Enjoy the Garden of Life.

 Beautiful Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin.  My dearest invited me to ride along with him as he attended a business meeting in Madison.  I looked for a place to spend the the three or so hours he'd be busy.  The garden called, and I was on my own. 

 Olbrich is small compared to our Chicago Botanic Garden, a fraction of it's size, but charming and beautiful.

 This large leaf sculpture greets you as you enter the Garden.  Every child I saw climbed this leaf.

 It was a perfect Autumn morning.  The sky was crystal clear and the leaves were just changing.

 There were so many places to sit and contemplate.

 The painted lady butterflies were everywhere.

 A pop of a perfect rose.

 Interesting structures leading to beautiful spaces.

 These are for a night time light show they call Gleam, when the garden and paths are lit up with fun sculptures.

 Beehives.  The bees are kept busy, many beautiful flowers were still in bloom.

 Flying Saucer, perhaps.

 Part of the Gleam show after dark.

 It was very cool in the morning, so I found a sunny place to warm up.  I was frightened by a squirrel that was equally scared by me.

 I love seeing the garden reflected in water.

 The amazing Thai Pavilion and garden.

 From a distance it looks like a dream.

 You cross this quiet bridge, well,everything was quiet...I had the gardens to myself.

 I sat on a bench and drank in the beauty.

 This might be my favorite spot, the Birch Walk.

 A little path to the water.

 All the architectural pieces add so much to the beauty of the garden.

This little bench said it all, "Enjoy the garden of life".

After walking and taking photos, I visited the conservatory.  There were quail wandering the  paths.  So beautiful.  The scent of blossoms, jasmine, honeysuckle, something sweet and heavy.

 A quail!

 I couldn't find a sign identifying this sweet smelling flower.

 The koi were hiding.

 High humidity and sweet smells sent me back out into the fresh cool air.

How about this girls... thirty or more orchids!

Elizabeth has all of us trying our luck, bringing orchids back into bloom.

Some are better at it than others.

I spent some time in the library at the garden.  Reading all the periodicals on gardening. I shopped at the gift shop and bought a few things for Mike and Amanda's wedding next year. Then I bought a cold bottle of apple juice, and enjoyed it on a bench under a oak tree that was golden.

 Nothing has tasted as good as that cold apple juice, under the oak tree, in the garden, on a perfect Autumn day.

Then my sweetheart called to say he was finished and on his way to pick me up.

On Sunday we spent some time with our favorite little pony named Penny.  We had a rainy day for pumpkin hunting, so we went to a local nursery instead of the giant pumpkin farm.

 That's the My Little Pony mask.  She is Rainbow Dash!  Know your ponies!

 This is the nursery that we got all the decorations for Jon and Charlotte's wedding last year.  One hundred baby boo pumpkins, Stalks of broom corn, gourds and plenty of pumpkins, white, blue and orange.  This year Penny picked a small orange pumpkin and a carving kit.

 My girl.

 More koi.

 We had a great time carving the pumpkin, and turning it into a kitty.  We watched a opera on PBS that Penny really enjoyed, and also watched a movie she chose. Time is too short now that our girl is in school and has a social calendar.

 A photo of the local forest preserve.  Deer Grove is the first Cook County Forest Preserve acquired in 1916. With 70,000 acres across the county and millions of visitors, our forests are the first introduction to nature for many city kids.  This city kid loves having these spaces so close to home.  We are blessed with forest, a golf course and a reservoir all just a stone's throw from our home. 

But for all the trees in the forests, our girl loves this tree best.  Every time Penny leaves her home with us, she runs around the tree, and I sing, She'll be Coming Round the Mountain.  Now she can sing the song herself, and runs like the wind around it. 

Yes, we are enjoying the garden of life.

Thanks for stopping by.

Enjoy this beautiful day.

Love, Penny