In the gardens
Mar. 14th, 2010 09:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hillarygayleOn Saturday, Bryan & Ganon & I went to the Memphis Botanic Garden. Whatever else you can say about Memphis, it has an INCREDIBLE garden, y'all. It's $5 to get in, and the Japanese Garden & koi pond are worth it by themselves. It's a massive place, taking several hours to fully explore, and there's something for everyone. There are formal rose gardens, a native plant trail, wilderness areas, a sensory garden that appeals to more senses than just sight (sound & touch & smell; it's amazing), and My Big Backyard, an AWESOME playground & exploring area for kids & parents alike. Soon as it warms up toward the end of this month or into April, I'm determined to get Family 2.0 together & go. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
girlwithoutfear & I want some camera time (I specifically want some practice with lighting & portrait-style shots). The place is PERFECT for a picnic. They made sure there were picnic tables everywhere. I'm seeing a trip to Whole Foods for picnic food, then off to the garden. (Okay mostly that's just me wanting more Mediterranean tuna salad BUT IT'S STILL A GOOD IDEA.)
We did eat at Whole Foods first, but we didn't do the picnic thing. It was rather cold & looked like it might rain. Ganon did some people watching while we ate. Talking about this is making me want more of that macaroni & cheese. They have the best mac & cheese ever, bar none.
Ganon had the best time I've seen in a long time. The Overlord ran EVERYWHERE. He was in charge of the map, and every time we got to a fork in the road, we let him decide which way to go. He felt this was a VERY important duty, and took it very seriously. :) He can't stop talking about the red bridge, the stone path up Daffodil Hill, the Pixie Sticks playhouse, the wavy brick wall, and the bird house with the giant ramp.
So here I have pictures.
He actually was looking at this cookie and saying "This cookie is scrumptious!" The people in the next booth over laughed out loud.
Someone inherited his parents' love of people watching.
There was this wavy brick wall; it's so perfect for kids to run and play on that I have to think they made it for that purpose.
Both these shots were entirely off-the-cuff; he sat down and I was like O_O!!! and started shooting. I only got off these 2 before he popped up like a little rocket and started running again, yelling how he was a jet engine and the brakes were no use. He actually said "MWA HA HA!"
Here's the jet engine himself.
My boys on the stepping stones.
In the "My Big Backyard" portion of the garden, there's a "street" of playhouses. This one was based on the color spectrum.
Musical House. I did not notice until JUST NOW that you can see Bryan in the background, through the window, standing at the next house.
The Pixie Sticks (get it?) house was Ganon's favorite.
Wormville! Going in, coming out.
Of course he was barking.
Showing you his map. He navigated our whole trip. You do not know the meaning of "decision" until you've seen a 3 year old ponder his direction at each fork in a curving garden path.
Pool in the Sensory Garden. This whole garden is based on different sensory appeal, and this pool makes the most beautiful tinkling, bubbling sound.
Bah. This is the first of my pictures I think is overexposed. It was a cloudy day, and I have a chronic tendency to underexpose my pictures. Knowing this, I intentionally went up a stop or two from where I thought it needed to be. The result is a lot of blown out highlights. DANG IT.
More map fun. I like the way I caught him mid-dance.
Lantern, maybe? Whatever it is, it's pretty & I like it.
This bridge features prominently in one of my LJ icons. Bryan & I came here on our 7th anniversary.
I was terribly depressed; you can't feed koi if it's below a certain temperature, and it was pretty darn cold Saturday.
This picture makes me HAPPY. <3
Bamboo in the Japanese garden. My goal in life is to have a gorgeous stand of bamboo in my yard.
This is the ONLY ONE of my Daffodil Hill photos in which the colors came out properly...and at the time I SWORE it was going to be too dark. DANG IT, I SAY.
See? This one's too bright, and I've even messed with the levels a bit. I HATE editing. I stink at it, and my goal is to get to the point where I don't HAVE to edit. *cranky*
Flower beds. Yeah.
girlwithoutfear & I want some camera time (I specifically want some practice with lighting & portrait-style shots). The place is PERFECT for a picnic. They made sure there were picnic tables everywhere. I'm seeing a trip to Whole Foods for picnic food, then off to the garden. (Okay mostly that's just me wanting more Mediterranean tuna salad BUT IT'S STILL A GOOD IDEA.)We did eat at Whole Foods first, but we didn't do the picnic thing. It was rather cold & looked like it might rain. Ganon did some people watching while we ate. Talking about this is making me want more of that macaroni & cheese. They have the best mac & cheese ever, bar none.
Ganon had the best time I've seen in a long time. The Overlord ran EVERYWHERE. He was in charge of the map, and every time we got to a fork in the road, we let him decide which way to go. He felt this was a VERY important duty, and took it very seriously. :) He can't stop talking about the red bridge, the stone path up Daffodil Hill, the Pixie Sticks playhouse, the wavy brick wall, and the bird house with the giant ramp.
So here I have pictures.
He actually was looking at this cookie and saying "This cookie is scrumptious!" The people in the next booth over laughed out loud.
Someone inherited his parents' love of people watching.
There was this wavy brick wall; it's so perfect for kids to run and play on that I have to think they made it for that purpose.
Both these shots were entirely off-the-cuff; he sat down and I was like O_O!!! and started shooting. I only got off these 2 before he popped up like a little rocket and started running again, yelling how he was a jet engine and the brakes were no use. He actually said "MWA HA HA!"
Here's the jet engine himself.
My boys on the stepping stones.
In the "My Big Backyard" portion of the garden, there's a "street" of playhouses. This one was based on the color spectrum.
Musical House. I did not notice until JUST NOW that you can see Bryan in the background, through the window, standing at the next house.
The Pixie Sticks (get it?) house was Ganon's favorite.
Wormville! Going in, coming out.
Of course he was barking.
Showing you his map. He navigated our whole trip. You do not know the meaning of "decision" until you've seen a 3 year old ponder his direction at each fork in a curving garden path.
Pool in the Sensory Garden. This whole garden is based on different sensory appeal, and this pool makes the most beautiful tinkling, bubbling sound.
Bah. This is the first of my pictures I think is overexposed. It was a cloudy day, and I have a chronic tendency to underexpose my pictures. Knowing this, I intentionally went up a stop or two from where I thought it needed to be. The result is a lot of blown out highlights. DANG IT.
More map fun. I like the way I caught him mid-dance.
Lantern, maybe? Whatever it is, it's pretty & I like it.
This bridge features prominently in one of my LJ icons. Bryan & I came here on our 7th anniversary.
I was terribly depressed; you can't feed koi if it's below a certain temperature, and it was pretty darn cold Saturday.
This picture makes me HAPPY. <3
Bamboo in the Japanese garden. My goal in life is to have a gorgeous stand of bamboo in my yard.
This is the ONLY ONE of my Daffodil Hill photos in which the colors came out properly...and at the time I SWORE it was going to be too dark. DANG IT, I SAY.
See? This one's too bright, and I've even messed with the levels a bit. I HATE editing. I stink at it, and my goal is to get to the point where I don't HAVE to edit. *cranky*
Flower beds. Yeah.
