Daybreak at Childhood's Gate

"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven."
- Henry Ward Beecher

In a marvelous development last July, our local Arboretum opened a children's garden that had been in construction for more than a year. The name of the garden is Childhood's Gate, and I visited and took pictures on the very first week that the garden was open to the public. I've been back many times since then, and several of my previous Blip pictures were taken there.

Prior shots have included the wigwam structures reflected on water (a scene also enjoyed by the Dancing Girls and their Cat-Steeds on their Halloween Ride). The garden also hosted a lovely stand of sunflowers last summer, a tradition I hope they continue, as I adore sunflowers and have been known to visit and photograph them obsessively once they appear.

So many times when I've been in the children's garden, I've taken the photo shown above, of the morning sunlight shining through the colorful entrance to Childhood's Gate. If you look back through the few photos that are linked, you'll see this structure appears, albeit peripherally, in each of the linked photos. (Ah, there it is, in the upper left of each shot!)

The entrance is full of color and interesting shapes (I've seen it referred to as a "Transformational Canopy"), and it is intended to capture the light and make your entrance into the children's garden a joyful experience. On this particular morning, the structure was still festooned with decorations left over from Christmas. (I think the Christmas tree in the glass house may still be there as well, so perhaps I'll try to visit it again later this week.)

On this morning, I caught the lucky shot of the sun's first rays shining through the entrance, so I thought I'd finally show you this shot, in all of its glory. It was a cold sunrise, around 12 degrees F (about minus 11 C). I had been watching the pretty little half-moon in the blue sky, but I couldn't really get an angle that would include both the sun AND the moon. So I settled for the sun.

Ah, the hope of sunrise, the innocence of childhood, the bright colors of joy, the promise of a garden: do winter mornings get any better than this? Welcome to Childhood's Gate!

The song to accompany this image is a favorite Guns N' Roses tune, Sweet Child O' Mine. First up is the original rockin' version by GNR. Second is an acoustic version performed by Slash and Myles Kennedy. And third, we serve it up New Orleans style, featuring Miche Braden.