A Day Of Beauty and Relaxation

 

I can't believe it!  I'm caught up on my classes! My latest assignment is sitting in my inbox, but I haven't read it yet!!  I'm jumping in here before reading it to post some pictures of my day trip to Wildwood Park. I went for a camera-less walk for a class assignment and then went back with my camera.  (you can read about my walk here if you'd like) I wanted to share some of the images I captured that day.

 

There are several areas of the park. These pictures were taken in the Gertrude Remmel Butler Gazebo Garden which is beside a lovely lake complete with a swan and several geese. I watched the swan for a long time as I sat on a bench by the lake. Swans are so beautiful, so graceful and elegant. She reminded me of myself, not the beautiful, graceful, elegant part, but that she was alone. Perfectly content and happy where she was even if she was by herself.

I've been trying to expand my photography. I normally like to take close-up nature shots. As I walked without my camera, I begin to realize that by doing so, I'm sometimes missing the bigger picture. I decided to concentrate more on landscape pictures, instead of constantly looking for close-up shots. That didn't stop me from taking macro shots. They are still my favorite!

 As I enter this section the first thing I saw that fascinated me was a large area of bushes or grasses with these incredible curlicues bursting from the top.  The bushes were about almost as tall as I am. I have no idea what they are. Their textures and shapes were amazing!  The top left photo is my favorite.  These fibers were perfectly curled. Not one twig out of place!!

Of course, I had to take several pictures of the flowers that were still in bloom. These were all grouped together in a very lovey perennial area. It was really windy and I had the hardest time getting the flowers in focus.

There was someone else visiting the flowers. I didn't spot this spider until I was looking at the pictures on the computer trying to decide which pictures to use on my blog. I cropped this image to get a closer view of the Hummingbird Mint and there he was, web included!  I love these happy surprises.

Seedpods and withering leaves were everywhere.  These are from the Yucca plant, or so the sign said. They had such an interesting shape and form. This one has popped open and you can see the black seeds! Until this fall, I never really looked for the beauty of fall in the seedpods, dying flowers and withered leaves.  I'm grateful that photography has opened my eyes to the beauty we are blessed with.

I have never seen a fern growing on a tree. It's called the Resurrection Fern. The fern was pretty high up in the tree. I was holding my camera way above my head trying to get a picture. As you look up at the fern, it looks like thousands of palm leaves waving in the wind. The tree itself was very unusual. The curve is the trunk of the tree that is bending over, I wondered if may have been bent over from high winds. Anyway, growing straight up in the air is a branch!  The trunk was horizontal and the branch vertical. Nature can teach us so much. Life doesn't always go as we plan. Only God knows the plan for our life. It takes turns and twists that we don't expect. Like this tree, we need to learn to be adaptable and persevere. And, trust that God's knows best for us.

As you would suspect by the name of the garden, it contains a very lovely gazebo at the far end of the lake. According to what I read, Mrs. Butler was not pleased with the looks of the gazebo. She thought it looked more like a boathouse. I really don't agree with her, I think it's a lovely gazebo. I love that it was made out of rock instead of wood and I love the arches.

I've always wanted to take a picture of an arch and it's shadow! I finally found my arch and there was the shadow. I took pictures of the shadow from every angle I could think of!

The trees here are just beginning to show some color. This area should reach it's peek color in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to returning and looking at the fall foliage around the lake.

It was such a pretty day and a beautiful peaceful spot to sit and relax. When things slow down again, I'll be back to post about another section of the park.