Arboretum Sundial / Three Little Birds

The forecast for the week ahead included the possibility of our first frost. I had been wanting to visit the Arboretum for a while, and suddenly, I felt the need to see some roses before they were gone. We talked about a Monday afternoon visit, but then the frost advisory got bumped up to Monday morning. Oh no!

On Sunday afternoon, my husband had errands in town that included groceries and hoagies; he dropped me off first, and I had a glorious time, visiting the Arboretum in autumn, and walking around the outside of the new art museum, being able to actually SEE it for the first time. You actually have to walk sort of THROUGH and UNDER the art museum to get to the Arboretum from the parking lot by Katz.

There weren't any events planned at the Arboretum for the day but there was plenty of foot traffic. Small groups, mostly. Threes and sixes. Walking around, looking at stuff. There was a class or group of some kind doing something with pumpkins, sitting all in a circle on the grass.

I had promised the Dancing Girls a big Arboretum adventure; and in fact, some pumpkin riding, on their loyal cat-steeds. But as the day brightened up and turned sunny, it also got tremendously WINDY, and the very first photo shoot I tried, my girls went scattering to the four winds. Oh no! I tucked them back inside their travel container, and kept a close eye on Tiny Tiger as well. Only the Moose was large enough to not be in danger of blowing away.

There are some nice foliage colors locally, but nothing even close to the glorious colors we saw in Sproul last week. There are oranges and reds here and there, but in the State College area, the trees are still mostly green. I hope the color gets here before the wind takes the leaves!

I used to get to the Arboretum a few times a week. In the high heat of summer, when everything is perking along, sometimes I'd be at the lily pond every single morning. I know. It was wild. I miss it. Nowadays, I get there every few weeks; sometimes every few months. It's not enough. Being there on this day felt like a sort of homecoming.

Above is a photo of the big sundial that is part of the solar clock. I just love how it looks upon the landscape, and the color that's around it, and the flowers, and those pretty benches. Does the word idyllic come to mind? Yes, I think so.

I saw a guy, maybe a student, most likely in his 20s, standing around with a woman, watching for passers-by. He nabbed me and asked if I could take a few pics of him and his mom in front of one of the outstanding pumpkin and gourd arrangements. I did, and then I took a few more.

As I was handing him his smart phone back, I looked up at the round ball thingy they had on top of the gourd display, and noticed that three little birds were playing in and around it. The birds clearly LOVED it!

First there were two outside and one inside. Then all three came out to give me some great shots, one of which you may see in the extras. Somehow I only got the shot by being where I was, doing what I was doing. So thanks to the young man and his mom, I got some fun bird photos.

There is never enough time at the Arboretum. And I'd had some fantasy about a possible ice cream cone at the nearby Berkey Creamery. Guess what, that didn't happen. I spent my entire time in the gardens, enjoying myself, on a fine sunny and windy October afternoon.

I have two photos, so I need two soundtrack songs. First, for the sundial, with which we only keep track of the sunny hours, here is Styx, with The Best of Times. Second, for the birds, I have Bob Marley's Three Little Birds, performed by Ryclarkie and French Fuse. Oh, don't worry . . . about a thing. Because everything . . . is gonna be all right. . . . . (A personal favorite: "No worries" were my father's last words to us, his last two Doll Babies.)