"Who made the sky?" "GeeezUS"

This morning started at 6:30 a.m. and we were up with a bound. Creed has been loving Peter Rabbit lately, one show on NickJr. I don't mind to watch at all.  He's been hopping through the house, careful to stay away from the fox and badger, and quoting various characters. 

With safari hats in hand, "Way Far Away On A Wild Safari," (an adorable book by Jan Peck) we headed towards Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Reserve, in Orange, Texas, for a color and shape walk. Our mission - to scout out the color red and circle shapes. 

Creed peering at the gar fish

The first thing we saw were gar fish., a terribly pointy fish, that bites said the lady that works there. By the entrance there was a large tree stump water fixture that was located inside a circular pegoda-like structure and I kept trying to get Creed's attention to look at it, to touch the water running down. The worker said, "Look" to him, but he was too distracted by the surroundings. She said, "Well, I see who's in charge here, or at least thinks he's in charge." I just smiled and walked on following my family. Ugh. I cringed inside, however I'm glad he wasn't much interested in a stranger. Could I call that being cautious? I'm gonna say, yes. 

searching for queen bee

"I see a bee," he says! One of the many wonderful things we saw was their honeybee hives, near the children's garden. The golden honey looked so delicious! Creed and I tried to find the queen bee, unsuccessful but still fun. The children's garden offered a sensory area, which I love all things sensory. Creed played in the sand and rock area for a bit, while I took some amazing shots with my camera. The scarecrow planter people were adorably rustic and reminded me so much of fall. An interesting plant in the children's garden was called pumpkin on a stick, gorgeous in miniature size. There were many small gardens planted alining with children's stories. One that really stood out, at least to me, was Mr. McGregor's garden, Peter Rabbit sitting in stony perfection near some crimson red peppers. 

children's garden

 On our way towards the next adventure we crossed a bridge after walking through two greenhouses and there, tucked away underneath was something magical, at least for me. It was the gutter underneath, reminiscent of the "Water Lilies" painting by Claude Monet. The view was stunning. Rounding the corner we saw a statue-like Anhinga bird. For a moment we actually thought it was a statue as it kept this pose for quite a while and then shifted it's head around. 

Breathtaking view from the bridge reminiscent of
Claude Monet's "Water Liliy" painting

Who eat the bamboo?

When passing the bamboo I asked Creed who ate bamboo and he said koala and panda. Upon further investigating I found out that bamboo is actually a grass. Pandas eat the bamboo leaves, stems and shoots. Koalas eat eucalyptus leaves, sometimes the flowers, but not bamboo. Right across the way was a fountain filled with hens and chickens and a small lizard hanging out on the side. I kept looking and looking but could not identify this one. Local people of this area will know the answer, however the most common one we have at my house is the Carolina anole, sometimes called the American chameleon for their ability to change from different hues of green and brown. As it turns out, I looked online and found they are closely related to the iguana. 

unidentified lizard

Anhinga bird

By this time we had exhausted ourselves, two hours later and had only seen 3/4 of the gardens. The heat was making it immeasurably miserable outside and the humidity created a less than desirable sauna. So soaked through our clothes in spots we headed towards the gate, passing the wall of fountains

Great love of my life posing like a ham by the fountain wall

and what I'm sure was a man-made pond. Usually you're able to see through the water, but today it was a psychedelic green, one which wasn't transparent.. I wondered if the fish and turtles could even live in such an environment and noticed a worker nearby. Curious as I am I asked her what made the water so green and she informed me they put black dye in there which usually turns it green to prevent algae. It looked the way it did because the fountains weren't running and it was a little low on water. She also said the fish and turtles survive living in that environment. 

beautiful view, strange waters

We did find many things that were red starting with a truck and various flowers, but hadn't found a circle shape. We were heading towards the exit when I said, "Oh no, Creed! We didn't find a circle shape. What will we do?" He replied, "I know. My hat's a circle shape!" We then found a circular drain hole. 

See the very small path off the main one? This is where we
 cautiously wheeled through the pathway.

Crossing the bridge we walked through a small path that had plants living in water on either side. I told Creed it was very important for him to stay in the buggy because I was afraid he would fall. I had no idea how deep it was and didn't want to find out. The water lilies were so beautiful. The entire place was so serene. I imagined it a place where I would sit in my pajamas on a bench early in the morning as the sun comes up listening God's song through the birds, sipping coffee.

We plan to go back and visit the rest of the gardens especially since we missed the shape garden! Can you believe it?! Creed was free and the adult admission was $6. Pretty affordable and only 20 minutes from the house.

We were all pretty tuckered out after walking around and enjoyed the air-conditioning on the way home. After his bath, Creed sat wrapped in his towel smiling at me while I talked about the first and second days of creation. He even joined in this time when singing about who made the day, night, water and sky. "Who made the sky," I asked? "Jesus," he said in his child-like voice, which sounds like Geeez-US. Talk about melting your heart.