Matthaei Botanical Garden, Ann Arbor MI

I actually visited Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum just before Christmas of 2012...literally just before. I think I arrived at 4pm on December 24!

It is an amazing place, focused on education of the natural world. I loved exploring the arboretum (it was gloriously warm on a cold day) and then wandering the grounds a bit just before it got dark. 

I need to make time and go back - there is so much to see and do there! 

Looking down the length of the arboretum...with a tree made of poinsettias at the end!

This tree (and the pic below) is cocoa! 

Beautiful koi fish in and amongst the water lilies.

You are here...or rather I was :)

That little dot creating the ripples is a beaver! So cool.

Still the beaver...tried to get a clearer shot. Didn't really work.

Loved the silhouette this weeping willow tree made against the grey sky.

New Year's Resolution (or as a friend put it: commitment)

I am committed to be kinder - to myself, family, friends, and all of the creatures on the planet.

The reason I chose to be kinder is because I think life is complicated and this complexity is the root of stress.

Work gets more complicated with added responsibility = more stress. Family life gets more complicated when elder members fall ill and you have to care for them = more stress. Friend relationships get more complicated when divorce and child birth occur = more stress. Lose your job = more stress. Have a job you don't like = more stress. Can't find a job = more stress. Selling a house = more stress. Loosing a house = more stress. Having a child = more stress. Can't get pregnant = more stress. Fighting with loved ones = more stress. Loosing a loved one = more stress.

And everyone has experienced one of these instances at one point or another in their life, which translates into everyone is experiencing stress all the time.

I've allowed stress and anxiety to eat me up literally from the inside out. So this year, and going forward, I resolve to be kinder to myself. I am learning how to meditate. I am exploring what I want from life and how to obtain it (not just materials things, but also something simple and complex as happiness). I am going to be available to help family & friends when they need it. I am going to volunteer more. I am going to get back to nature as much as possible. I am going to be kinder to my body and what I put in to it.

But above all, I'm going to cut myself some slack. I am not perfect, not sure why I feel the need to beat myself up when I make a mistake. We only have a finite time on this planet in mortal form, and I need to start enjoying myself & be happy...before I wake up and I'm 85 wondering where all the time went and regretting all the choices I didn't make.

2013 for me = be kinder :)

I hope your 2013 is everything you hope it will be!

Happy New Year!

May 2013 be a great year!

Artificial tree or real tree - that is the question

Every year at about this time, I always struggle with the idea of getting a tree for the holidays. Do I get a fake one, or a real one???

Growing up, every year we got a real tree. I loved going with my family to the tree lot, picking out a 9 foot Douglas fir, bringing it home, and then we decorated. Pretty much all in one day/night.

These days its tough to choose what is best for the environment - do I purchase an artificial & manufactured tree or a real tree grown and cut for this specific purchase?

I do hear there is an alternative - getting a potted tree. But I haven't seen that option locally yet.

My decision was purely financial & rule abiding this year -  a small artificial tree that I can reuse & I lived in an apartment that doesn't allow real trees.

I'm sure this internal debate will continue when I buy a house - of course by then, hopefully the potted trees will be more available. :)

Happy Holidays!!

Valley of Fire, Nevada - 2008

In the early summer of 2008, I again journeyed to Nevada and found the very cool state park: Valley of Fire. 

It is Nevada's oldest and largest state park - formed in 1935. The terrain was incredible - almost other worldly as I hiked and drove among the rock formations, which colors varied greatly as I explored. There also was not a lot of people present that day, which enriched the otherworldly feeling. And petroglyphs - a lot of them!!

I remember being really impressed with the visitor's center, and all of the history accounted for in the displays.  The link I have above is to the Nevada State Park Valley of Fire website - it has all kinds of information about how the park got its name, the animals, and history of the peoples who lived and passed through the area. If you are interested in visiting, I highly encourage you to check it out!

My last Nevada park post will be coming soon - Red Rock Canyon State Park. I have to say, with all of the really cool scenic areas near Las Vegas, don't spend all of your time on the strip if you are visiting!!

Not sure if you can read the sign - it says "atlatl rock". Unfortunately I can't remember what it means - guess you'll just have to visit! :)

The differences in the rock colors is amazing! Deep reds to this yellow gold!

  

I love the deep red of the rocks juxtaposed with the green of the plants - absolutely beautiful!

See the little figures in the middle of the picture?

The petroglyphs were amazing. There was a path with steps that would take you up for a closer look - not too many steps though! The glyphs are partially protected by a plastic "screen" - you can see the edge of it at the bottom of the picture. Though it looks like "Ike" was able to carve his name in part of the rock - stupid humans...why do we always wreck stuff?

 Shots I just couldn't help to pull over a take!

Memories of Past Adventures

I had recently been saying to myself that I really needed to go on a trip next year and experience something completely new.

So when I was going through my actual photo albums (with actual film that was developed - i know i'm old) for photos for my trip down memory lane entries, it really struck me how many cool places I've already been and the awesome adventures I've experienced.

One of the most life changing adventures was when I was 19: I lived and worked in Yellowstone National Park, WY for a few months. I had never even been away to camp, and there I was driving across country in the unknown on my way to the unknown. It was a scary, fun, nerve-wracking, cool, character-building, stressful trip!

At the time, I questioned my sanity and that of my parents for letting me go - this was before cell phones! But when I reflect back on it, all I can think of is how glad I am that they let me go. How different I am because of it, and how it built my self confidence and self reliance. Now I did leave earlier than I had planned, and drove back with my family when they came out for a vacation - but I'm glad I did that too. Because now I have the memories of our vacation.

I lived in the dorms and worked in the hotel gift shop. I was able to drive all around the park, hike some pretty cool trails, and witness some incredible sights. Like that of a buffalo walking right down the side of the road past all the cars. Or the time I was talking on the pay phone next to the employee dining room, and an elk walked right past me on the side walk. Or the afternoon I was sitting in my dorm room reading, when I heard what sounded like a flock of seagulls; turns out it was a herd of female elk and babies wandering through town.

I'll never forget that adventure...the people I met or what I had seen.

Some might say I live too much in the past, and sometimes I probably do. But I think remembering helps me get through any bad days I might be having and spurs me on to find new adventures.

My adventures also remind me of who I am and what is important to me when I loose sight of it.
So, in the words of Jason Hawes from TAPS, "On to the next"!