taking advantage of the fine weather

Yesterday was such a fun family day...the Botanic Gardens for most of the day, followed by a quick rest, dinner at the local pub, and chocolate from the dairy. From start to finish Quincy was nothing but pleasant. Just a real good day.

It was the tail end of the Spring Festival at the Botanic Gardens and they were holding the national tree climbing competition. Never knew there was such a thing. There were several different events based on speed, strength, and agility.

Those climbers were seriously skilled and pretty cool to watch.

They had tree climbing for kids too. Initially Quincy observed carefully, but then at the end of the day as we were leaving the park, he surprised us by giving it a go.

Mt. Everest, here he comes.

Earlier in the week, Quincy and I went with some friends and saw the tulips. Glad we did, because they were a bit sad by yesterday. I don't think they appreciated the 160 mm of rain the other day.

Naturally, Quincy had to introduce Papa to the ducklings we discovered last time.

We paid a visit to the conservatory too, where the tapoles and lily pads were a big hit. Actually, I'm not really sure if they were tadpoles, but we'll just say they were.

Jeremy was keen to head to the top and have a look at the weather station and the planetarium, so up we climbed. And climbed.

The boy couldn't get enough of "the big gun," which incidentally is pointed pretty much straight at our house.

Then a picnic lunch, a long play on the very cool and very crowded playground, and a quick stop to feed the overfed ducks.

As we headed down, our animal lover took us on safari through Africa, Australia, and South America where we came across crocodiles, leopard tortoises, black mamba snakes, monitor lizards, wombats, platypuses, echidnas, tiger snakes, and emerald tree snakes.

What an adventure.

tulips + ducklings => the arrival of spring

We met some friends today at the Botanic Gardens for a "Senses Walk". Most of it was aimed at school-aged children, but our three-year-olds still enjoyed sniffing and touching their way around the gardens, getting a tiny taste of what it might be like to be blind.

In the rose garden we came across these little cuties, a sure and welcome sign of spring.

Quincy wanted so much to take one home.

Growing up our neighbours had Daisy Duck, who made my old paddling pool home before moving on to their in-ground pool. So, yes, it's possible. But sorry, Buddy, I think two middle-aged dogs and Harold, your pet spider,* are all the animals we can handle at the moment.

*For about two weeks Q developed a fear of insects, mainly bees, ants, and spiders. Then one day he decided he wasn't scared anymore. He lovingly named a spider he found outside Harold. Now Harold is a bit of a magic spider, as he is able to regularly change appearance. In fact, every spider found in and around our house, dead or alive, is somehow Harold. Amazing really.

spring has sprung

and our weeds need watering.