The Botanical Garden

My nephew is always willing to go on an adventure* with me - even a spur-of-the-moment trip to the local botanical garden.** Perhaps it was a little too hot and too late in the summer to be going, but we knew that we would still see something. [We tried to go early and move fast.] And I suppose we both know that it is only a matter of time before high school and college and life will get in the way.

Creatures: 

At the ticket desk we purchased lettuce or chard leaves to feed the turtles . We were directed to ring the bell and the turtles would come eat (sure, I thought). More on that later.

We were greeted by a parrot who kept telling us "Goodbye!" He was the only talker among many birds. I am always a little leery of those sharp beaks. But all birds behaved.

"Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!" [It should have been "Hello!"

There was an entire screened enclosure devoted to butterflies. We decided that a trip earlier in the season would likely have been even more amazing. Still, there were a couple of varieties with which we were not familiar.

The donor list helped identify some of what we would see - Zebra Longwing Red Admiral and Gulf Fritillary. And then we know the black swallowtail.***

The young one snapped some photos.

How lovely is this?

Zebra Longwing (perfect name)

Then we left the protected enclosure.

Katydid

Anole

What a lovely fellow. We are not sure who he was trying to impress.

A true bug.

"Look," said the nephew. "What?" I asked.

"Don't you see it? Oh, see them. There are many."

"Ah, now I see them"

Just ring the bell:

We rang the bell. We rang it again. Finally this tortoise decided to see what was going on. He slowly moved to the food area. He looked at our now-wilted offerings and headed away to the "house." We were very disappointed.

We then moved to another nearby display. The young one kept checking and noticed movement in the tortoise area. Our lumbering friend had decided he needed a snack so we did get to watch him eat some of the leaves after all.

He took a look at the lettuce and turned away.

He plodded along towards the house.

I wonder if he saw this little guy and was sending a message - "Don't eat my salad!"

So he came back.

And decided to taste.

He looks as if he is posing for this shot.

Now, I am sure you noticed the fly on the railing of the tortoise enclosure. He was one scary looking dude. I have not looked him up, but figure he is a good way to end the "creatures" section.

He was a giant (maybe an inch long or so). He was not the common horsefly.

Plants and flowers:

Day flower

I put this one in twice. Once for the insect and the second time because I love zinnias.

Turks cap

And again.

I think this is a "fire cracker" plant.

There was an entire plumaria garden.

And other exotic blooms kept us guessing.

Sunflower

I know prickly pear

Another type of sunflower.

I think this may be a beach oxeye.

I have no idea what kind of cactus this is. It was about 10 feet tall or more (and BLOOMING).

And other stuff:

We wandered to the boardwalk and read all the snake and alligator warning signs. Then we watched for the 'gater who never came.

Something was stirring the water. It was a longish kind of thing. We couldn't decide whether it was a fish or eel.

We never got a good picture of more than a disturbed spot in the water.

A beautiful wooden shore bird sculpture.

A concrete and tile mosaic sofa. It was not so comfy.

He's taller than I am now.

NOTES:

*We went to two bookstores later. Gotta love a kid for whom a trip to the bookstore is a treat.
** http://stxbot.org/
***http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/gallery (what a great website!)