The Arboretum From Above

It was a crystal clear morning, cool and beautiful. There was not a cloud in the sky. What a great beginning to the day. The perfect light was inviting. I couldn't resist a stop at the Arboretum.

Back in winter time, I posted an overhead shot of the Arboretum, as viewed from the new business building that sits at the corner of Shortlidge and East Park Ave. where Mitchell Building used to stand. For some time, I have been meaning to go back to the Arboretum to get a summer version of the same shot, and today was just the day!

So I took a few photos around the Arboretum - I have to say that the tiny dew drops were pretty stunning. And then I crossed Park Avenue and had some fun photographing the business building's reflections upon itself. Welcome to the fun house!

And then I went inside the building and climbed the stairs, intending to photograph the Arboretum from the little balcony on the first floor. But the view from there was obscured by trees. So I was thwarted.

But I am not one to give up easily. So I went back inside and climbed the stairwell of the wing facing the Arboretum all the way to the top, and found some great views from there, including this one.

The only problem was that the stairwell had some kind of Hotel California type thing going on. You could get in, but once in, there were no door handles on any of the interior doors! You could only go all the way down and OUT! Hmm.

It was great fun viewing one of my very favorite places in the world from above. In this photo, upper left corner, you can see the glass house of the Children's Garden, where the wonderful Christmas tree was displayed around the holidays. And to the right of that is the main pavilion; behind that building (out of scene) is the red elm.

In the middle of the shot is the fountain.  And off to the middle right is the row of trees that I often show you reflected on the lily pond. In the lower right is the boardwalk that I enjoy photographing when the sky is doing interesting things. It all looks so different from way up here!

It was fun being the photographer in the sky and taking a few shots of the Arboretum from above. And so the song to accompany this image is the Alan Parsons Project, with Eye in the Sky.