2021 Aug 10, Cheekwood Botanical Gardens Nashville, Tennessee

Hubby and I traveled the backroads to Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville, TN, via Natchez Trace, getting off at the Leipers Fork exit. Hubby parked the car near the entrance and showed the girl at the ticket counter our online tickets.

Pink LEGO Dog 

The first thing we saw as we entered the gardens was a big pink dog made of Lego blocks. We walked down a long, winding sidewalk, down several steps to the Train Exhibit, inspired by the Little Engine That Could.

In front of us was a couple with a very independent little girl, about two or three years old, with a head full of curls. What a magical place, as you enter the land of trains and Fairy mushroom villages. The train exhibit was constructed from rough timbers and featured five train tracks, totaling over 800 feet of track. As we walked through, we saw trains crossing bridges and passing through tunnels. We were in a magical land of trains.

We saw beautiful yellow lilies floating in the lily ponds and pink, orange, white, and red roses bursting with life in the Rose Study Garden.

Roses

We saw art pieces made of musical notes and wire. We also saw many Yellow and Black swallowtails on the butterfly bushes.

Yellow Swallowtail 

We saw a red lion, a zebra, a blue bear, colorful birds, a red turtle, a green lawnmower, and a man working in the garden, all made of Legos. Also, LEGO rabbits were spotted throughout the Bradford Robertson Color Garden. We walked around the Mansion, but not inside. Workers were repairing the pool in front of the Mansion in the Martin Boxwood Gardens.

Cheekwood Mansion 

There were waterfalls, ponds, and creeks running through the gardens. We visited the Art Bark exhibit, which featured crayon sculptures by Nashville artist Herb Williams. Inside the visitor center were restrooms, drink machines, and a beautiful rose LEGO sculpture. We took a break to cool off, drink a soda, and use the restrooms before beginning our journey home; we didn't walk the entire garden, but we had a wonderful time. We traveled home along the backroads, this time taking a different route. We came out in Columbia, TN. We got a late fish lunch at Long John Silver's and brought it home.

2021 Sep 26, Day Trip to Huntsville Botanical Gardens Huntsville, Alabama

Arrived at 11 A.M., just as the gardens were opening. My first stop was the Purdy Butterfly Gardens, where I saw several Gulf Fritillary Butterflies, red-spotted Admiral butterflies, Zebra Long-wing butterflies, monarch butterflies, great southern white butterflies, the white peacock butterflies, and the common buckeye butterflies. I spotted several Blue Jays and heard a woodpecker, but never saw it. I also heard several other species of birds and saw a snake as I was exiting the wooded area. I walked through the vegetable garden, where I saw just a few plants, including one large orange pumpkin and a few vines with fruit dangling from them.

I saw the fruit of Japanese Persimmons hanging on the trees. On the tree next to them was a thorny tree with Trifoliate orange fruit hanging on it. I also saw an Osage orange lying on the ground, so you can see that there was plenty of fruit for the animals. I spotted a praying mantis on a small limb. I saw several turtles swimming and lying along the bank of the pond.

I saw pink and purple blooming asters and mums, all in shades of purple. I even spotted a pink rose. I spotted a gray heron and several turtles lying on the bank near the butterfly house. Uncaged: Birds, Nature & You, along with Night Blooms, still fill the gardens.

Some of the scarecrows that I saw were Santa's Helper, Mr. Antsy Pants, Zooey the ZooKeeper, It's a Girl Scout Vibe, Frida Kahlo, The Scarecrow Dietitian, Terry Lewis "Herb's wife:/Herb the Birdman, Papa's Pumpkins, Mr. Crow the Birdwatcher, Dog Day Bride, Collaborative Carl, We can do the job, Snow Fairy, Betelgeuse Scary Spirit, Sir Night fo make it right, Faith, Service, Diversity, Page Turner, Autumn, Larry If I only had a spaceship, Rooted,

Mr. Morgan, Bill the birdwatcher, Johnny Apple Seed, and Demeter, Find Your Space, South Huntsville Sam, Auntie Smile, Miss Mary, La Ofrenda, Rosie the Refunder, Discovery Daisy, Lady Golfer, Noah, Cedrick Crow pin, Meets the Adams Family, Tiger, and Crow, & Voting Violet. I saw several people in line to go into the park as I was leaving. I spotted a lady with a Nikon camera, so I walked up to her and told her where I had seen the heron and all the butterflies that were not inside the Purdy Butterfly House. She asked me about my camera, and I said I had been taking pictures for many years. She said she had just started with her new camera. It started out a cool morning by afternoon, it was hot. I walked back to the car, ate the bowl of nuts and the diet Sprite that I had brought, and rested for a few minutes before starting the hour-and-a-half drive home. That morning, I had stopped at Wheeler Dam to see the waterfowl. Several people were fishing, and more were arriving to fish. I asked a young man about the waterfowl, and he said there were a few, but a couple of days ago, they were more numerous than he had ever seen before. I miss them. I did get a couple of shots of a heron catching a fish.