Anyway, when that was ALL finished, I needed to get the heck up off my butt, leave the house...and commune with the Great Outdoors,...or something. It's Friday, after all, and although the kids are slaving away in school (poor darlings--mwah hah hah!) who says I can't take a Field Trip...all by myself? Yeah...just me and my camera, that's what I'm talking about! I decided upon the North Carolina Botanical Garden, which is located about 10 minutes from our neighborhood. It's open to the public, FREE, and...well, what more do you really need to know? Oh yeah: probably contains lots of gorgeous flowers...and whatnot. Sign me up!
I've gotta say, one thing I really noticed right away when we moved here is how this area protects, nurtures, and enjoys its abundance of green space. Parks everywhere you turn, trails galore for running/walking/biking, and So. Much. Forest. I mean, if you can't find peace and calm here...you truly might need a...Nature-vention (Heyyyyy, did I just made up a new career?)
Seriously, you get to walk in the woods along a shaded, soft-dirt path (the only other sounds--besides your feet--being the trickling of a stream, the calls of the birds...and the crackling of manic-squirrel paws as they rush over the leafy ground...apparently playing a hotly-contested game of tree-tag). You can wander through various garden displays, admiring the cornucopia of flora--from the aforementioned flowers, to shrubs, pond plants, herbs of all varieties conceivable (and some....NOT even in the realm of imagination) and even...carnivorous greenery. (I felt compelled to stand there for a while...waiting for, I don't know..."Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors? But nothing even tried to chomp me...I was slightly disappointed, I admit...)
I'm actually glad I went without the boys, who probably would have been unimpressed by all of the...plant life. (I can just hear them now, "Wait, you mean that's IT? No dangerous rock faces to scale, no perilous rapids to cross, no steep trails to conquer?") But for me, it was a lovely way to pass a couple of relaxing hours soaking up the stillness and admiring the landscape. I have a feeling it must be one of those places that looks completely different every season, depending what's in bloom at the time. So from now on, whenever I need a nearby, no-cost, therapeutic stroll, I think I've found the perfect go-to location. And if I tell the Male Posse I'm going out to...spend some quality time gazing at trees...they won't even want to come with me! Aahhh, blessed alone time...I feel more tranquil already...
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