I took a trip to one of my favorite places, the Desert Botanical Garden, the week before Halloween. The weather was glorious, and for once the place wasn't heaving with people. In many of my favorite spots, I felt as though I had the place all to myself, which was quite nice.
Here are some of the photos I took. I hope you enjoy your virtual visit.
 |
| Purple
was the color of choice, with Texas sage, Mexican petunias, asters,
lavender, and other beauties blooming like crazy. No place else on earth
shows its appreciation for rain faster than the desert. |
 |
| I love how light often gives the cactus a halo. |
 |
| It's
been years since I've seen these cardon cacti (which have been here at
the Garden since 1938) so happy and swollen with water. Those storms we
got at the end of September were badly needed. |
 |
| The honeysuckle was blooming like mad. |
 |
| Two
women standing in front of one of the installations of the latest
"draw" to the Garden: Desert Pulse. I wasn't that impressed, but I do
think this would be much more impressive at night. |
 |
| A male and female Gambel's quail. |
 |
| I
had almost three dozen quail surrounding me at the Patio Cafe. I always
bring raw sunflower kernels to feed them, but this time I had a new
treat: dried mealy worms, and they were quite the hit. I'll be bringing
them more in the future. |
 |
| This
lizard was basking in the sun in a spot where it thought no one would
see it. It didn't anticipate ole Eagle Eye here with my zoom lens! |
 |
| Part of the Garden's Halloween display. |
 |
| The Butterfly Pavilion has become so popular that it now has a nursery. |
 |
| Monarch butterfly |
 |
| This feeder was very popular. |
 |
| The Butterfly Pavilion will be closing in a few days, but it will return in the spring. |
It
was nice to be outside in glorious weather and at one of my very
favorite places, but I have to admit that I did miss Denis. Very much.
I'm sure you did miss Denis. Even in favorite places we want our favorite people to be there with us to share in the moment. Your pictures are gorgeous, as ever. Thanks for sharing them. :D
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Lark. :-)
DeleteWhat beautiful, beautiful photos, Cathy. I'm so very glad you got the chance (and took the opportunity) to go to the DGB. I can only imagine what it was like to be there without Denis, but I'm happy you got to see the beauty. And I appreciate your sharing it with us. Right now it's such an ugly time that I'm glad to see some beauty.
ReplyDeleteYes, we definitely need beauty at this time, although I have been reading Good News from Tuesday's activities. :-)
DeleteThank you for the virtual visit to the DBG! How could you not miss Denis, given your many trips there together? I hope the beauty and tranquility there provided some solace as well as enjoyment and beautiful photos.
ReplyDeleteIt did. The DBG is always good for my soul.
DeleteLovely pictures and post, Cathy. I know that you did miss Denis during your visit, but I also know you have some wonderful memories of your visits there together. We were recently in Phoenix and thought we might get to go to DBG. We have enjoyed times at the garden before. However, this trip was a busy one and we ended up with other activities. I did get to attend two author events at the Poisoned Pen and loved doing that. It had been a long time. Sorry I wasn't able to contact you and possibly get together, but I was very uncertain about our schedule and timings of things. We had a good time though. Stayed at the Phoenix Biltmore (my husband was at a work conference) and I walked all over that property. I'm going to share some things about the trip in a week or so on my blog. Again, thanks for sharing the pictures and thoughts. :-)
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your post about your trip to Phoenix. :-)
DeleteSo glad you got to one of your favorite places and took such lovely photos. It's inevitable that you'd miss Denis since you both had such good visits to the Desert Botanical Garden. But glad you shared your photos for us to see. And, yes, some good news on Tuesday, especially in my city, in my opinion. Hope changes can happen.
ReplyDeleteI know my outlook on things certainly improved.
DeleteYes. I and so many people hope so.
DeleteWhat a gorgeous space.
ReplyDeleteIt is. There's always something to see, no matter the time of year, and spring can be absolutely amazing.
Delete