Category Archives: local haunts

It’s hot this week, and we’re starting to feel it in the early mornings too. I considered skipping this week’s visit after the late night at the Muny the night before, but it’s hard to break a habit once it’s formed. The girls were drowsy, but in good spirits. I promised we’d walk straight to the jumping fountains, and this morning they were all in. It was that warm.

The oranges and yellows and pinks are in full force, but in the shade there are magical things happening. We shadow hopped our way through the place and tried to stay cool.

I’m seeing so many of the flowers that we’ll see in a few weeks when we’re on vacation. It makes me think of the things that I need to do before said vacation, but I try to force those thoughts to the rear for the rest of the walk.

Instead I look for the weirdly beautiful things, buds unfurling, seed pods twirling, leaves that seemed to have been painted by garden fairies in the night. A cardinal plays in the fountains with the girls, hopping one pad in front of them each time. I finally catch him in the frame.

I’m glad we started this longest day of the year here. The garden at its peak is not to be missed.

I’m really excited to be on a summer schedule again. It means a little more sleep in the morning without that early middle school start bell. It also means that I have both girls with me in the morning, which is really nice on garden mornings.

I was never a big fan of lilies – their scent can be really overpowering and they always remind me of funeral flowers. That’s probably not a fair assessment, but they’ve never really captured my attention or interest. But walking through the garden this morning was revelatory. The sheer variety of lilies on display was breathtaking. We thought we’d walk right past them, but found ourselves hopping from one to another, each prettier than the last. I’m a convert.

The other really exciting part of the morning was when the girls both caught a glimpse of jumping water over the brick wall around the boxwood garden. The jumping fountains (as we call them) haven’t been operational in at least eight years. They were E’s favorite part of the garden when she was little, but they were frequently turned off. We asked a gardener once about them, and they said they were always in need of repair and so they stopped using them. F’s never seen them, but she’s always been curious about them since E points out the landing pads around the perimeter of the space each time we walk through.

I wasn’t sure I was going to get them out of there – they hopped back and forth underneath the arcing sprays. Some things you never get too old for. I’m glad about that.