childhood gardens

it's been over 20 years since i visited the jasmine hill.  it's a private place, owned by private family for many years but is now a non-profit organization.  it's only open march through may and then on certain weekends (i never knew when they were and the website is not updated often)  i wanted to make it a point to visit this year before it closed for the summer. 

i missed most of the azaleas and what was left were pretty beat up by the storms yesterday.  but today bloomed bright and beautiful.  almost everyone there were armed with cameras - though it was not a lot of people - so, at certain times, it was like being alone with the gardens. 

i learned this about ancient greece during my visit today:  they didn't wear many clothes, they liked to wrestle with other dudes, that maybe it was quite cold back then as a shrinkage factor seemed to be going on, and they were rather fond of lions. 

i have over 180 shots to go through, these are my favorites so far.

forbidden

late last night the moon was a lemon slice hanging on the horizon on it's way to rising. it seemed a fitting logo to my day of domestic doings and babysitting. the girls were beautiful as always even as ms. ga was a sassafras girl full of vinegar water. all i can do is laugh at those moments and smile as she lays sleeping beside me in her tiger sleeping bag she's already outgrowning. the little one has found her 'no' phase and is in deep command of the word - two girls, such different personalities. i love the smell of curly baby hair doused with a good dose of coppertone to protect her scalp (they had been at the pool all day).

today was a bigger adventure as i was semi-thrown out of jasmine hill gardens. my sister and i drove the 15-ish mile trip to wetumpka to see this private garden that is generally open weekends only during the spring. i can remember going there as a child and it has been approximately 20ish years since i've been there. there was no sign at the gate saying it's closed. so we drove through, as we approached the visitor center it was deserted and we peeked through the back door. walking into the gardens, we noticed a big production being staged and decided a private party must be about.



as we were getting ready to leave, i spied a barn and decided to snap a few shots. as i did, an elderly couple were quite rude and informed me the gardens were closed. (duh - leaving anyway - the jeep was cranked) now looking at the barn, i wasn't really as crazy as i was about this poppy pod.



or this magnolia.



okay - so not an adventure but a decent way to spend the afternoon. plus, there was ice cream at dq as a reward.