October 27, 2021
Happy birthday to me. I spent part of it by myself at one of my local happy places: the Virginia State Arboretum and Blandy Experimental Forest. I’ll let pictures do the rest of the talking.
| On the way to the arboretum I stopped at my favorite lunch spot: Locke Store in Millwood. Nice selection of pastries, salads, soups, and sandwiches. |    |
| Can’t beat a picnic lunch with a view. Vegetable tart, bean and collard greens soup, and a chocolate cookie with cherries for dessert. |   |
| Kalabashes (?) Growing in the community garden. These were larger than my head (and quite possibly had more brains). Amazing how they are supported by the vines that are much stronger than they look. Someone went to the trouble of lining up dozens upon dozens of osage orange fruits along the stone wall on each side of the drive leading to the Tuleries, (the neighboring property that I keep eyeballing in hopes it will go on the market). Industrious squirrels? |   |
| The purple flowers were like velvet; couldn’t stop running my hands over them (carefully so as not to disturb the bees). No idea what they are but looked like they could be in the sage family. The daisies are still blooming. |   |
| This adobe and wood shelter is actually built to attract various solitary bee species (burrowers, drillers, mud-nesters, and more). Fanciest bug hotel I ever saw. |   |
| The artist carved doors and each side, which open to show how the bees nest. On the other side, there is a place for plugging in headphones to listen to the bees. I didn’t have headphones, so I don’t know what they were talking about on this beautiful day. |   |
| No matter where you are and what you’re doing, take some time to lie down in the grass and stare up at the sky. It will do a mind, body, and spirit good. |  |
Happy Birthday! The purple flowers we call Mexican sage, not sure of the official name. I love it and had it in my yard before I sold my house for my motorhome adventures.
Yeah, I figured something like that. They are so velvety soft!