Krohn Conservatory Fern House - Part 2 of 3

Good morning,

Today is Part 2 of 3 of images of the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati.  Today My Honey, four of our grandchildren, and I have moved from the Palm House to the Fern House. 

Where we found a chocolate tree!  I wonder if I could grow one of these in my back garden.  ;)  Sure, right next to my money tree, right?

More beautiful blossoms are in this section of the Conservatory.  The humidity is quite high which causes camera lenses to fog.

There is also a pond with beautiful fish here.  You can barely see the pond to the right in the image above.  The next time I'm there, I'll have to try again to get images of the beautiful large gold fish.

We walked through the Fern House, then outside to go around the building to get to the next exhibit area.  The area of the Conservatory where special exhibits are displayed was closed today after the Butterfly Show that had closed just about the time My Honey and I came home to Cincinnati this time.  I have taken many images of the Butterfly Show in prior years and have published those images here.

 We went outside to walk around the building and Katie had to run out to the street to capture an image of the flower clock on the hill on the other side.  The time on the clock is not correct, but perhaps time doesn't matter when you are enjoying all the plants and flowers.  That clock has been there for as long as I can remember visiting the Conservatory in the 1950s.

The grounds outside the Conservatory are as beautiful as what you'll find inside.

I didn't readjust my camera after taking close up shots inside, but I am using this image anyway because it is the only one I have of the giant wind chimes.  I asked Katie to stand near them so I could show the size perspective.  The chimes produce lovely low tones.

In front of the building are a collection of flowers that grow well in our area.  The aroma of these roses was just delicious.

Moving around the building...

...we found flowers blooming in many of our gardens at this time of the year.

And, beside the walkway near the back parking lot is the petrified redwood log...

...from Arizona.

And for our last image today here is our Alex standing in the same spot as I stood at the same age when my father took my picture here.

Tomorrow will be the last part of this three part series.  I'll feature the gorgeous Orchid Display and the Desert House.  I hope you'll stop in tomorrow to see those final images of our trip to the Krohn Conservatory.

Very best,
Lois

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 Canon EOS 50D 15.1MP Digital SLR Camera with EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens

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Krohn Conservatory Palm House - Part 1 of 3

Good morning,

My Honey and I took four of our grandchildren to Cincinnati's Krohn Conservatory.  Built in 1933, it is literally just down the street from where we live.  I came here many, many times as a child where my father took pictures of my brothers and me in many of the same spots as we took pictures today at this wonderful place.

I lined up the four kids for a picture before we went down the steps...

...into the Palm House section of the Conservatory. 

 Gorgeous plants abound.

I have no idea what the names of most of them are, I just enjoy visiting them and bringing home their pictures.

Little Miss Katie is a budding photographer.

And, here I've gotten all four of them to line up again on the little bridge that goes across the little "river" in the Palm Room.

Behind this waterfall is a cave that the kids just love.

And, of course...

...there are beautiful plants and flowers everywhere.

 Big sister, Anna, got in on the photo action...

...to capture these gorgeous Birds of Paradise.

But, this is my favorite image in the Palm Room.  I believe it is a Hibiscus, but I have never seen one that is this beautiful combination of colors.

The giant palms tower over us in this giant room.

This image with people toward the bottom gives a better concept of size.

When we emerged from the opposite side of the Palm Room and back to where we started, I managed to get all four kids to sit on the butterfly bench for one more image today.

Needless to say, if you visit Cincinnati, Krohn Conservatory should be high on you list of places to visit.

I hope you'll return tomorrow when we will visit the Fern House and the gardens outside Krohn Conservatory.

Very best,
Lois

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 Krohn Conservatory, Cincinnati, Ohio Photographic Poster Print by Priscilla Connell, 42x56

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Toasting Marshmallows

Good morning,

Summer is so much fun.  After grilling dinner, we took the grate off of the grill, threw in a few sticks, and had an instant "camp fire" for grilling marshmallows.  It works just fine when you live in the city where you can't have open fires on the ground.

These super giant marshmallows are the biggest I have ever seen.  When I saw them in the grocery they almost jumped into my cart for the next time we would be grilling with the kids.

Katie likes hers "flamed."

And, that's exactly how she prepared it.  ;)

David's is roasted through so the outer layer just slides off...

...and right into his mouth.  Oh, yum!

Aunt Catherine and Anna are still at the grill.  Aunt Catherine is toasting for Alex. The grill is exceptionally hot and is just at his eye level with smoke is blowing out so it is not safe for him to grill his own.  When he goes camping where there is a fire pit, he can toast his own marshmallows.  He didn't mind having Aunt Catherine doing his toasting for him.

The hard part for him was waiting...

...and waiting for it to cool!

Finally!

Katie prepared a second, also very much to her liking.

And Anna, with years and years of experience toasting marshmallows, made hers golden brown.

Summer!  This is so much fun!

I hope you've enjoyed our marshmallow toast with us.

Very best,
Lois

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Weber 751001 22.5-Inch One-Touch Gold Charcoal Grill, Black 

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Hair Styling, Olives, Letters, Dry Cleaning, and Tomatoes

Good morning,

My daughter, my son's two daughters, and I sure had fun getting our hair styled recently.  Back in the old days we called this getting our hair cut, but this was surely much more special than a haircut.

First was my turn, but since I own the camera and it was in my purse, I didn't get any pictures.  I had about 2.5 inches cut and special styling so my hair can be in a pony tail for gardening or walking the deck of a ship - or - gently curled for more formal events.


Next, nine year old Katie had her hair "shaped."  Katie didn't want to lose any length, but needed shaping and trimming.  That's what I love about our stylist:  she takes the time to ask how we would like our hair styled and does it!  We all have horror stories of getting something totally different from that we request at the style salon.

Our stylist, Robin Volkman of Salon Concepts in West Chester, Ohio, has been the only person to style my hair and my daughter's hair for quite a few years now. We have followed her from shop to shop until Robin went into business for herself.  Each time she moved she moved further from where we live, but it is worth it to seek her out.  

Katie's hair has been styled and it's soon big sister Anna's turn.  Katie warns against having too much cut!

But first, Aunt Catherine is in the chair.  That's Anna on the right trying to decide just how much of her locks to lose.

Now Anna is in the chair.  She had approximately 8 " cut off the length and bangs carefully styled to fall perfectly to the side.

The really cool thing is that our hair was swept up and put in a box of hair being collected to send to the gulf oil spill.  The hair is used as packing in booms to corral and absorb oil.

The rest of that title up there has to do with the rest of our day:  lunch at Olive Garden, a trip to the Post Office, dry cleaners, and grocery shopping.  It sure was a fun day for the four of us.

I feel so fortunate to have such a lovely family with whom to have such fun times.

Very best,
Lois

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Remington H-2050 T-Studio Ceramic Heated Clip Hair Rollers with Tourmaline

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