christmas eve

so this wasn't taken on Christmas eve but on the 10th (I believe the full moon night or a day before or after)



I loved how the conservatory looked from outside.


I hope everyone is with their loved ones today or tomorrow at least and enjoys the goodness of family, friends and life.

all the creatures

well we are almost out of the conservatory this is my favorite scene.  It takes the crew from thanksgiving till the first Friday in December to get this ready

I think they outdid themselves this year.

I decided to try out a new banner.  it happens to be the same one as my facebook page thanks to florabella she had a great template and tutorial.  check her out here:  http://www.florabellacollection.com/

sitting among the plants

i love how the lights light up this plant






i don't put pictures of myself on here much because I prefer the other side of the camera but hubby insisted it be taken so I will put it up here.

birds in the house

these birds of Paradise seemed odd in a room full of winter feeling lights and plants.  but the silhouette
 worked and they look magical.  a hint of warm weather to come.

ferns alive!!!

what a lovely accompaniment to all the flowers and succulents in the displays so delicate looking

old

this christmas cactus is over 100 years old 1905 or 1906 was when it was first acquired.  adorned for lights for the holiday it is still amazing.

ps no tripods allowed in the conservatory not that you could use it anyway the place was packed.

poinsettia tree

these lovely white poinsettia's built up to make a tree are always a favorite of the conservatory.

didn't want to use a flash on them to spoil the effect.

interesting name

interesting name on this plant

if you missed yesterday's post I am at the conservatory for the christmas light display.  will have a couple of days of posts I think.

the thaw

the pond is beginning to thaw out and unfreeze. 

number one

Hubby being very patient and tolerent as we brave the cold for some shots of the frozen pond.

p.s. wished I would have got more of his shadow in this post but he noticed the camera was pointed his direction and turned away.

leaf question

Check out the new header for the blog.  What do you think?  Yeah I know the color is a little crazy but then so am I it my favorite color and my blog so I went with it.  I adapted a tutorial from photoshop elements techniques magazine that I just got a subscription of to make it.  I think this is going to be a good purchase.

couldn't decide which frozen leaf photo I liked best so please let me know which one you like best.

A. up close and personal



B. floting in time

prehistoric???

just a fish what kind I am not sure but it didn't travel deep enough in the pond water before it froze over and is now stuck in the ice.  kinda scary if you saw yesterday's photo of the teeth on this guy. I will say it fascinated me the way he got stuck in the ice mouth open as if trying to take its last gasp of air.

smile

any guesses as to what this is???

find out tomorrow

Friends of Manito plant sale

a couple of times a year the Friends of Manito have a plant sale and it is VERY popular.  hundreds of people come to buy plants of very good quality and very good prices. 

the sale is held of course in Manito park which is on the south hill side of Spokane.  there are many parts to the park one of which is the Duncan gardens pictured above.  we just missed a wedding that was held in the very back of the gardens at the gazebo. 

The master gardeners of Manito take very good care of the gardens with different plantings throughout the year.  Its always full of life with people wandering through at all times of the day.

I was intrigued by the grasses in the above pot.

PS.  I have been a bad blogger but life just gets in the way sometimes.  So I have taken lots of pictures today from the gardens to a few other stops along the way so I plan on posting them in the next few days.