Friday Smiles 299: Botanica, part 2

I am once again here for Annie's Friday Smiles. I decided to see how much of the Botanical Gardens in my home town I could see in four hours, in case I decided to spend the $7.00 per person for four hours next summer when the youngsters return.  Although the web site stated 13 and older, when I was at Botanica, the sign read 12 and above.  I wasn't sure if the tween would be a teen by the time we went, I now realized all four of us would be adults.  And in case you wonder, they NEVER offer a free day, ever. 

First let's enjoy a few funnies.

During World War Two, the Germans tried to confuse the Allies by building numerous “decoy” facilities, hoping the enemy would waste time and ammunition attacking the fake targets.

One enemy decoy, built in occupied Holland, led to a tale that has been told and retold ever since by veteran allied pilots.

The German decoy “airfield,” constructed with meticulous care, was made almost entirely of wood. There were wooden hangars, oil tanks, gun emplacements, trucks, and aircraft. The Germans took so long in building their wooden decoy that allied photo experts had more than enough time to observe and report it.

The day finally came when the decoy was finished, down to the last wooden plank. And early the following morning, a lone RAF plane crossed the Channel, came in low, circled the field once, and dropped a large wooden bomb.

I'd stop eating chocolate, but I'm no quitter!


Why your dog can't use computers:

1. He’s distracted by cats chasing his mouse.
2. SIT and STAY were hard enough; CUT and PASTE are out of the question.
3. Saliva-coated floppy disks refuse to work.
4. Three words: carpal paw syndrome.
5. Involuntary tail wagging is a dead give-away that he’s browsing www.purina.com instead of working.
6. The fire hydrant icon is simply too frustrating.
7. He can’t help attacking the screen when he hears “You’ve Got Mail”.
8. It’s too messy to “mark” every Web site he visits.
9. The FETCH command isn’t available on all platforms.
10. He can’t stick his head out of Windows.

And to provide equal time to cat lovers:

LAW OF CAT INERTIA – A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force, such as the opening of cat food.

LAW OF CAT MOTION – A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.

FIRST LAW OF CAT ENERGY CONSERVATION – Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.

LAW OF BAG/BOX OCCUPANCY – All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.

LAW OF FURNITURE REPLACEMENT – A cat’s desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.

LAW OF CAT COMPOSITION – A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-matter + It Doesn’t Matter.

LAW OF CAT OBEDIENCE – As yet undiscovered.

Now let's head back to Botanica for part 2 of this adventure.

After leaving the Pavilion, which you can see in the background,

we entered one of my favorite areas: Xeriscaping.

The Xeriscape Garden pays particular attention to reducing or eliminating the need for supplemental water from irrigation.   A perfect example is my front flower bed garden.  Whatever water Mother Nature supplies is what my front garden gets.

I am especially interested in this area as I plan my new front garden next spring.

It was suddenly a busy spot and I couldn't keep people out of the photos.

There were tons of plants to look at

and even some that were quite colorful, too.

What I really liked was this garden was built with many low light plants, much like my front garden, too.

Another point is mulching.

Although I don't have to work my way around the boulders like those at Botanica, I spent Wednesday using my lawn mower to mulch the leaves and dying plants in my front garden.  You can't buy that kind of richness, because it is free (except for a bit of gasoline for the mower, that is).

There were SO many ideas I could take away from this garden that I can incorporate into my own, but for now, it was time to move on.

The Xeriscaping Garden led directly to the

Aquatic Collection.

In the Boeing Pond were water lilies, water iris, and water hyacinth.  Sadly, this pond did little to enthuse me.  Perhaps it looks better in spring or summer.

This wall looked like the perfect place

to rest a few minutes in the shade.

I wasn't sure where this path led, but I was now rested and ready to follow it.

There were beautiful flowers

and lovely plants

that were absolutely stunning,

even if it led nowhere at all, except to a dead end.

Upon returning, I saw the Children's Garden was in sight.

I knew this would be a favorite place for the children, so was off to see what it offered.  As I walked closer, I saw the sign, thinking I had now found the Carousel Gardens.

Not so, though.  I won't get to see these gardens until Autumn, 2019.

I think that's enough for today.  Once again, I don't want to overwhelm you with too many photos.  Thanks for joining me today and thanks for your continued visits.  Now let's visit Annie's Friday Smiles, where it never hurts to begin the weekend with a big smile, just like Annie's. Feel free to join in with a post of your own, too.  I know she'll welcome you, just as she did me several years ago.

This is Day 23, and I am also sharing this with Art Every Day Month (AEDM).