Saturday, May 18, 2013

Empire Mine & Gardens


We started the day with a walk to the duck pond, where we saw several young goslings with their parents.  We had bread and crackers, and they came quite close, as you can see in this video.  I did not know I was taking a video (thinking I was snapping individual pictures) until part way through--thus the beautiful shots of the grass at my feet and the finger over the lens...



We next went to the Empire mine state Park, set on the beautiful grounds designed and built by the same family that built Filoli.  Although well known for its heirloom rose garden, there are many lovely garden areas on the grounds.


Laura and I were busily snapping pictures of bees and other pollinators, since I needed to re-stock my pictures for use with the non-profit North Coast Resource Conservation & Development Council that supports pollinator habitat, among other things.



These flying insects are difficult to capture because by the time I manage to focus on them, they fly to another flower.  

Along the way we encountered other wildlife, including this frog and lizard:





The grounds were lovely, and among the loveliest was this tree which was highly scented, and covered with delicate cascades of white blossoms:

 
We did not tour the mine area today but on a prior year we enjoyed a wonderful time on Mother's Day when docents were in costume and portrayed characters of the time.

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