spring sunset

seems like the sunset is racing across the horizon ---

the minute-winning days, like flies, buzz home to death, and every moment is a window on all time.

kinetic topiary

i think several of the topiary in the "imaginary worlds" exhibit will be moving, including maybe the giant cobras --- one of the better iterations of that fountain ---

more flora

the woodland garden is prime right now ---

a luxurious sunday morning

a great morning for the park and atl bot gdn --- threatening rain, so everybody else stayed home --- setting up the "imaginary worlds" exhibit, which promises to be better than i was expecting --- it'll be fun to watch the topiary grow through the season

more ocracoke

a day on ocracoke

mr. kitty, the official greeter at the ocracoke light station

a view of the light station --- the light station dates to 1823 --- the keepers quarters were built around the same time, but were greatly enlarged in the 1920s ---

a view of silver lake, the harbor at ocracoke, from the lighthouse

the light is a fourth-order fresnel lens

very windy on the beach --- temperatures in the 50s --- not the best beach weather

day one to ocracoke

walking to and from the concourse is a great way to begin and end any travel --- the sculpture from zimbabwe is the best

beautiful spring weather for a drive down the caratoke highway from chesapeake to the wright memorial bridge over to the outer banks, or obx as they call it

crossed and recrossed the chesapeake and albemarle canal (1859) through some flat and swampy country

the first few miles through kitty hawk all the way to nags head and whalebone junction, where the national seashore begins, is miserably overbuilt --- jockey's ridge state park and nearby nags head woods are the small exceptions ---

bodie island lighthouse (1872) is open and gleaming after a gazillion-dollar restoration

the bonner bridge, which opened in 1963, is being rebuilt --- its over oregon inlet, which opened in 1846 and has been widening ever since --- not far south, new inlet re-opened after hurricane irene in 2009 and they've only managed a makeshift bridge to keep the towns on hatteras island from being completely cut off

the final leg of the journey was the ferry ridge across hatteras inlet to ocracoke island --- north carolina runs a bunch of ferries across the sounds and between the islands so you can get to almost anywhere except portsmouth island at the north end of cape lookout national seashore

portsmouth is barely visible on the horizon across hatteras inlet

the pony island motel opened in 1959 -- we stayed there in 1963 or so --- they still have one of the better restaurants on the island ---

spring, cont'd.

the iris at piedmont park are purty great right now

spring garden

dogwood festival weekend

absolutely spectacular weather ---- low 40, high 63 --- doesn't get any better

the dogwood were past their prime, but the black locust on the east side of the park were perfect, in flower and in odure ---

420!

the best of the phalaenopsis

jcniris

i drove to newnan this afternoon to meet some friends for dinner --- stopped at holly hill to see if they had gotten the dates done, which they had --- left ma some flowers --- don't have to go back again

euphorbias rock

this one is in my dentist's new offices --- biggest one i've seen outside the botanical garden ----

my little red one is not looking quite as robust --- i always stick them out on the balcony in march, since they can stand some cold weather but i might have jumped the gun this year --- i thought this one was dead, but it retained a single leaf and now all of the stems are budding!

this guy, on the other hand, dropped all of its leaves but never really quit blooming! it's one plant that literally never stops blooming ----