Dale Chilhuly glass in the Pacific Islands Water Garden.
Carnivorous plants in the 2-acre Childrens Garden (wetland area).
I've documented the Paul Busse Garden railway here.
At Home ...
We have discovered that catbirds are enthusiastic bathers.
Joan planted several native plant species in front beds this spring, including milkweed, the sole support of monarch butterflies for egg-laying and feeding the caterpillars. (In particular, she planted rose milkweed, a cultivar of swamp milkweed).
We hadn't anticipated such early success as we've received; soon there were monarch visitors and tiny egg dots under the milkweed leaves. Here are photos of some monarch caterpillars, which go through five instars, or skin-sheddings, as they grow. A first instar is tiny, a centimeter or less long and skinny as a sharp pencil lead. This is likely a second instar; note that the two sets of "horns" are about the same size front and back.
Third instar? The front horns are larger.
A hummingbird has established a nest in the pear tree a dozen feet or so behind the house.
Photo through double-pane glass with small spotting scope.
There are two babies in the nest, growing rapidly. For the next update on the hummers, go here.
Here we have Indian pipe, which lacks chlorophyll. Instead of generating energy from sunlight, it is parasitic on certain fungi that are in a symbiotic relationship with trees, so ultimately its energy comes photosynthesis, but two steps removed!
On July 1st Joan and I visited the Franklin Park Conservatory, not far from downtown Columbus, to check out the Paul Busse Garden Railway on its opening day. (It runs through January 10th). We signed up for the 9:00am admission of the members preview because we knew the day was going to be oven-hot in direct sun; the air temperature later reached 90°F (32°C). The lower angle of the morning light was an unanticipated bonus for photography. We had a short walk to reach the railway after checking in, and on our way we halted to admire this topiary elephant.
The G-scale installation was on the far side of the main plaza.
A closeup of the first sign (click on the image to enlarge).
The Conservatory often has a small indoor railway set up over the Christmas holidays, but it's just a speck compared to this Paul Busse creation, which you walk around, through, and even under.
but they don't capture the detail that inhabits it. And let's not ignore the fact that the entire exhibit, except the trains and tracks, was built with natural materials.
The pathways that branch out from the wide central and encircling boulevards are marked as one-way: "enter here" and "exit only," but the restriction is impossible to enforce. Joan and I meandered through twice, finding more to see the second time. Thematically the installation is divided into four "lands," Fairytale, Wild West Town, the animal-themed Who Lives Here, and European Travels. I'll offer up a series of photos in no particular order; after all, everyone picks their own route through.
Looking in from one of the shady spots.
Don't forget to click on any image to enlarge.
The little folks need to lean in to study the buildings.
Note the vines used as bridge arches.
The elevated railway, one of nine train sets, circles most of the installation.
A beer shipment for the old lady who lives in the shoe.
Use your wide-angle eyeballs and you'll see simultaneous goings-on.
The European Village.
I loved this scene, with the elevated railway, two other loops, and the lighthouse plus waterfall.
I liked it so much I tweaked my photo using the Deep Dream Generator web site. Deep Dream takes an image you supply plus a style you choose, and applies the style to the image. It can produce psychedelic or other extreme transformations, but I experimented with the settings to achieve the look of a painting with slightly different color tones.
The High Castle of Fairyland.
This image of Rapunzel in her tower isn't sharp, but when enlarged you can see her hair falling all the way to the ground, ending in a red bow.
A more unusual feature was a "tree" you could enter,
with mosses garlanding the walls and pinpoint lights that changed color suspended from the ceiling.
The high track that passes the lighthouse and waterfall, from another angle.
A second waterfall is just above this locomotive.
An overview of the Wild West.
I hope this report has whetted your appetite to see the Paul Busse Garden Railway. My photos are superficial compared to the Real Thing.
The next morning was our second and last breakfast at the Lamplight Inn -- the "home of the singing innkeeper." This time, I captured some of Larry's efforts.
Larry talks enthusiastically to the diners in between numbers.
Here's one that's closer and more complete. Then it was time to take Serge and Jeanne to our home in Columbus. Driving back from Berlin, Ohio, we stopped at the Great Circle Earthworks, previously Moundbuilders State Memorial, in Newark, a large ceremonial circular Indian earthworks, part of a much larger complex, now largely obliterated. The best remaining piece is the Octagon Earthworks, which we visited next. The multi-part structure has alignments which indicate that it was oriented to an 18.6-year-long lunar cycle.
In a deal originating in the early 1900s, the earthworks here are preserved by a country club, which uses the grounds as a golf course. There is a short observation tower and a couple of signs, which you see here, but otherwise access is generally restricted to four open days per year. People have been arrested for challenging the country club's authority to eject trespassers.
This is the sign at the terminus of the short asphalt path that takes visitors to the western end of the earthworks.
Then it was time to go on to chez Branch-Campbell and greet the owls.
The next two days were our chance to show Jeanne and Serge some of the spots we find appealing in Columbus. We started at the Grange Audubon Center, a new center and park just a mile from downtown on reclaimed land.
Nearby there is an observation deck overlooking an arm of the Scioto River. We watched herons, turtles, and visiting schoolchildren.
Next we drove to the Ohio State University campus, to hit just a few highlights. Of course, we were obligated to drive by the Horseshoe, the home of the OSU Buckeye football team. It's a shrine for much of the state.
After parking we crossed the Oval, which was packed with students enjoying one of the first warm, sunny days of the year (April 30th).
We all experienced some culture shock, or at least displacement, having been in Amish country and then finding ourselves surrounded by nearly nude sunbathers! Our first goal was the completely renovated library, which Joan and I had never seen.
One novel feature is that different scripts -- musical notation, real languages, imaginary languages (for example, Elvish) -- are imbedded in the floor and also appear on the elevator doors. A key to all the markings is included in the visitor's guide.
The top floor is a reading room with wonderful views in all directions. (This photo has some reflection from the window, but it gives you an idea.)
Next we visited one of Joan's favorites, Orton Hall, with the lobby pillars made of stone from different Ohio geological formations, and the Orton Geological Museum.
Our final campus stop was the newly rebuilt Ohio Union (the student union), where Jeanne and Serge had an opportunity to chat with Brutus Buckeye (the OSU mascot).
The new Ohio Union is a multi-tiered affair with lots of natural light, very cheerful on a sunny day.
And then we went home and rested. Or did laundry. And, of course, admired the owls.
Our destination the next day was the Franklin Park Conservatory. The Conservatory has rearranged and rotated its Chihuly glass collection.
The orchids were still on display, in addition to the themed environments (Himalayas, Rain Forest, Desert, and so forth).
I think Jeanne took this photo in honor of Serge's military service back in the 70s. He was stationed in Madagascar.
I also couldn't pass up the opportunity to use Jeanne's picture of the cacao tree -- the source of that most important of natural resources, chocolate. The blooms and hence cacao pods are spaced along the trunk and branches, a design called cauliflory.
We enjoyed the Hot Shop, a seasonal outdoor glassblowing exhibition. You can buy the output of the Hot Shop at the Conservatory's gift shop.
Here's a closeup of the Glory Hole.
And a video clip of working some of the glass at a later stage -- with wet newspaper!
There's always a lot to see at the Conservatory. Don't skip the courtyards between buildings.
According to the placard, this bonsai is 365 years old. (Do they update the placard every year?)
We reached the Pacific Island Water Garden just after they had done a butterfly release. (Don't miss the blue one at the lower left. It's hard to get an image with the wings open, because they close when the butterfly lands on something.)
We had a few friends over that evening to meet Serge and Jeanne, and for the occasion, Joan baked some fabulous cookies.
The next two days would be our Ohio safari adventure.
