September Birthdays - Part Four

I really enjoyed the Ornamental Gardens. I never remember seeing ornamental grass that was almost twice as tall as me.

This tree looks like a giant, leaf-covered rock. To the left, you can see a doorway of sorts. When you enter there, you are under the tree where they have a little table and chairs set up. It's like a treehouse on the ground. Under the tree, you can look up, up, up to the very top and imagine climbing up there. Looking out, you see the rest of the world go by through waving, curly leaves.

This little girl seemed to capture the mood of the day. Carefree and joyful with the wind in her hair, she reminded us of our childhood. For just a moment, we were taken back to those worry-free days when we spent as much time as possible outside enjoying God's creation and our only responsibility was to soak up the sun.
Part One photos here. Part Two photos here. Part Three photos here.

September Birthdays - Part Three

This bright, beautiful yellow flower helped us complete our Scavanger Hunt. Each of us had a copy of this hunt, along with a colored pencil in the shade of our favorite color. It was so fun! We found everything except for the monarch eggs.

Beautiful colors on these ornamental peppers. They look like jewels among the green leaves.

Can you see us in the gazing ball? We're there, looking at the reflection of the leaves and surrounding scenery.

Part One photos here. Part Two photos here.

September Birthdays - Part Two

There were several of these unique benches throughout the garden. If it was not so cold, it would have been a lovely place to sit and rest and take in the scenery. But we needed to keep moving.

The Butterfly House was closed for the season. Instead, they had a bonsai display set up. This was the smallest tree there. I took so many photos, it was hard to choose just two.

This display is a miniature forest (click to enlarge). It was amazing to see what they created on such a small scale.

Part One photos here

September Birthdays - Part One

I have 8 sisters. One sister lives in LA and has a birthday in October, one lives in IL and has a birthday in November and one lives in WV and has a birthday in December. The rest of us live relatively close and try to get together during our birthday month. There is a January birthday, 2 May birthdays and 3 September birthdays. For the September birthdays, we decided to meet in Hershey, eat at Red Robin then visit Hershey Gardens. Trying to coordinate the Saturday schedules of 6 married women, some with children, is not easy. It was October 30th before we were all free.

Upon entering the gardens, this was there to greet us. There were many carved pumpkins throughout the gardens. I saw some carved with the Eagles, Steelers, Penn State and Notre Dame logos.

Look at these beautiful roses. One for each of us sisters and our mom. So beautiful!

I was amazed that there were so many roses still in bloom. When I left my house that morning to meet my sisters, it was 32 degrees. I was concerned that we would be meeting to look at cleared grounds and a few mums. But we were not disappointed. More photos to follow.