The Garden Party

It was a big day for children at the Arboretum, as there were busloads of them in attendance throughout the day. And so the gardens were overrun with the sounds of laughter and shouting. I didn't promise not to tell, so I'll admit here that before the day was over, a small car had ended up in the very center of the lily pond, and it floats there still.

But before it all began, I paid a quiet morning visit to the Glass House in the children's garden, where many of the coolest things to play with are kept. And what did I find there but a perfect little fairy garden - just add Dancing Girls (which I happened to have with me)!

The day's delights were not over yet, though. I met some of my best, oldest friends for lunch at the Ale House at Toftrees. It is so good to be among friends who know you well. We took part in lots of conversation and catch-up, as I enjoyed some truly delectable baked potato soup, just loaded with cream, cheddar cheese, onions, and bacon, among other things (for a close-up view, check out the extra photos, lower right; the recipe may be found online here).

And these are the days when a girl can stalk dragons along the lily pond, but the dragons are usually sleeping in the mornings when I typically visit. So to my own amazement, my day featured not just one but TWO visits to the Arboretum, including one in the warmer part of the day where I actually successfully located and bagged some dragons! (Photographically speaking only, of course: see 12-spotted skimmer in the extra photos area, lower right.)

What a great day! And at this rate, I'll be running out of extra photos really quickly, as I can't seem to help posting more than one shot on days like this! In honor of the garden party which was my original shot for the day, the tune to accompany this blip is Ricky Nelson, with Garden Party.

P.S. (Added later.) And how could I have forgotten this? We had some heavy storms very late in the day, which were followed by numerous RAINBOWS. Hooray!