Living the Dream in Retirement
As Spring approached this year, I purchased a new wreath for my front door. After a few days, I noticed a robin’s nest built into the wreath just below my peephole. So began several weeks of up close viewing including the thrill of watching the first fledgling leave the nest and the other three flying out simultaneously the next day. It was an incredible experience.
After being on vacation for a week, I came back my garden bursting with blooms.
Then there’s my beloved Peony Tree that I moved from my home of many years to my new one nearly three years ago. It’s so beautiful I had to give it its own gallery of multiple photos.
The JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort has an Aviary where I got to visit these stunning birds.
Always up for anything garden-related, my visit to this Palm Springs botanical garden was an opportunity to see more Cacti varieties than I knew existed.
Established in Palm Springs since 1938, this privately-owned arboretum was created to share the beauty and extraordinary varieties of desert plants with everyone who visits. The featured desert trees, plants, and cacti come from around the world and range in size from miniature to giants!
The Moortens are desert plant specialists and invite you to their residence estate. Moorten Botanical Garden is a living museum of desert lore and has something of interest for everyone with glistening crystals, colorful rocks, ancient fossils, and pioneer and gold mining relics.
The classic collections on display are comprised of more than 3000 varieties of plants designed in concentrated habitats along a nature trail. In the world’s first Cactarium (a word coined by The Moortens), visitors will discover a special exhibition of rare plants seen nowhere else.
This content is courtesy of: http://www.moortenbotanicalgarden.com
One afternoon my sister and I headed out to explore this sculpture garden. It exceeded our expectations natural beauty in a peaceful setting – plants, trees, water features, rock formations and of course the sculptures. It was the definition of Zen.
My favorite sculpture “Walks Among the Stars” is worth photographing from several angles.
I’ve rarely seen flamingos so when I had the opportunity I had to capture the moment in photos.
I had a special afternoon enjoying one of our beautiful national parks this week. Staying in Palm Desert, Joshua Tree National Park was about an hour’s drive and such an incredible place to visit. With so much in the news regarding the administration’s disruption to our national parks it felt especially poignant spending time there.
Our national parks are a treasure and should be protected and valued.
