The 15th day of the 9th month of the year of Emergence

I remember well, a hundred years ago, that this day marked the second week of the new school year.  Woke up to 68 degrees this morning for the first time since the spring and was well aware that the seasons are a changin. 

Yesterday, instead of school and I really do wish I were that age again but knowing what I know now, I spent two hours at the Riverbank Zoo and Gardens.  Specifically the garden.  This time of year also brings about migrating butterflies and of course some resident stuff.  It was kinda cool.  No one was there and I had the place almost to my own self, as they say.  The zoo is nationally renowned and the gardens are outstanding.  Surpassed only by the Victorian gardens at the Hereford Inlet lighthouse in Anglesea, New Jersey.  Remember to double click for full screen.

I loved the way the light played through the elephant ear!

A pair of Kimodo Dragons (actually a couple of lizards) running around an oriental display.

The water feature runs the length of the gardens.

A pair of grasshoppers.

A hidden window.

A place to rest.

And I found a swallow tail.  Who knew, this was the reason to go in the first place!