A Great Place To Hang Out In Winter ~ The Conservatories of Old ~ Original Photography
~ A Dense And Prickly Forest ~
A grouping of very large succulents, taken during a trip to Washington D.C. a few years back. I was visiting the U.S. Botanical Gardens, and in particular the glass and metal conservatory building. I love visiting these large, ancient botanical buildings from a bygone era, many of which are still in service throughout the country today.
These glass, metal and brick works of architectural art are spread about the country in various cities and states, and are a true wonder to behold. I think the most enjoyable part of visiting these ancient 'greenhouses', if you will, is that in the dead of winter, with a cold, chill wind blowing outside, you can pretend you are on a visit to the tropics.
Amazing Sights and Smells
Once you duck into the doorway to escape the wintry weather without, you are greeted by the incredibly vivid smell of heavy, damp air, rich black soils, and the the natural fragrance coming from a myriad of plants, many from the world over. All in a slow, cyclic state of emergence, growth, senescence and decay. I feel there is nothing else like this strong, aromatic scent in the entire world.
In no time, stripped down to shirt sleeves, you begin to sweat profusely, as the temperature inside is somewhere around seventy or eighty degrees (F), even in mid-winter. A very nice respite from the chill air blowing on by, just beyond the many one hundred+ year old, metal-framed glass panels, shimmering in the winter sun above, as if in the center of the South Seas.
I Need About Six More Days
The plants from the tropics are uniquely shaped, incredibly colorful, and indescribably gorgeous. And unfortunately, there is seldom enough time to see and take them all in, even if you have a couple of days to spend in the process.
A truly wondrous place to wander about, or sit and hang out on the many benches designed for this purpose, take in the sights and smells, and dream of being elsewhere in the dead of winter.
Thanks for sharing a short day out in the tropics of winter, in the conservatories of old.
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We have a local greenhouse that's called Hidden Lake Gardens owned by Michigan State University that's pretty nice.
Love going to those things. That's great MSU has one, and it's public. Haven't been there, though I have been to Makinaw Island, or is it Macinac??, the place with no cars. That was pretty cool. Is it still around as a tourist thing? Assume so, hard to move an island. Thanks for the look and comment, and have a nice Sunday.
Oh yes its still a popular destination. LOL yeah its one of those words that is spelled Macinac, but said "Makinaw"...crazy Michiganders lol.
Oh good, I thought I remembered some nomenclatural difficulties about that from days gone by...glad I was sort of correct, not losing all the marbles yet. I remember visiting there, my little sister was in love with all things 'horse'. She bonked into two or three lamposts walking and staring at the horses trotting by. My dad kept telling her to pay attention, and of course we brothers just thought it was hilarious...
Loved the photo and the post dd!
This coming winter we'll be embarking on an epic cross country road trip, with a week or so stay at D.C. on the itinerary. You can guarantee that I will find myself perusing the various forms of shrubbery at the Botanical Gardens whilst sweating profusely. You made that experience sound nigh impossible to skip out on!
Did you finish the gazebo of yard adornment? I can't remember as I have barely sat since I disembarked the plane Tuesday night. Lots of drama. Like, real drama, it was performance week for my kids in dance and drama class.
Hope you are enjoying at least a couple, if not all, of the many facets of your life😊!
Howdy. Thanks, glad you enjoyed the day in the tropics. Life is going along swiming-ly. Also a bit busy, but nothing quite like yours. Don't know how you do it. Possibly with mirrors, or magic? What plays did your smaller one's do? Always wished I'd taken that up, but never did.
I did finish the gazebo thing, though I think it's more of a fancy roof than anything else. Might have built that one up a bit. I am going to put out a post on how it went up. Just have to get to putting it together.
A road trip sounds divine. I love those things. Miss the days of cheap gas. That was a main form of entertainment years back, just pile into a couple of trucks with friends and head to Montana to go skiing, or take the XR-200 somewhere to waste time and gas in glorious pursuit of absolutely nothing.
When you get to DC, the other things I've greatly enjoyed besides the conservatory, are the, of course, Smithsonian(s), which can take 3 weeks if you want, National Gallery of Art (I got to see a huge Ansel Adams exhibit, right across the hall from an also huge Annie Liebovitz show, two of my all time favorites. I spent the whole day running back and forth across the hall. Docents thought I was nuts.) The Library of Congress is pretty cool. I spent a whole day there too. Might be an all-day pattern developing here...
Well, hope life slows to a mere blurr for you soon. And have a most marvy what's left of your weekend.
Good evening! Your road trips sound fantastic! For one glorious year during high school I lived in Thompson Falls, Montana, and it was one of my favorite years ever. To wander without a point is a life goal. I get pretty excited observing what others might find mundane.
The kiddos did a hilarious version of Peter Pan, and my daughter also had a couple of tap and ballet numbers to go along with the performance. I love kid theater! It was a combo dance recital and play, and I think that we almost expired laughing from sheer joy at the spectacle of it all!
Just from your very informative paragraph on the sights that I could see in DC, I might be frothing at the travel bit just a bit. We get to stay at least a week, and I'm thinking about extending it to two, for there is just so much to glean in the adventure and observation departments in our nation's capital. I'm going to be a total touristy bobble-head, and completely understand your observational dance in the gallery. It makes total sense!!:o)
Today was pretty restful, I only built fence for four hours today; moved and wormed the horses too. A nice and sedate Mother's Day, lol! I keep telling myself that I need to slow down, and I am trying, but there are always things like Mother's Day tea party's at the library to facilitate, volleyball to coach, and play and dance dress rehearsals to deal with.
Hope your week is splendid in every sense!!
I'll keep this one short, as you probably are smarter than me and in bed. But if you can extend the DC time, you would be so happy in the end. Maybe you have been there before, but a truly spectacular place to hang out. Particularly since you sound a lot like me...easily and totally immersed in whatever you are doing at the time that's interesting. (I spent 11 hours in BodyWorlds, even snuck lunch in the bathroom, as eating was verbottin, and once you left, you could not come back in. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do).
And being a bobbleheaded tourist is what it's all about. I brought my folding bicycle to DC, and rode all over the place. Talk about the dorky tourist.
Where is Thompson Falls, east or west? Used to visit the Western part, by Missoula..it is a pretty spectacular state. Though your state of residence is pretty amazing as well.
Well, better go join the smart people and head to bed. Have a good night.
PS. Guess I don't do 'short' so good...
lol! You should have seen me in San Diego! My nephew was continuously amused at my observational antics!
Also, your version of short correlates rather well with mine, and as I am stature challenged, I tend to be rather verbose in my commentary. Hello the Law of Averages! Or something.
The image of a human in a chicken suit sneaking a few bites of lunch in a public restroom is going to fuel my good mood for the rest of the day. There is absolutely nothing "dorky" about going full tourist. I just try not to be the rude, arrogant, and/or obnoxious manifestation. More like a "toddler at the zoo for the first time" version.
Thompson Falls is about 2 hours west of Missoula, right on the Clark Fork River. It was a nice place to dwell for a bit!
Your reply was most needed to lighten my mood, I had a ton of outdoor work that needed to get to today, and the heavens decided to drown those ambitions by opening up and dumping a not so small amount of rain. Grrr. Oh well, maybe I should go take a nap. Right, lol! Hope your day is progressing nicely!
I would love to visit that myself! One day I will get out west :)
That would be nice, and if you get down to DC more in your area, that one is pretty spectacular.
Amazing place and nice photo. I enjoyed reading your story! ;)
Thank you, they are a fun place to visit. Do they have those in Thailand?
You're welcome! We also have 'greenhouses' in Thailand, but I haven't ever visited them. And I can imagine it through your story, that's really great! :D
Have a nice night! ;)
Looks fun!