Childhood's Gate: A First Look

"It is here we must begin to seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind.
For the children and the flowers are my sisters and my brothers,
Their laughter and their loveliness would clear a cloudy day.
Like the music of the mountains and the colors of the rainbow,
They're a promise of the future and a blessing for today."
- John Denver, Rhymes and Reasons

I am a frequent visitor to the Arboretum at Penn State. In fact, I go there every chance I get, usually several mornings per week in summer, somewhat less frequently other times in the year. One of the major developments I've been watching with great interest has been the creation of a children's garden at the Arboretum called Childhood's Gate.

The children's garden opened to the public on Monday, but I wasn't on campus then. So I stopped in for my first look on my very earliest opportunity, which was Tuesday morning bright and early. The sun had just risen and was bathing the gardens in golden glory. Flowers bloomed everywhere. Plants were so new they still had the tags on them.

The entire sprinkler system was on for the first 15 minutes or so that I was there, and it was just an absolute slice of magic to stand and watch the water throw sparkling diamonds over everything. The scene filled me with joy and hope, in that special way that only morning in a garden can do.

I took a good, thorough look around. The children's garden is small but delightful, and it's amazing how much they managed to stash into such a little space. There is a cave-like grotto for playing in, and I came across a toy rubber spider there. Wow, they've really thought of everything, I thought to myself, impressed.

So I arranged a tiny photo shoot starring the spider and our friends the Crittergators, when suddenly I was approached by a tiny blonde girl and her daddy. I had seen them in the gardens earlier, and it turned out that the spider, whose name is Charlotte, belonged to the little girl.

The little girl was delighted to see me using her spider in my photo shoot, and approached me with great interest. In fact, she insisted on meeting the Crittergators, and so I showed them to her, very carefully. "See," explained the daddy, nodding and pointing to me, "SHE brought HER own toys along to the children's garden too!" And the little girl and I shared a secret smile. (What can I say; that's just the kinda gal I am. Why, you ask? Why, for the FUN of it! What else? What other motivation do I need?)

I took quite a few photos of the children's garden, Childhood's Gate, on this first visit. It was all new to me and I wanted to capture it all. But I can only share one photo here for this day (although I can promise I will return again soon), so this was the one I chose: a picture of the flowers and the grounds with the misting system on full tilt, spraying my entire world, and every single thing in it, with liquid diamonds; making magic.

The song to accompany this colorful morning scene is a favorite John Denver tune, which includes the lyrics provided above. And I'll end this Blip by providing below the song's concluding lyrics. Here's a link to the song - John Denver's Rhymes and Reasons - if you'd like to sing along.

"For the children and the flowers are my sisters and my brothers,
Their laughter and their loveliness would clear a cloudy day.
And the song that I am singing is a prayer to non-believers,
Come and stand beside us, we can find a better way."