One last look at 'Earthy Delights.'

There must be miles of footpaths within the Auckland Botanic Garden.  Jeanne and I wanted to walk them all.  More than once we commented to the other, "If we were young, we could have done it."  

But, we are in our seventh decade of life now and must be satisfied with levels of physical output that we would have scoffed at when we were in our twenties. Parque de Madrid, otherwise known as El Retiro, (Retiro Park) is 350 acres, or roughly twice the size of this garden. (Of course it has a lake in it.) We covered every acre of that one, a number of times, and usually rented a boat for a row around the lake besides. But, we were relative kids back then.  

At the present, our earthy delights have got to be enjoyed in smaller doses and modified.  Instead of striding continuously along footpaths, we stroll along now and often seek out the ideal shaded bench, passing a thermos of cool water between us. Believe me, we're still delighted, but it's a gentler, less intense sort of pleasure.  

We stayed at the Botanic Garden on our visit for nearly four hours, and found by the end, that we were approaching the limits of our comfort levels.  We were starting to relish the thought of those deep, comfortable bus seats and those little individual nozzles in the panels above us that blow cool air. It was soon time to go and most of us were saying, as the bus left the carpark, that we'd have to come back again, for sure, to this amazing place.  

So, let's have one more post of pictures before we're done.  Imagine as you look at them, a verging-on-hot sun above you, and an assortment of smells, some flowery, some grassy, but all green and lively. And, if you listen really carefully while in the Herb garden, you might even think you hear a bee go by.  I did. I had my 'ears' (hearing aids) set fairly high I guess and one must have zoomed past close behind me. 

And just a side note.  I capitalized Herb garden because that's how its pronounced here, like the man's name. I keep thinking the sign should read, "Herb's Garden."

I'm showing you a bit of water first in this post, partially because I mentioned the lake in El Retiro, but also because it's just beautiful to look at.

Here's Herb's Garden.  This was the last area we explored that day.  It's close to the visitor's center, so it was a short walk when we were tired and returning to the bus.  

While looking at theses pictures, you've got to imagine a constantly changing potpourri of 'herbish' scents rising up from the ground.    

Jeanne's taking a breather, out of the sun with a few others.  

You know, I mentioned the bees in this garden, didn't I?  I really ought to chase a few of them down for you. Okay, to be honest, I'm not really being all that altruistic here.  I, personally, like bee pictures a lot.

I look at it this way.  I'm going to be entering eternity at some point. It is now foreseeable to me.  Before I do that, I think I ought to consciously appreciate what I have been enjoying all my life, but never really seeing. (I've talked about this before I know) My camera gives me the ability to see some of the wonders that are all around us, but mostly invisible to us, in the case of bees because of their size and their speed of living. So, since we can, let's expand these little critters a bunch and slow them down to a stop.

 

  

The ability of see the veins in a bee's wing, to see its individual hairs, or a bit of pollen on its corbicula* encourages me to say, Thank You, to our Maker for such wonders.  And there are lots of other wonders.  

*The corbicula is part of the tibia on the hind leg of bees that is used as a 'pollen sack.' It's a sort of cavity surrounded by hairs that allow bees to transport pollen.   

Lately, I've also been thinking about magnetism again. I loved it as a boy, and here I am a grandfather, and am still in awe. For different reasons, I suppose. I have been reading more  about the elements, and their electron levels, the paired and unpaired, and the tetragonal crystalline shape an alloy of Neodymium (Nd2Fe14B) forms, that further enhances its magnetic strength, measured in Tesla or Gauss.  (One Tesla (T) equals 10,000 Gauss (G).)  

I'm waiting as I type this for a new magnet that I just bought to be delivered.  I think it'll be delivered tomorrow. It's a N-45 pot style magnet. The pot description means that the magnet is mostly enclosed by a stainless steel cover, which they say, enhances the power on the one exposed end.  The magnet is a round, short cylinder, just 1.88 inches wide and yet, if you placed it on a clean sheet of steel, would require a force of 110 pounds (50 kilograms) to pull it straight off. 

That amazes me. I don't think that's because I've become senile in my old age. And I don't think it's because my IQ is substandard. I think that ought to amaze me. It is wonder-worthy. It is yet another tiny piece of how the universe works and I love pondering such matters. 

Well, enough of that, back to the garden. 

Here we are, leaving Herb's place, and heading back to the visitor's center and bus. 

One last look as our bus leaves.  Thanks Auckland, it's been great.  

I wonder if I'll doze going home?  

(How's the airflow Jeanne?  Is the nozzle positioned about right?  Mine's good.)   

Y'all come back next week.  I don't know what I'll have, but I'll be here with something.   -djf

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I showed you Auckland's 'Herb Garden,' in my post.  As I finished it today, I remembered that I had written a 'drabble,' a story containing exactly 100 words, some time ago. It was about a guy named Herb and his wife's herb garden.  I thought that I'd throw it in today as a bonus.  

 #19

Mr. Herbert Tralley, President, hadn’t been to his bank all week. His wife had phoned, reporting that she hadn’t seen him since Monday morning. She seemed quite beside herself.   

The police became concerned when they learned that Mr. Tralley had recently doubled his life insurance, but Mrs. Tralley was such a sweet old woman, and grew such lovely flowers....    

   

Protocol however, required she be interviewed.   

She was in her garden as usual, and showed the detective around as they talked, especially proud of her expanded herb garden.  

After he left, she smiled with contentment, lovingly smoothing the deep, rich soil. 

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I hope you liked it. Jeanne and I have recently been watching old episodes of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour. In each of them, Mr. Hitchcock concludes the show by summing up the episode we have just watched. If he honored my drabble in a similar way, he might say something like this.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Throughout history, herbs have been used to enhance a variety of recipes. In this anecdote, Mrs. Tralley decided to return the favor and enhance her herbs with a unique recipe of her own devising.

Upon further reflection, the detective in tonight's story returned to her garden and arrested Mrs. Tralley on suspicion of composting.

Good night. -djf