Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2008. Mattie was in the child life playroom with his big buddy Brandon. Though there was a significant age difference between the two of them, they understood each other and Mattie really valued the connection he had with Brandon. As you can see here, the boys were building a storage unit out of popsicle sticks for many of Mattie's hot wheel cars. Art projects like this were very therapeutic for Mattie. They got Mattie out of his room and interacting with people. Something he refused to do quite often as his treatment progressed.


Quote of the day: So often survivors have had their experiences denied, trivialized, or distorted. Writing is an important avenue for healing because it gives you the opportunity to define your own reality. You can say: This did happen to me. It was that bad. ~ Ellen Bass

Today we visited the Arboretum. I have been to it before as a teenager and then once with Mattie. The Arboretum is located in historic Rancho Santa Anita. The Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden is a unique 127 acre botanical garden and historical site jointly operated by the Los Angeles Arboretum Foundation and the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation and located in the city of Arcadia.  Home to plant collections from all over the world, including many rare and endangered species. The Arboretum also houses outdoor historical landmarks representative of the major phases of California history. Upon entering the Arboretum, we were all greeted by this adorable Kermit the Frog carved pumpkin. 

One of the amazing aspects of the Arboretum is its free roaming peacocks and peahens! Mattie LOVED this feature and frankly we never got that far walking wise in the gardens because Mattie was too busy following these colorful birds!

Meet the resident Guinea Hen! This hen looks like a cross between a chicken and a vulture. But very friendly and he thinks he is a peacock! He is the ONLY remaining Guinea Hen in all of the gardens. The others died off. He too is free roaming and his origin is Africa.

A simple word to describe the Arboretum is PEACEFUL. It isn't congested, you are not fighting crowds, noise, or car traffic. You can walk for miles, and my mom and I walked over 8 miles today in the park! Here is a photo of my parents by one of the amazing fountains at the Arboretum.

My photo does not do this tree justice. It is electric. This is a Pink Silk Floss tree from South America. I have never seen such a tree but it was magnificent and an eye catcher. It is hard to believe that it is the end of October and I am surrounded by such rich greenery.

One of the gardens we explored is called the African Garden filled with all sorts of palm trees. The expanse of this palm caught our attention.

Check this tree out! Look at its trunk. I think the name of the tree is SO fitting ..... The Elephant Foot Tree!

For those of you old enough to have watched the TV show Fantasy Island, this is where it was filmed. This house was featured in the TV series for years. The official name of the house is the Queen Anne Cottage and it sits in the heart of the Arboretum. Queen Anne Cottage was constructed in 1885 and it is an ornate example of Victorian extravagance.

I showed you the pink silk floss tree above. This is a close up of the flower on a white silk floss tree. The flower almost looks and smells like a lily.

We ventured into the rose garden and it was filled with butterfly friendly plants. In fact butterflies were flying all about us. I caught one in action!

Here is an overview of the rose garden. It was simply amazing. The roses were huge, the garden was so fragrant and surrounding the roses were all sorts of citrus trees. Filled with oranges! You just wanted to pick them right off the tree. In addition to the flowers the garden was filled with lizards, bunnies, squirrels, birds, and butterflies.

Here is a close up of the Queen Anne house. Though I have visited the Arboretum before, this was my first time walking close to the house and peering inside. This house was built in the 1870s and was owned by Elias Baldwin. Nicknamed "Lucky." Lucky used this house for entertainment purposes and literally the house had NO kitchen. He lived in a nearby house on this huge piece of property but had this house constructed to entertain his guests. He purchased this property as a Mexican land grant and used it to grow citrus fruit. Fruit that was shipped all over California and eventually the US, when the transcontinental railroad was constructed. From looking through the windows, the house is beautiful inside and true to Victorian era architecture and design.

This incredible tree is a trumpet flower tree! The flowers truly look trumpet like.

This beautiful tree is a dwarf pomegranate tree. It literally stands at around five feet tall.

A family asked us to take photos of them and they were kind enough to snap a photo of us by the waterfall. Behind the waterfall are about hundred steps up. My mom and climbed up the steps to see the mountain top view. Because it was somewhat cloudy today when we got to the top, we couldn't see the mountains. But we were treated to a close encounter with a hummingbird.

I entitled this photo "The Happy Duck!" This duck was literally flapping around in the water, washing himself, and having a great old time.

Peacocks are beautiful but this particular one got the name of "The Pesky Peacock" today. He literally wouldn't leave me alone! After our long walk, we sat outside to have iced tea and something to eat. Throughout my entire meal he sat watching me, he put his head on the table, stared at me and was also making noises. Needless to say I gave him crackers because he wasn't taking NO for an answer. He occasionally would visit other tables, but for the most part he was by my side. I'm not sure what that says!!! The funny part about this is I felt like I was in the movie, Jurassic Park. You know when the dinosaurs are watching, following, and potentially attacking the park's guests. I found this peacock intimidating, especially when he was making noises at me. However after I fed him a ton of crackers he moved away from the patio and went to relax by a tree. This is an encounter I won't forget anytime soon.