Our Puerto Rico Vacation…Day 2

On our first day with the group we visited and hiked in the 60 acre Caguas Botanical Garden which is outside of San Juan.   Although the garden is closed to the public on Mondays we were met by a guide who introduced us to much of the Puerto Rican flora we would see during the rest of the trip. 

The gardens are built on the site of what was once a commercial sugar mill and many ruins of the old mill are incorporated in the grounds.  Walking through it is difficult to believe it has only been open since 2007.

 

This is the national flower of Puerto Rico…the Flor de Maga. 

I also got some photos of some of the fauna of Puerto Rico…

 

 

 

 

 

  This is a termite nest…we became very familiar with these…

 

 

 

 

 

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The snails were everywhere too….

Someone with good eyes spotted an iguana in an African Tulip tree…

We heard many more birds than we saw…Our guide told us what each was but I’m afraid I didn’t write them down…too busy with the camera.

I was happiest to get a photo of this coqui…a Puerto Rican tree frog and a symbol of the country.  Although we could hear them often this is the only time someone actually spotted one of the tiny things…and it wasn’t long before it hopped off.  They sound similar to our spring peepers…but louder…and were charming.  I did buy some to take home for my grandchildren:)

 

 

 

 

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Our hike had a special non-botanical destination…Hidden in a very secluded area are some original Taino Indian pet­ro­glyphs,    They were off the beaten path and weren’t easy to get to…

….It did feel like we were in a sacred place.

Our Puerto Rico Vacation…Day 1

I’m not sure why it is so difficult to get back into the routine of posting after I return from a vacation but it is.  It is almost as difficult as planning the vacation to begin with…  Because we are not good planners and because we decided to go away rather late and because we read about this Puerto Rico trip involving hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, and swimming in a bioluminescent bay we decided to try a  group trip with Road Scholars.  I am certain we did far more in our one week stay than we would have if we were on our own .

Arriving early in  San Juan we had time to go to the beach and then to the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico.  Our hotel just happened to be a couple of blocks away from this little gem of a museum.  

What we didn’t see on the first day we went back to see on our last day.  The building was beautiful, the gardens were lush, and the exhibitions were delightful. 

I wish I took more photos inside but there were signs requesting no cameras…and I didn’t care to be the ugly tourist.  Outside I took plenty…

It was a good way to start a vacation.

A Late Winter Interlude…

We didn’t plan this vacation until rather late…Spring is nearly here and the weather is starting to warm up.  Still, it will be nice to return to the Caribbean…and I can finish all that raking up of winter debris when I return…I am not bringing a computer but I am bringing my XSi and my new 18-200mm zoom lens so hopefully I will have a few shots from Puerto Rico to share when I return…

A Taste of Spring…

For many years a friend and I would brave the crowds at the New England Flower show in Boston.  We would leave early, plan on having our packed lunches at the show during a lecture, and head home before rush hour.  It was pretty sad when the show was no longer produced.  Happily, for the last few years there has been a much smaller but much closer annual flower show in Providence…the Rhode Island Flower & Garden Show.  This year its theme was “Gardening with Heart” and for the second time my eldest and I took my grandchildren for an early look at spring. 

It was a fun thing to do on a rainy Friday… Mr J and Miss E enjoyed looking out at the traffic as much as the flowers…

Miss E wanted me to take a picture of her smelling every pink flower she passed…

There were hearts everywhere this year…

…including at the sand sculpture where we watched the sculptors forming the castle of Heartland…

The Rhode Island Wild Plant Society is always one of my favorite displays…it  looks the closest to my backyard…

They didn’t last long at the show before tiring but someday I hope they will remember going and seeing spring blooming indoors…

After the kids left I stayed and met Mr O…so I did get a chance to check out the shops and practice taking photos with the 50mm lens which is so great in low light…

Outside a mock greenhouse/office…one of my favorite vignettes…

And inside the mock greenhouse/office…I would love this at my house, including the yellow door…

As always, the garden club displays were fun…How can you not love this bathing suit floral arrangement!

We may be half way through March but I visited the flower show in February and I have been meaning to share this poem since February…it is almost spring but it is still appropriate here in RI…

 

February: Thinking of Flowers

Now wind torments the field,
turning the white surface back
on itself, back and back on itself,
like an animal licking a wound.

 
Nothing but white--the air, the light;
only one brown milkweed pod
bobbing in the gully, smallest
brown boat on the immense tide.

 
A single green sprouting thing
would restore me. . . .

Then think of the tall delphinium,
swaying, or the bee when it comes
to the tongue of the burgundy lily.

Jane Kenyon

I Got Mail…

I not only just had a giveaway but I also just won a giveaway.   Today I received the shopping bag that I won from Susan of  Bear Swamp Reflections.  One may wonder how I can be so thrilled over a shopping bag but if you saw how bright and pretty and well made this was you would understand.  My favorite part of it is the sweet “Made with Love by Susan” tag….

I could use this as a beach bag too…and I can see it being used to carry picnics on the boat…

Thank you Susan!  I’ll be thinking of you as I shop…

Ta Da!

 

First, I wrote out the names and put them in the bowl…

…then Miss E agreed to pull out a name…As you can see Mr J wanted to get in on the action too.

Finally, Miss E held out the name slip …

…and we had the name of the new owner of the Charlie Brown hand mitts!   I was glad that Cinner of  THINGS ABOUT WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, AND WHY would be the recipient when I read in her blog that the temperature had hit 40 below where she lives!  Cinner, please contact me with your address!