Mocktails in the Gardens

 

Today I worked from home, then Jilly Moose picked me up and we went to Olbrich Gardens. They were having a Members Only event with mocktails, and I figured I could say Travalon and I were both members but that he couldn't make it tonight so Jilly Moose was taking his place, but in fact they didn't ask for any proof of membership. I guess they figured only actual members would know about it. The mocktails were really good, and they gave us a pamphlet with the recipes for all three. (And yes, I did try them all over the course of the evening.) One was a pineapple mint concoction (garnished with mint they grew themselves), one was a peach lavender iced tea (garnished with lavender they grew themselves), and one was a cranberry and orange drink - that was garnished with a small, sour orange they grew in the greenhouse. If we had gotten there right away (we stopped for a quick dinner at a deli), we might have gotten the free glasses that the first so many people got. I wasn't that interested, having just acquired a new mug on Monday, but when I saw how cute the glasses were, I thought maybe we should have tried.

The first place we went was the conservatory, where they were having the annual butterfly event. We didn't see that many butterflies, but we did see a super cute quail who came running right toward me. Here are photos that Jilly Moose took, since her dad wanted to see them, so I just said she could send me hers instead of bothering to take any myself.

This cactus has a red ball on it:

Here's the quail again.

This is a carniverous pitcher plant.

This is a chenille plant - very fuzzy!

So many peace lilies in bloom!

You can see why this is called a shrimp plant:

This is not a plant but a glass sculpture.

Some cool orchids:

This one is called a chain orchid. I can see why!

Here's a closeup of the interesting red ball on that cactus.

The koi look interesting under the ripples in the water. One was right under the waterfall, probably enjoying a massage from the cascading water.

We did see a few butterflies. One was too fast for a photo.

Jilly Moose took a photo of the lavender peach ice tea mocktail.

Then we went out into the gardens. Here are some photos. First, lotuses.

The Thai pavilion has just been renovated and is very sparkly now.

It was a two-hour event, and we were there almost the whole time. Then we got home in time to do Night Prayer, and the Dairyman's Daughter said she saw a double rainbow. She took a photo.

I asked what time she saw it, and she said around six. Funny - that's when I stepped out of the deli to see if there was a rainbow because it was raining but the sun was shining, and I didn't see anything. There sure have been a lot of rainbows this summer... because there sure has been a lot of rain!

Famous Hat