Hudson Gardens

[mistressofmuses]

Today we went to Hudson Gardens. It's a botanical garden and event venue near us. It's a little early in the season for much to be blooming, but what was was lovely, and it's a beautiful place to walk around.

(We entered through the gift shop/office, which they ask you to do, and because I usually like to ask if there's anything in particular to be aware of. The lady at the front practically begged me to come volunteer at the gift shop, haha. Idk if they're just really short-staffed or what, but she gave me her card and said I "present myself well", lol.)


This has been a great year for lilacs.


My favorite - a robin sitting on a nest over by their coffee shop. She was very cute.




Lily of the valley - one of my favorite flower scents.


Some really nice multi-colored irises.


And some lovely yellow ones.


It's an oriole, I swear! (A Bullock's Oriole, specifically.) He was a bright orange and yellow, but at an angle against the sky where I couldn't ever get a picture that didn't come out as a silhouette.


They have community beehives. :) I love all the different ways they're painted.


The vents for the greenhouse were open, so we were able to peek in. Lots of water lilies!


Crabapple blossoms, which smelled lovely.


A turtle, hanging out in the water lily garden.


A waterfall.


We saw three families of geese, two of which are here. I was surprised how big the four goslings in the front family were! They must have been born early in the season! The family in the back had five goslings that were a little younger. There was also a pair that had just a single, much younger gosling.


This turtle was sunning on this rock for at least an hour or so. It looks like it's doing ballet, haha, stretching its leg out like that.


Closer and around the other side of the turtle.


Aaaaand a muskrat! It's been a few years since I've seen one!

It was a really nice afternoon, and makes for two weeks in a row of Going Out and Doing Something, which is also nice!

Now I want to try and dial in on some writing to see if I can get this damn oneshot written!

Comments

[sleeplesspotato]

Lovely photos. <3 My favorites are the turtles, especially the one stretching its leg. So cute. Probably the muskrat, too; I remembered a myth I read a long time ago about a muskrat that dived deep into the water and returned with a bit of mud that was used to create land.

[mistressofmuses]

Thank you! I love the turtles. The one doing turtle yoga was the best, haha.

That's a fun myth! I don't know if I've heard that one before.

[sleeplesspotato]

I found the myth mentioned briefly on the Wikipedia page for muskrats, which says it's a Native American creation myth. I used to have a picture book of retellings of that myth and several others; kinda wish I still had it.

[scarlipswolfwife]

How lovely! What a fun day! I love botanical gardens. My mother loved lily of the valley!

[mistressofmuses]

It was a fun day! I do love botanical gardens so very much. I want to come back in a few weeks, because I know there'll be more blooming, including the really lovely rose garden.

[scarlipswolfwife]

Roses are some of my absolute favorite flowers, and photographing them is such a joy. I especially love it when it's rained or when they've been watered and there are drops of water on them; the photos become even more amazing.

[mistressofmuses]

Mine, too! And yes, water droplets can be downright magical on flowers.

[olivermoss]

What a cool place! I love the robin picture!

[mistressofmuses]

Thank you! It's a very cool place. I hope we go back a few more times over the summer, when different things will be blooming.