Tag Archives: cacao trees

nursery…

22 Saturday Mar 2025

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had a lovely wander around The Leaf on Wednesday…

I went on my own for the first time and for anyone who knows me, that is pretty good…

the cacao trees are looking a bit sad, but most of the Tropical Biome looked good…

I spent quite some time watching the fish… they were very active swimming around the pond and a number of plants have been trimmed back so they are also much easier to see;-)…

the orchids in the Mediterranean Biome are still doing very well, with tons of blooms on them…

and the biggest surprise was the Butterfly Garden, which had more butterflies flying around than I’ve ever seen here…

zoo staff were letting a good number emerge from the nursery and there were many people admiring them as well… it is always fun to hear what the keepers have to say about the butterflies… they record each one as they release it…

then I took one last walk through the biomes as I waited for my ride…

favourite…

22 Sunday Dec 2024

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I have two favourite spots in the Tropical Biome…

I always stop and visit with the cacao trees to see how they are doing, particularly as my daughter loves to visit them when she’s in town, lol…

and then there are the koi… standing on the bridge watching them swim around is such a joyful time for me…

they move much slower at night as many of them as sleeping, but I got a nice picture of this one… it is usually difficult to get good photos because of the light reflecting in the water so I was pleased with this one…

we are truly blessed to have this wonderful spot to visit all year round;-)…

ring…

14 Thursday Nov 2024

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what a wonderful surprise I received this morning;-)…

as I was taking my poached eggs out of the water, I heard the doorbell ring… I was expecting a parcel so wasn’t surprised, but when I opened the door, my daughter was standing in front of me…

she had come to town to attend a concert with one of her friends and had planned to include a day with me;-)…

what a super treat…

we quickly booked a trip to The Leaf so she could see her beloved cacao trees… we had a great time there, checking out the trees, watching the koi, and realizing how much growth has taken place since we were last there together in June…

she was able to get a few nice shots of the koi which she shared with me.

we enjoyed time in the Yasuragi display and read up on all the bonsai, including new ones which hadn’t been there the last time I visited… the stories behind them are very interesting…

spent a few minutes with the butterflies…

it is sad that they are still in the netted enclosure and not flying freely around the space…

one last wander to see the cacao trees and koi, a bit of fun in the gift shop, and then we headed home…

some relaxing time together and then I dropped her off at the airport to head home…

I am blessed;-)…

fell…

06 Thursday Jul 2023

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had another lovely visit to The Leaf…

visited the cacao trees and took a few photos for my daughter, lol…

had a good time watching the koi and even got a few reasonable shots;-)…

met my buddies for lunch at Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar and it was tasty, as always… our server, Camille, had served us on Friday when we were there last and remembered me;-)… she did a great job to ensure our meal and time there went well…

after lunch I spent a bit more time with the fish;-)… and then sat and wrote this blog as the water fell in front of me;-)…

great way to spend time;-)…

thrilled…

04 Tuesday Jul 2023

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on Friday, before my daughter left to return home to Ottawa, we went one last time to The Leaf…

we walked through the Diversity Gardens in the daylight and were happy we went early, because the temperature was rising quickly…

we checked out the Water area and were thrilled to discover water lily blooms…

then it was on to the Tropical Biome to visit the cacao trees… while there, she provided a little education for a few visitors;-)…

some of us stayed in that spot, and the rest of us checked out the other areas… we weren’t able to see the Butterfly Garden or walk on the skywalk as they were closed for the day, but it was fun to check out both biomes…

we had an early lunch at Gather, one last visit to the cacao trees and then home to nap and finish packing for the flight…

grown…

17 Saturday Jun 2023

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Tuesday and Wednesday we spent hours at The Leaf in Assiniboine Park…

things have grown and been added since I was last there…

there was mist rising from the ground and there are now three cacao trees…

it was very exciting to see them in flower and with pods on one…

Tuesday we were there in the morning and came across some school classes and quite a few other visitors… we had a delicious lunch at Gather and went back into the biomes for a last look before heading home…

on Wednesday we went in the evening… I had hoped the lights would be on but they weren’t until after we left, lol… there were few others in the space and ample opportunities to sit quietly and reflect on the beauty of nature…

thanks to a very knowledgeable volunteer, we found the sugar cane and the dinosaur trees…

we did enjoy dessert at Gather before a quick walk through the Diversity Gardens… one treat was sitting by a fire in the Indigenous Peoples Garden…

looking forward to another visit in a few weeks… cheers;-)…

Hawaii…

30 Sunday Apr 2023

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four years ago in April, we arrived on Maui to celebrate my birthday…

I had always wanted to go to Hawaii, but never made it happen until then…

I have been enjoying the memories that have come up in my social media…

on our way into our first hotel, we spotted orchids in the lobby…

we went to the beach to watch the sun set, got our toes in the ocean, found a great spot to watch, settled in to wait, and then had this group of people walk right in front of us to get their pictures, lol…

I have the amethyst heart that I purchased on my bedside table and enjoy seeing it all the time…

one of my favourite memories is of our time at the orchid farm… a huge space bursting with the most beautiful plants, most of which were in full bloom…

it was delightful…

there were fish and sea turtles…

saw cacao trees with cacao pods on them, jacaranda trees in bloom (purple), and the most amazing banyan tree which took up an entire block…

it was an amazing time and we enjoyed every minute… it lived up to all of my expectations and then some… so lucky this happened before covid…

Maui, day five…

15 Monday Apr 2019

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today we went to Ali’i Kula Lavender… we thought it was just a lavender field but it turned out to have a whole lot of flowering plants and trees as well…

had a lovely wander around and took a few photos, lol…

from there we headed over to Maui Chocolate and Coffee Tours at Kupa’a Farms where we had a wonderful visit with Ann and Janet and Gerry… we talked about jewellery and Instagram and then we got to see cacao trees… somebody was very happy…

we saw all kinds of other trees and learned how chocolate is made, followed by a great chocolate tasting…

what a glorious afternoon…