Bloomin' Magic...

This post is going to be a little different from most of my others. Yes, I am going to write. I am also going to put in a lot of pictures  - pictures I took during a morning visit to Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh, PA. We used to go there as a family on Easter Sunday, and follow the line of people slowly winding their way through the many paths in among the floral displays. Phipps was also a favorite field trip in grade school, though again, always in a line of people, moving slowly.

Phipps Conservatory, December 2011

It was Christmas time in 2011, and my mother had died of Alzheimer's only two months before. The heart knows what it needs, doesn't it? I went back to a place alive with mystery, a riot of color and fragrance, and the wonder and magic of childhood that never really dies...

A few of the glorious flowers at Phipps...

The eternal fascination of model trains...

It was Pittsburgh - the train had to go into a tunnel...

...and then come out the other side.

The magic of ice skating on a winter's night.

An orchid orchard...

The secret path that was not so secret...no matter how many times I walked through this little underground passageway, I never tired of exploring every inch of it.

The Christmas displays were always dramatic and lush...see the poinsettias peeking out from behind the cactus below?

Even as you get ready to leave, another path beckons...

Walls for the wind
and a roof for the rain
and drinks beside the fire
laughter to cheer you
and those you love near you
and all that your heart may desire...
                                                 Irish blessing