Friday Smiles 399: Back one final time to Botanica

 

It's Friday, so let's join Annie (at A Stitch in Time) along with the wonderful ladies at Friday Smiles.

This is where we left off last time.

It was time to head back.  I wanted to get a few photos of these beautiful birds, but the photo was too dark.

Thanks to PhotoShop, I was able to lighten the image.  Although you are now able to see the birds, everything else is washed out. 

The same is true for this photo.

Bits of sunlight on my lens obliterated several of the birds.

You can see how the small river escapes and extends the lily pond.   I just noticed the green pond scum.

I spent a long time trying to get these birds in view.

I finally gave up and moved on.

On my way to the Japanese Garden, I had to pass through the main entrance.  It had been awhile since I'd actually looked at the Carousel Project.  In 2014, the Joyland Carousel was donated to Botanica by the owners of Joyland before they got rid of the park.  The 36 beautiful horses were restored by a local artist Marlene Irvin, while the chariots and remaining mechanics were restored by local architects and artists.

However, the carousel wasn't the only thing to be added.  There will be an open-air patio, an edible garden, a stone pizza oven, a concessions facility, a play space, water features, and an event stage for concerts.  All projects are paid for by individuals, companies, or families.  The price for each is set.  For example, the Garden Oven will go for $100,000 (USD) and the Concession Stand will go for $300,000 (USD).  If you are interested and have an extra $300,000 (USD) lying around you could "donate" (what they are calling it) to pay for the River Rock Giant.  The Catfish Shallows and Sleepy Troll Hill are sold. 

Next I headed to the Japanese Garden.

That was when my camera batteries died.  I decided it was time to head home, anyway, since the sun was starting to bother me.

 

How about a few funnies to round out the week.

 

A mom texts, "Hi! Son, what does IDK, LY, & TTYL mean?" He texts back, "I Don't Know, Love You, & Talk To You Later." The mom texts him, "It's ok, don't worry about it. I'll ask your sister, love you too." 

 

How is Christmas like your job? You do all the work and the fat guy in the suit gets all the credit.  

On their way to get married, a young Catholic couple is involved in a fatal car accident. The couple found themselves sitting outside the Pearly Gates waiting for St. Peter to process them into Heaven. While waiting, they began to wonder: Could they possibly get married in Heaven? When St. Peter showed up, they asked him. St. Peter said, "I don't know. This is the first time anyone has asked. Let me go find out,'" and he left. The couple sat and waited, and waited. Two months passed and the couple were still waiting. While waiting, they began to wonder what would happen if it didn't work out; could you get a divorce in heaven? After yet another month, St. Peter finally returned, looking somewhat bedraggled. "Yes," he informed the couple, "You can get married in Heaven." "Great!" said the couple, "But we were just wondering, what if things don't work out? Could we also get a divorce in Heaven?" St. Peter, red-faced with anger, slammed his clipboard onto the ground. "What's wrong?" asked the frightened couple. "OH, COME ON!," St. Peter shouted, "It took me three months to find a priest up here! Do you have any idea how long it'll take me to find a lawyer?"

Two guys are walking through a game park and they come across a lion that has not eaten for days. The lion starts chasing the two men. They run as fast as they can and one guy starts getting tired and decides to say a prayer, "Please turn this lion into a Christian, Lord." He looks to see if the lion is still chasing and he sees the lion on its knees. Happy to see his prayer answered, he turns around and heads towards the lion. As he comes closer to the lion, he hears it saying a prayer: "Thank you Lord for the food I am about to receive."

There was this guy at a bar, just looking at his drink. He stays like that for a half hour. Then a big trouble making truck driver steps next to him, takes the drink from the guy, and just drinks it all down. The poor man starts crying. The truck driver says, "Come on man, I was just joking. Here, I'll buy you another drink. I just can't stand to see a man cry." "No, it's not that," the man replies, wiping his tears, "This day is the worst of my life. First, I oversleep and I go in late to my office. My outraged boss fires me. When I leave the building to go to my car, I find out it was stolen. The police say they can do nothing. I get a cab to go home, and when I get out, I remember I left my wallet. The cab driver just drives away. I go inside my house where I find my wife in bed with the gardener. I leave my home, come to this bar, and just when I was thinking about putting an end to my life, you show up and drink my poison."

A: I have the perfect son.
B: Does he smoke?
A: No, he doesn’t.
B: Does he drink whiskey?
A: No, he doesn’t.
B: Does he ever come home late?
A: No, he doesn’t.
B: I guess you really do have the perfect son. How old is he?
A: He will be six months old next Wednesday. 

 

A police officer attempts to stop a car for speeding and the guy gradually increases his speed until he's topping 100 mph. The man eventually realizes he can't escape and finally pulls over. The cop approaches the car and says, "It's been a long day and my shift is almost over, so if you can give me a good excuse for your behavior, I'll let you go." The guy thinks for a few seconds and then says, "My wife ran away with a cop about a week ago. I thought you might be that officer trying to give her back!" 

A man got hit in the head with a can of Coke, but he was alright because it was a soft drink. 

 

Now let's head over to Annie's because she knows how to put a smile on everyone's faces.  And whatever you do, please don't forget to start your weekend off right with a few Friday Smiles of your own.  And remember, if you would like to play along, Annie would love to have you join us.