Skip to main content

Duke gardens, post 2

I finally got around to charging the battery in my camera and downloading my photos. WHOhooo!
And I'm going to warn you, in case you didn't already know, my view of cool photos doesn't always match everyone else's. :)

 Banana trees (but I don't know if they're the kind that bear fruit or not). I just thought they were cool because they were so tall and yet the leaves allowed sunlight through. Would they make a better  barrier on the property line than a magnolia tree?

 A bamboo fence! I think this was one of my favorite things in the Asian garden.


And another view of the coolest of cool fences.
 
 Lotus plants...this part of the Asian garden made me feel like I was back in China. Bobby was amazed at how far out one plant spreads (the big leaf pads and the smaller leaf pads are all connected at the center where one big white lotus flower grows).

 And this area located in the exotic plants section and named after a botanist, made me feel as if I had stepped back into Narnia. Okay, maybe it was the overhead canopy combined with the humidity, but it had that eery yet exciting feel to it.

And the stone steps that made a shortcut in front of the building in the pic above. I dared Bobby to take his wheelchair across it. He said only if I went first, and we all know he'd push me in! :)
 
 And here you can see the smallest amount of water peeping up through the algae. Yep, all that stuff you thought was grass was just algae sitting on top of water. Pretty gross, huh? Maybe that's why it had such a Narnia feel...it appeared to be forgotten ruins.

But not all was dead nor forgotten. Two algae covered turtles were sunbathing and were sitting so still you'd have thought they were stone statues...no joke!

Obviously I didn't take pictures of all the beautiful and nice scenes we saw, but I did want to show you the cool ones. :)

Comments

Jennifer said…
very beautiful. i need to go back there. I don't remember any of that!
Lydia said…
I need to take the kids!!! What GREAT photos, Monica!!!

Popular posts from this blog

things we do for love

Saturday we had a baby shower for Bobby's niece. As I was making the mints, Bobby asked what else was on the menu. After I recited off the litany of items, he responded with "No peanut butter?! This shower is for Hannah! What's she going to eat?" (Hannah has had stomach problems over the years and has been unable to tolerate many foods, but peanut butter has been her staple.) Despite my assurances that she would enjoy the foods we were having, he was adamant that I needed to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the shower. Even though I protested that NOBODY took that to a shower, he persisted, and informed me I could make them dainty with my little cutter. And so I did. To my surprise all but 3 were eaten. Who'd a thunk it?

perspectives

A few years ago after a Bible study a lot of the group continued to sit and talk and simply relax. One of the ladies felt like she was being mistreated by her boss. She was always given extra tasks or asked to assume responsibilities that no one else was asked to do. She felt it was unfair. As she was listing off some of the extras (she worked in a cafe for a plant), I was in flashback mode. My last year of college I was a shift manager at a fast food place. One of my many duties was to ensure that certain cleaning jobs (extra duties) was assigned and done properly. We were inspected by company headquarters once a quarter, and 3 of their 4 visits was ALWAYS a surprise visit. When I handed out those extra assignments, I had three things in mind: Who will do this job without making a bigger mess? Who can quickly do this job so we don't impede serving customers? Who will do this without the most drama? In essence, I wanted the best person for the job. Use the teenager who griped and c...

fun...funny houses

 We saw the above house in Pittsboro while on our way to the mountains. It was the strangest house I've ever seen. Evidently this isn't a modification, for Bobby remembers thinking it funny as a child. Evidently a governor lived here at one point. I think the sign said it's now a Masonic lodge. And if seeing one funny house wasn't enough, the latest issue of This Old House had a link to their website that had several galleries of funny (or strange houses). Here's my favorites from their collection:   Szymbark , Poland  This just makes me laugh, and I would love to visit this house in person. Created by a designer who wanted to demonstrate "wrong-doings against humanity".  Visitors have stood in line for as long as 6 hours to tour the house, and many come out feeling "sea-sick".     Kalambaka, Greece... This 1,000 foot cliff drop has housed monastaries since the 11th century. Six of them are open to the public, " assuming, of course, th...