Favorite words for a favorite place......

 

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.

Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Hidden in a back corner of the Jardim Botanico, Rio de Janeiro is this Grand Old Tree.  It is so tall and wide I could not get even a fourth of it in the lens.  The only way to see it – is to go to the gardens, walk to the right of the main gate and keep walking around the outer edge until you find it nestled among it taller, thinner cousins.   

For the sake of seeing...

I don’t know how many times I have been to Rio’s botanical gardens, ‘Jardim Botanico’.  Walking over from Ipanema several times a year, lugging my Nikon D40x in a small backpack and carrying the point and shoot in my handy pocket, my purpose focused on a brisk walk, on exercise, on calories and fat loss.  Seeing interesting sights but not stopping, not giving up on my exercise.  As in all change, slowly the purpose of the walk has become a stroll to see; to see the birds, to see the leaves, and to see the flowers that are prominent during my walk: stopping to watch a child play, to find the birds in song, so walk down the slope for a closer look at a flower. 

I can’t say that yesterday I jumped  eagerly out of bed, it was more of a slow roll and groan, but I did wake with a determination to walk to the gardens to see what was blooming.  I managed to leave the apartment a little after ten, walked to the Lagoa, partially around it to the little street that cuts beside the Jockey club to Rua Jardim Botanico. 

Along the walk were young boys playing soccer, a class of rowers, a tennis match, a small construction on the path, and the usual bikers and joggers.   A small tree was in bloom showing me, for the first time, its abundant, bright red, waxy leafed flowers. Anyone know the name of this tree / flower?

A crane wading gracefully among the reeds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      and bright yellow birds hidden among the red leaves of the fig trees.

    It took me a good 40 minutes to get to the gardens.  I must have been looking up or sideways, detracted or something, because I missed the shortcut that runs along the water.  I ended up walking along the street, surrounded by cars, busses and speeding motor bikes – not the best way to go if you want peace and beauty.  

It now cost $R6.00 to get into the gardens – a bargain for sure, but another change.  I always promise myself that I will walk the trails to the right of the entrance but when I arrive – I go left (because I know where the bathrooms are!).  Yesterday, I changed to my bigger camera and went to the right. 

Good choice!  Along the outer edge of the gardens are huge old trees.  I will put those photos into an album for you to see.

 

There was not much in the way of flowers this time of year, but there were a few surprises to take pleasure in.

              

      More Later !

MY Town Friday – Black and Orange

Today the air was warm and heavy with the promise of rainy season.  The trees and grasses are brown after nearly a month without a drop of rain.  This is a good topic for the month of October – Halloween and Fall colors in the northern hemisphere.  Not a really good topic / or colors for this time of year in Nova Friburgo – really not good colors for anytime of year around here.  The colors for here are reds, yellow, pink and purples.   

But in the true spirit of our Shoot-out, I searched through my flowers archives and found these photos that had both Black and Orange …. disclaimer - neither one of the first two was taken in Friburgo – one was a new-year’s eve photo taken up into a tree in Macae, and the other out in front of a restaurant in Sicily, yes Italy and neither is even the right time of year.   The last one is a caqui (persimmon) on one of our trees in the garden – taken around June as the leaves finally turn to fall colors here in the tropics. 

Memorable moments -

I am up in the middle of the night when I am supposed to be resting for our final day driving.  What to do but to blog with all the lights off as to not disturb Marissa. In the morning, we will drive from Jackson Mississippi to Houston.  It should take about 7 hours but we will be HOME again.  This trip has been very good for me, I have spent 15 days with my granddaughter and her cell phone.  I saw my mother for 6 days – three of them for 24 hours each.  The drive was a little too much for me, even for a person who really enjoys driving, 10 days behind the wheel is too much. But in Brazil I don’t get to drive often and I enjoyed renewing my skills and confidence by driving over 3000 miles. ;)   There have been many high spots here are a ‘few’ photos of those memorable moments.

(spending time with Marissa) (driving across vast farmland) (seeing Mom and Marissa enjoy each other)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(meeting Reggie Girl for real) (meeting a great niece and nephew face to face)  

  

 

 

 

 

 

(having lunch with family ) (seeing the town of Newton Falls OH and taking photos of old homes in Adrian MI.)

 

(taking trips down Memory lane) (finding out the Marissa likes reading books too )  (finding a RED day lily)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing miles and miles of wild flowers - taking photos of a few....)

“…. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet ….”

	No matter where we are traveling, when I see a rose growing on a fence, in a private garden or in formal gardens I cannot resist taking a photo.

I do not have a favorite color, although to me the Hybrid Tea is the most elegant. I never see the flaws. Sometimes after downloading I will notice a bug, or bee or a petal that a bug has enjoyed – but when confronted by their beauty I never see these things – and I don’t use any fancy editing programs to remove them later …. their natural beauty is without flaw.

For some reason I have trouble getting a good photo of pure red or pure white. The camera just cannot pick enough variation to give good detail.

Just Leaves