Hatched and Fuzzy

They've hatched! There were nine eggs, initially eight cynets, but two have not survived. So, six little fuzz balls to keep us entertained this spring!

April 30th at the Public Garden

The tulips are blooming on the last day of April in Boston's Public Garden. It's a beautiful spring canvas, filled with color!

Swans 2011 - Back on the Nest

The swans are back!! After a chilly start to spring, the nest is built and (reportedly) there are six eggs in the nest. The parents are working together to sit on the nest, with some interesting courting-type behavior when they switch places. They even made a heart shape for me!! Can't wait to see how many cygnets there will be this year.....

Five Months Later.....

Guess I'm not such a great blogger, but, really, I have been taking pictures. Right now, they are pictures of snow and icicles, and then more of the same. This is certainly the time for wearing sunglasses - when the sun shines, the glare is overwhelming!

Tower Hill Botanical Garden

Recently, I stumbled across a reference to the Tower Hill Botanical Garden in Boylston, MA. I had never heard of it, but after checking the website, it looked like a great place to go for an end of the summer photo roadtrip. Absolutely worth it, and on an absolutely gorgeous day, too!! It only costs $10 and is easily reached from Rt. 290. IF you love flowers and enjoy walking around a well-kept garden with many different displays, then I highly recommend this one. This first shot is in the area called the "Systematic Garden".This is one view of the Vegetable Garden area.

This vista is from a lookout where you get a great view of Mt. Wachusett and the Wachusett Reservoir. There is a small shelter with a few seats. There are benches all around the gardens so that you can sit and rest or just enjoy looking at the flowers.

There are sculptures and decorative details all around the area.

These wooden houses (bird houses?) on tall poles are placed near the Vegetable Garden. There are several small tubes inside two of the houses. Maybe they are for bees?

Near the farmhouse, some bright red chairs looked so pretty on the patio in the dappled sunlight. Very inviting!

The next blog post shows Tower Hill Botanical Garden - Water!

Tower Hill Botanical Garden - Water

There are several water features at the garden. The first three pictures show the Wildlife Refuge Pond. While there wasn't a lot of action at the time I was there, other visitors pointed out several tadpoles hanging on to rocks and dead reeds in the water. While the pictures aren't clear, you can see several of the tadpoles.

This fountain is in the center of the Systematic Garden - very peaceful!

There is another fountain, a bubbling fountain, on the walk out to the overlook toward Mt. Watchusett. It is set within a large stone circle set low to the ground. The bubbling action is very inconsistent. Took several pictures, but I liked this one the best.

The next blog post is for Tower Hill Botanical Garden - Texture!

Tower Hill Botanical Garden - Textures

With so many different plants, there were an amazing number of different textures. Leaves, grasses and vegetables are sometimes smooth, sometimes grooved and sometimes spiked. The variety is lovely.

One more Tower Hill Botanical Garden post left - FLOWERS!