterfly part of it.

We walked around enough to notice the tulips were still blooming and couldn’t resist photographing them. I like the ones that are multi-colored. The ones with more than the usual petals seemed to be popular this year. I liked the yellow tulips with splashes of red/orange the best.

There was a dogwood in bloom. The wind made it challenging to photograph the blooms. I used the zoom; the light was so bright that the shutter speed was short enough to freeze the moving flowers!

There was a small stage where Mexican and Japanese themed performances were featured. The teenage girls performed well with mariachi band even in the wind…their colorful skirts attached to their wrists to keep them more controlled than the cowgirl dancers that kept loosing their hats.

Back at the visitor center, I checked their collection of hens and chicks. The colonies have survived the winter, and their colors are probably more vivid because of the cold.

We walked back to our car via the white garden and hosta garden.

I noticed the dragonfly mosaic is missing some pieces. I hope it will be repaired.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. We opted to go to a restaurant for lunch because the wind, great for kites, was a bit gusty for eating outside.

Springfield Botanical Gardens – April 2023

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The uptick in vegetation is in full swing at the Springfield Botanical Gardens this month. We went on a morning cool/breezy enough to require a jacket with a hood and gloves. The early blooming trees and bushes (cherry, magnolia, quince), spring bulbs, and some violets made it worth the walk. The magnolias appeared to have been hard hit by the cold weather of the past weeks – with wads of ruined flowers; but some buds were evidently not impacted, and the few flowers were a taste of how grand the tree would have been without the cold weather.

As usual, I couldn’t resist some macro shots. In years past, I have often contented with very active bees, but the breezy cold must have kept them away. I didn’t see a single insect on the trees. The picture of the ‘open’ redbuds (last picture) was one of my favorites.

But – my favorite of the morning was the tulips. Not all the tulips were blooming quite yet…but these very bright flowers stood out in their brown mulch bed. I liked their color and spikey shape!

I am looking forward to seeing how the gardens change by May!

Missouri to Maryland

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We made the road trip back from Missouri – having walked through the house we are buying and brief by the house inspector (the final results were still pending, but we did get to talk with the inspector about the house while he was in the house). The route was a reverse of the one we had taken from Maryland (see my post here). The weather was dry both days….much appreciated. The temperatures stayed cool even though the sun was shining most of the time. On the first day, our route started in Springfield, Missouri, crossed southern Illinois and Indiana, and ended in Lexington, Kentucky.

The part in Missouri parallels old Route 66…one of the rest stops highlights that history. Evidence of spring is easy to find at every stop.

I wondered how long the leaning tree near one of the picnic areas - caught by neighboring trees before it could reach the ground - would stay in that precarious position.

I zoomed in on the back of one of the horse sculptures at the Kentucky welcome center: Peacock feathers!

The next morning we left before sunrise and I took a picture the sunrise blush silhouetting trees on a ridge. The route the second day was from Lexington, Kentucky, through West Virginia, and ended at home in central Maryland.

More spring: dandelions already going to seed before the other plants in the bed even have buds, red buds planted along the roadway and rest stop parking lots, azaleas just beginning their bloom, daffodils still blooming in the mountains (done for the season at lower elevations). There was enough breeze to extend the flags in West Virginia…but not at the same time!

And then we reached Maryland. The scenic overlook/welcome center had good views of the lake and daffodils were still blooming there. The Sidling Hill stop had yellow tulips. And then we didn’t need to the stop at South Mountain. We were keen to be home!

Even though the weather was good for driving, my husband and I realized during our first day driving that our two days in Springfield had not been long enough to recover from the trek to Missouri. He was having lots of neck and shoulder aches and I was feeling exhausted. We agreed that short turn around trips with that much driving should be avoided from now on!

Springfield Botanical Garden – April 2022

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The tulips were beginning their big bloom at the Springfield Botanical Garden when I visited in mid-April. The sunny day made their colors pop. Much of the rest of the garden may be just waking up but the tulips are in their glory.

The Master Gardeners were out working to get the demonstrations gardens prepped for the season….it was a dry day between two days of rain.

We walked over to the garden’s Botanical Center….more tulips in the planters and a surprise: columbines! It was windy but I managed to get a passable photo.

Mini Road Trip: Brookside Gardens – April 2021 (2)

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Continuing the photographic tour of Brookside Gardens from yesterday’s post….

I always make an effort to see the deciduous magnolias blooming at Brookside and they were at the top of my ‘to see’ plan for this mini road trip. The first one I saw was quite a shock. All the flowers had been destroyed by the frosts. The tree won’t be producing any seeds this year. The drying remains of the flowers were glowing in the morning light….interesting looking but ultimately not positive for the tree.

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I would occasionally see a tree that I thought might have escaped the frost damage

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But a closer look always showed that the flowers were damaged. The might still be intact enough to draw insects and maybe produce seeds.

At least one tree had buds that looked normal – the late bloomer might be the one with the successful seed production this year.

The tulips are the other big display in April. Some of the beds also had fading hyacinths. I like to photograph tulips that appear to be glowing from within….and there were several situations that provided the opportunity for that.

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Benches at Brookside always look appealing to me but I rare sit down. Usually I am walking around, taking pictures of anything that looks interesting. Maybe I should try something different next time I visit….pick a spot and sit for a bit.

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A project idea – maybe take pictures of tree trunks that includes the name of the tree (many of the trees at Brookside are labeled like this. It would be good to have as a reference.

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I always like the stone sphere sculpture. Sometimes there are early butterflies that warm up in the sunshine around it…but I didn’t see any while I was there.

On the way back to the car, I stopped again to photograph the lush horsetail bed at one corner of the visitor center….and that was the last stop of my walk. The parking lot was filling up  and I was glad I had come early enough to avoid the crowd.

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Filling a Day of Social Distance – 4/15/2020

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Continuing the blog post series prompted by COVID-19….

Here are the unique activities for yesterday:

Photographing ‘still lifes’ around the house. I decided to look for some photo opportunities around the house…and picked my 4 favorites to share here. The first one is the collection of windfall that I photographed a few days ago. The samaras are wilting and the pine needles are turning yellow. I liked them on the small blue glass plate.

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The second is a part of a macramé wall hanging my sister made as a gift for me at least 35 years ago. She incorporated a shell slice that I had bought and given to her as a stocking stuffer at Christmas.

The third is a portion of my earring drawer. They are organized with a small box for each state. Maryland, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas are the ones with lots of earrings in them.   

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The fourth is a scarf drawer. I need to look for more opportunities to wear scarves I’ve collected over the years…some of them might work as face masks.

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Catching up on Cincinnati Zoo’s Home Safari videos:

Links to my previous “filling a day of social distance” posts  here.

Last Day for Tulips

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Last week my husband and I walked around Brookside Gardens enjoying the tulips. Some of the early bloomers were past prime enough that the volunteer gardeners were taking the bulbs up from the beds. I will have to find out next time we go to the garden what replaces tulips.

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Some were widely open, and I enjoyed the curls and graceful curves of the waxy petals. My favorite tulips are the ones that are mostly yellow…tipped with orange. The colors remind me of sunrise and sunset.

There were some hybrid tulips up near the visitor center that were catching the mid-morning sunlight. They had a stronger scent and I wondered if the original plants were more heavily scented that the hybrids that we plant now. Tulips have gone through extreme breeding; perhaps bloom shape, color and longevity are more important than the smell.

I enjoy them all as a fleeting vision of spring. We’re on to the next round of blooms.

Gleanings of the Week Ending May 5, 2018

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The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Top 25 Birds Protected by the MBTA – National Geographic Blog – The Migratory Bird Treat Act was passed in 1918…and covers over 1000 species. Enjoy pictures of 25 of them!

Atlantic Ocean circulation at weakest point in more than 1,500 years -- ScienceDaily – Something else that could cause more rapid increase in sea level rise on the US East Coast.

Spring Sediment Swirls in the Great Lakes – Image from April 20th after a storm. The areas are the lakes are losing soil.

NASA planet hunter on its way to orbit: Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite successfully launched -- ScienceDaily – Hurray! TESS was launched on April 18th…and should be ready to begin work something in June.

Compound Interest - The chemistry of tulips and tulip fingers – After seeing the tulips display at Brookside…this article caught my attention. I didn’t notice if the gardeners taking up the bulbs were wearing gloves…or whether they were the right kind.

Dark chocolate consumption reduces stress and inflammation: Data represent first human trials examining the impact of dark chocolate consumption on cognition and other brain functions -- ScienceDaily – I like dark chocolate. It’s a good thing that it has positive health benefits but I would probably still eat it even it didn’t.

Which US Generation Has the Best Eco-Conscious Habits? A Survey+ | CleanTechnica – Boomers, Gen-Xers or millennials. It’s a clever way to highlight ways to become more eco-conscious.

On The Hunt For The Elusive Morel Mushroom In Ohio’s Appalachian Country: The Salt – Morel mushrooms are tasty….enough that people keep their spots secret and turn off their GPS locators when on the hunt!

These Are the Cities With the Worst Air Pollution | Smart News | Smithsonian and Compare Your Air | American Lung Association – Read the summary from the Smithsonian blog then go to the American Lung Association site to compare cities. Where I live gets and ‘F’ for Ozone.

Diseases from Ticks and Mosquitoes Have Tripled | The Scientist Magazine® - Lyme Disease and Zika have caused a lot of the increase.

Wings of Fancy – 1st shift

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I had my first shift for this season’s Wings of Fancy shift at Brookside Gardens earlier this week. The exhibit is opening an hour earlier this year to take advantage of the morning temperatures. Visitors will appreciate that during the summer. Like last year – I took a short walk around the gardens before heading into the conservatory. The gardens are lush even with the variability of rain and temperatures so far this spring.

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The azaleas are blooming but I decided to walk through the are where the tulips are blooming….lots of color on a spring morning. I walked fast because it was chilly at 8:30 AM (in the 40s and breezy).

I was in the conservatory waiting for the first visitors and decided to take a few pictures. I was surprise what I was able to do in 10-15 minutes! My theme was heads – eyes, antennae, proboscis, and papillae. I’m sure they’ll be many other butterfly pictures this season (the exhibit runs until September 16), but I’m pleased with my first batch. Hopefully a reflection of the happy place the exhibit creates comes through too!