Butchart Gardens, Victoria Canada




Part of the main gardens - Click to see larger

Jan and I had a wonderful opportunity to go on our second cruise to Alaska this summer, and we went on a different cruise line. It was a different experience!

One of the highlights of our trip this time was a night tour of the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia. It is an amazing old limestone quarry that was transformed into a series of beautiful gardens by Mr. Butchart's wife Jennie. The photo above is from the first garden we toured, which was the main garden area and the major part of the old quarry. We were told while touring that Mrs. Butchart had rapelled down the steep sides of the quarry, planting ivy as she went. The ivy now covers nearly every wall of the quarry and is quite spectacular.

I hope to get back there someday, as the groundskeepers plant seasonal plants all along the walkways in the Gardens, and it would be a different experience each time you visited, depending on the season.

Hope you enjoy the photo. If you'd like to see it larger, click on the photo and it will load in a new window. 

All the best,
Mike Z

PS: here's a short video (about a minute and a half) showing the seasons of the Butchart Gardens:
5 Seasons of the Butchart Gardens

 

 

Blue Moon Last Night, Austin TX






Blue Moon, August 31st, 2012 Austin TX

  

A Blue Moon, as most of you probably know by now, is the third full moon in a season with four full moons. Last night, I had to go out and try to get a decent full moon photo for the occasion! Unfortunately, there were thin clouds over the moon, so it was impossible to get a clear shot.

I wrote on someone's Facebook page that I can never hear the words Blue Moon without thinking about the song from the 50's/60's by the Marcels. I hear in my head most clearly "Baw buh buh Baw buh Dangy Dang Dang, buh Dangy Dawg Dig Bluuue Mooooon, You saw me standing alone...." Ah the memories...

Till next time!

Mike Z