Celebrate the Colors of Spring

Seven full days of sunshine!

That's all we've had since January 1st!

I'm not saying we haven't seen sunshine

on other days, we have, 

but those days were mostly cloudy or partly cloudy.

Only seven full days of sunshine in over two months . . . .

no wonder my Vitamin D level is low!!

I'm saying that to explain why my sister, sister-in-law and I made the trip to Garvan Woodland Gardens on a misty, overcast day. We wanted to see the daffodils before they were frozen by the way-below-normal-temperatures in the forecast.

There are several paths you can take through the garden. We came for the daffodils, so we headed that way first.

On our way we spotted some pretty red tulips that were just beginning to bloom. We'll need to go back in a few weeks to see all the tulips in full bloom.

On the way to Daffodil Hill we pasted by thousands of hyacinths. I don't remember ever seeing the darker purple ones before.

We ventured down the Camellia Trail to see if there were any blossoms left and there were! Some very pretty ones.

Finally we came to Daffodil Hill! This is only a very small portion of the daffodils scattered across the hill. No matter which way you turn on this small hill, you can see daffodils.

As I mentioned before there are several paths you can take through the garden. We didn't take this one. It looked much to slippery, not to mention very steep. We sure didn't want to chance a fall!

A new addition to the garden this year is the tree house in the Evans Children's Adventure Garden. This pictures doesn't begin to show how large it is. I should have asked my sister and sister-in-law to go up in the tree house and wave at me! The 500 square foot structure is 28 foot tall. Adults can stand on the first two levels with no problem at all! The third level, well we didn't go that far. You have to climb a rope net to the crow's nest. A small area that gives you a bird's-eye view of the woods. Josh Siebert, the architect, describes the idea behind this modern looking tree house by saying "Our concept was a tree house in the woods and amongst the woods. It floats, it's mysterious, but it's also modern." I'll admit when I first saw it, I wasn't impressed. I'm not real keen on modern architecture, but the beauty for me was on the inside.

  

I love the repetition of the yellow pine ribs and the spectacular views. 

As you leave the tree house, there are some really cool mirrors set in the railing. They reminded me of fun house mirrors at carnivals. They each made you look a little different and sometimes silly. I avoided the one that made me look short and rather plump!!

We wandered back to the front of the garden to eat lunch at the Chipmunk Cafe. As we waited for our food, we watched three very friendly, not-scared-of-people peacocks. Or I guess I should say one peacock and two peahens. Last year there was only the peacock. Maybe with the addition of two peahens, little pea chicks may be in the future.

You have to be patient, but they will eventually show off their feathers.

Despite the damp, chilly air we enjoyed our day out. This day was also a celebration for me. I am one year cancer free. It's been a long year, sometimes difficult, but I feel like I've passed a milestone!