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Tag Archives: The Leaf

walkways…

23 Saturday Dec 2023

Posted by sulis303 in business, family, food, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather

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Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, biomes, blessed, dinner, evening, family, Gather Kraft Kitchen and Bar, grandson, koi, lush, moments, nature, night, plants, plastic, pond, The Leaf, walkways, widow

nearly a year to the day, we went back to The Leaf in the evening…

we ate dinner at Gather Craft Kitchen and Bar and then wandered through the biomes…

the restaurant was very busy, but we were seated by the window at a two-person table, so were quite a distance from the other diners…

we shared chorizo spiced seitan tacos, I had pork and veal meatballs, and my grandson had a fancy hamburger and everything was tasty… we decided to skip dessert and go for blizzards after our visit to the biomes…

as we wandered through the Tropical biome it was quite amazing to see how the plants have grown… the place is absolutely lush;-)… leaves fell over the walkways in a number of spots, lol…

looking down from the bridge on the third floor it was striking to see how much everything has grown…

it was the first time since that inaugural visit that I’ve been at night… unfortunately it was too dark for my Nikon so all my photos were with my iPhone… got to see some bananas, a pineapple, coffee beans and cacao pods…

it looks like the inside of the biomes have been wrapped with plastic, and the fans in the Tropical biome were blowing rather vigorously…

it was exciting to see that there were a great number of various-sized smaller koi in the pond… babies, maybe;-)…

the next post will be about the Mediterranean biome;-)…

fell…

06 Thursday Jul 2023

Posted by sulis303 in business, food, garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather

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big girl pants, blessed, cacao pod, cacao trees, fell, fish, flowers, friends, garden, Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar, koi, moments, nature, plants, The Leaf, time, waterfall, weather, widow

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

Posted by sulis303 in business, family, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, travel, Uncategorized, weather

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Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, biomes, blessed, cacao trees, Diversity Gardens, family, flowers, garden, gather, happy, lilies, moments, nature, plants, The Leaf, thrilled, water, weather, widow

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

Posted by sulis303 in business, family, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather

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Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, biomes, blessed, cacao trees, chocolate, dinosaur trees, family, flowers, food, gather, grown, happy, happy place, magical time, moments, nature, plants, quiet, The Leaf, waterfall, widow

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;-)…

elusive…

19 Sunday Mar 2023

Posted by sulis303 in business, garden, health, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather

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big girl pants, blessed, Blue Morpho, butterflies, elusive, garden, happy, moments, nature, orange, photos, Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden, sun, The Leaf, treat, walk, widow

had a fun time in the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden at The Leaf on Thursday… it wasn’t too cold outside and bright so there was lots of activity…

a fair number of people were in the space and there were many butterflies…

apparently I was enamoured with the orange ones, lol…

this little one sat and offered different poses;-)…

and, of course, I tried to catch the elusive Blue Morpho… there were quite a few of them, but what makes it elusive is that you need to catch it in flight to capture the blue colour, lol… but I did get a partial shot;-)…

at least you can see some of the blue…

spending time in this space sure does make me happy;-)…

wall…

18 Saturday Mar 2023

Posted by sulis303 in business, garden, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, Uncategorized, weather

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big girl pants, biome, blessed, flowers, garden, growth, happy, humidity, moments, nature, plants, The Leaf, trees, walk, wall, waterfall, weather, widow

had another great visit to The Leaf on Thursday…

we arrived about 10:45 am and it felt like we walked into a wall of moisture… clearly the humidity level has gone up considerably since we were last here…

there were a good number of people in the space, but it didn’t feel crowded…

the waterfall is still spilling into the walkways, but it seemed at a lesser degree…

the plants are visibly growing and are lush and bright, even on a partially overcast day…

they seemed so much happier than on my last visit, when many of them looked like they might not survive…

lots of different flowers blooming throughout both the tropical and Mediterranean biomes…


every walk through the biomes brings something different and interesting… can’t wait to see what future visits will produce…

spiral…

27 Friday Jan 2023

Posted by sulis303 in business, garden, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, technology, Uncategorized

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amaryllis, begonia, big girl pants, blessed, flowers, garden, living wall, Mediterranean biome, moments, nature, plants, spiral, Technology, The Leaf, Tyndall stone, walk, widow

enjoyed the Mediterranean biome… as soon as I enter I am reminded of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights… I think it is all the Tyndall stone, the spiral walkway, and the industrial looking steel…

the living wall is huge and amazing…

and the spiral begonia was so pretty…

the amaryllis are stunning…

it is lovely to have such a beautiful space to visit during the winter months…

gardeners…

25 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by sulis303 in business, garden, life, moments, nature, Photography, retirement, technology, Uncategorized

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Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, blessed, fans, flowers, garden, gardeners, happy, humid, moments, nature, photos, plants, pond, Technology, The Leaf, trees, tropical biome, visit, waterfall, widow

Tuesday was my third trip to The Leaf…

they are making improvements all the time… it looks like they may soon have machines so you can purchase your ticket without standing in line…

we had a lovely time walking through the biomes… it was quite warm and humid in the tropical biome and there weren’t too many people when we arrived around ten am… by the time we left, just before noon, the place was starting to fill up…

the gardeners were working in the space cleaning up fallen leaves and checking the temperatures around the various areas… had a lovely chat with one of them…

I seemed to focus on orange flowers this time;-)… and I was happy to see the coffee beans even though I don’t drink coffee, lol…

love the banyan tree and got shots of a few others… can’t wait to watch them as they grow… and I found a couple of banana trees…

the waterfall is adding a lot of humidity to the space…

got a nice shot of the other direction from just under the waterfall…

and a view from the catwalk…

looking forward to more visits and to watching the areas change and grow…

elevators…

20 Friday Jan 2023

Posted by sulis303 in business, garden, health, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized

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Assiniboine Park Conservancy, big girl pants, biomes, blessed, cacao, elevators, fish, flowers, garden, koi, moments, nature, photos, plants, pond, splash, Technology, The Leaf, time, water, waterfall, widow

spent an hour and a half wandering through The Leaf in the daytime…

we took ample time to search out the plants as we wandered through the tropical biome… and we found the cacao tree;-)…

the waterfall continues to over perform…

I am betting that there are people working very hard to figure out how to end up with less splash, lol…

I spent at lot of time on the bridge, watching the beautiful koi swimming around the pond… a lovely treat;-)…

there were a lot of people there, but it didn’t feel too crowded… we wore masks but the majority of others didn’t… since I was last in the space there have been large fans added, so there did appear to be a lot of noise, but once through the doors into the Mediterranean biome, it was quiet…

the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden was a much busier place with numerous butterflies flitting about… it is always fun to search for the ones that have landed and are blending in with the foliage… as visitors move through this area they are quiet and will sit and patiently watch the action…

there are two elevators to take you up to the canopy and the Butterfly Garden and only one was working… seems to slow the flow down a bit…

there was ample space for jackets in the coat room, many volunteers to answer questions and direct the flow of people, and lots of open space…

char…

19 Thursday Jan 2023

Posted by sulis303 in business, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, technology, Uncategorized

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arctic char, big girl pants, blessed, char, fish, food, gather, health, moments, Park, potato salad, service, The Leaf, treat, widow

went to The Leaf, had lunch at Gather Craft Kitchen and Bar, and then wandered through the biomes…

lunch was relaxed and delicious… the burger was juicy… the arctic char on potato salad was smoky with a touch of dill and very tasty…

as our food arrived we went online and purchased our tickets… wanted to be sure we didn’t have to rush our meal…

ended with chocolate mille-feuille and Earl Grey Creme Brûlée, both of which were delightful…

a sharp knife made eating the mille-feuille much easier and the spoon worked perfectly for the brûlée, lol…

we watched bus loads of folks arriving to tour the gardens as we enjoyed our lunch…

the space is comfortable, the staff attentive, and the company excellent;-)…

looking forward to the next visit…

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