as you enter the Mediterranean biome there are dozens of amaryllis in various stages… some nearly done, while others are fully open… many with multiple petals…
absolutely gorgeous…
and then you step into the Babs Asper display area… twelve hundred orchids in one place;-)… heaven…
the Blooms in Winter display is so lovely, a perfect place to enjoy the beauty of orchids…
there are a number of arches to walk through and benches to sit on and enjoy the views…
first I spent time at the registration desk where they had to make me a new card as mine had stopped working… apparently the website has been misbehaving a bit, so hopefully the new card will solve that issue;-)…
then we went through the biomes… there were a number of baskets of orchids throughout the Tropical biome…
very humid, and it was obvious that there had been a serious trim and thinning of many of the plants…
the cacao trees had been cutback and all the pods have been removed…
the koi were very active… while we were there one of the zoo keepers came along and fed them… clearly the fish were waiting for them, lol…
the dwarf banana is just starting with a new set of banana fingers…
my housemate pointed out the difference between the dwarf and regular bananas… the dwarf has the banana fingers coming out of the flower, whereas the full-size banana has a flower at the end and the fingers below…
there are always subtle changes in the Tropical biome each time I visit;-)…
had trouble staying focussed on my book on Wednesday as there was a lot of activity across the way…
two workers spent the entire morning stringing a new wire…
it was so cold I felt bad for them, but they seemed comfortable as I watched…
the most interesting thing was what appeared to be a torpedo shaped object which one person pulled along the line… I think it was winding the new wire around the old ones…
my beloved would have been able to tell me exactly what it was and how it worked, lol…
but, all of those goings-on really made it hard to concentrate on my book;-)…
for the last few weeks it has been telling me that it is figuring out the best way to be eco friendly for the winter season…
at bedtime it goes down to 16.5°C instead of the 18° where I want it to be…
although at night that isn’t such a problem, lol…
during the day, if I sit reading for too long, it drops the temperature by a couple of degrees… makes it rather chilly when it is cold, sigh…
a few nights ago, we changed a few things and it appears that it has made a difference… it looks like it won’t go below 21°C during the day;-)… woohoo…
had a great time preparing for a visit from a dear friend…
dug out some shortbread from the freezer, a few Russian Mints… and put out the pistachios in their special dish, which hasn’t been out since before covid…
we had a lovely visit and even did some learning with one of our social media platforms…
always fun to learn something new, and spend time with important people in my life;-)…
it had been warm during the day and there were a ton of icicles over the tub, so I sat in the opposite corner from usual so nothing could fall onto my head, lol…
as I stepped outside I could hear the ice crystals falling so I grabbed my cap to protect my glasses…
it was a bit chilly for anything above the water as the ice crystals continued to fall…
I am still having trouble with the Ring light, which I have to turn off from the garage, no matter what I try on the app…
I was out for quite a while and when I came inside I realized how much snow had come down, lol…
went from home to Total Wrapture spa for pedicures, then on to San Vito for lunch, followed by a return trip home from Foodfare…
it was the perfect day for it as it was very cold, snowy, and windy…
one of the vehicles had automatic sliding doors, which was kind of fun…
after being trained in the process of ordering the ride, and other information on the app, I tried to sign up for it, but it was using my old email address, so we have to get that sorted out and then I will try it on my own…
a great experience, particularly with how quickly they pick you up after contacting them…