Trivia that matter
I finally got back to the botanical garden today for the first time since the rains began. I was disappointed to see that the yoshino cherry had been cut down; Botanica is down to one flowering cherry. The Japanese apricot is still there, though, and it looks healthy.
More pictures beneath the fold.
A few pictures from yesterday evening’s expedition. This time I used only the 50mm lens (effectively 75mm on my camera).
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception III in Wichita
I’m preoccupied with cameras and keyboards these days. Posting will continue to be sporadic.
Some fisheye views from this morning’s ride. Above is James Rosati‘s “Tripodal” in downtown Wichita.
A couple of Wonderduck’s relatives dropped by the botanical garden yesterday.
The usual pretty pictures are below the fold.
Some years back, one of the local Walmarts stocked rhododendrons in their gardening department, and I saw a number prominently planted in yards around town. Every single one was dead by midsummer. I spotted these for sale this past weekend. (It is possible to keep some species of rhododendron alive in Kansas in the right spot, but it’s not easy, and they don’t flourish.)
I suppose I should explain why I’ve dropped every show of the spring season and have instead been re-watching Shingu and reading Alan Coren, but I think I’ll just post a few more pictures instead.
Update: A climatological footnote from this morning’s forecast.
… Coldest April since 1997 across the area…
Wichita… the average April temperature was 51.3 degrees… which was
the 7th coolest April on record since 1889. The normal April average
is 56.1 degrees.
It might snow tomorrow.
I could do with a little global warmening right about now.
I rode out to our local little Renaissance Faire yesterday, the first time I’ve been to one since I got fed up with the SCA years ago. It was a rather drab affair overall, though I did find a few things worth looking at. I doubt I’ll be going back any year soon.
… but crab apple season is just starting.
More pictures from yesterday’s trip to Botanica below the fold.
… just a close-up of the fountain in the kids’ garden. More pictures from yesterday’s trip to Botanica are below the fold.
If yesterday was November, today is March. It’s still chilly, but the sun is out, making all the icy trees glitter.
Unlike most places in temperate regions, in Kansas the seasons don’t follow a simple spring-summer-fall-winter sequence. This year, for instance, we had a few weeks of spring back in February, followed by heavy winter snows. Today I woke up to find that it was November outside. I wonder if we’ll see any more spring here, or if we’ll go directly from winter to summer.
… to do macro photography with a 50mm lens and an extension tube, and without a tripod?
Just barely.
More pictures from today’s trip to the botanical garden below the fold.
… until the first tornado warning, but spring is almost here. Trees are still leafless, but daffodils and small bulbs are in full bloom. I visited the botanical garden yesterday and found the pink okame cherry in bloom. The white yoshino cherry is lagging about a week behind. (The very double kwanzan cherry, I am not happy to note, has been cut down.) There are more Botanica pictures beneath the fold.
