Richmod Botanical Gardens

I leave in just a few days and everything is mostly ready for the next four months.

It is becoming a bit of a tradition to meet with my aunt Stephanie before I leave on these various journies. She is one of my favorite of many excellent aunts I am lucky to have. More than anything I like her open introspection and warmth. She has always been someone I can speak to about deeper things. Feelings and premonitions. In that vein we tend to do quirky things together. Like last year we went to a seer out of fun curiosity to have our palms read. It was fun and so interesting! I have kept the notes from that afternoon and quitely tracked their progress over the year.

Today we met at the Richmond Botanical Gardens to walk the cold hushed grounds bathed in christmas lights. It was a time to chat and reflect on the recent year gone by and speculate on the one to come. Though I was born in this city, I have never been and so it was a revelation to discover the winding grounds, old trees, hot house gardens of orchids, and art decorating the pavilion. I am supposed to do an exhibition of my photography here next winter and so this is also a time to scope it out and prepare for a distant show.

By the time we finished a mug of hot coco darkness had descended. Like the subtle metamorphoses of fire-flies clicking on at dusk so to were the grounds. Steadily lighting up in a kaleidiscope of colorful lights -- whites, blues and greens draping the arbors, snaking through the pathways, and illuminating hidden forms of people and animals hiding like a fantasy land come to life.