I LOVED THE ARBORETUM, TOO! (Cheri)

We had planned to attend a street fair in Cary, North Carolina, near Raleigh, but decided against it when I reviewed the types of crafts that would be displayed.

I quickly consulted my ever-growing list of things to do - saved by States and regions all over the world - and we ended up at the JC Raulston Arboretum.  Since we stay at the State Fair Grounds when we are in Raleigh, this was actually within a couple of miles of us.

This quickly caught my eye:

Check out how long and BIG the above-ground roots on this tree are!

We headed into the Japanese gardens.  I've realized that one reason I really like the plants in Japanese gardens is that their rounded shapes are designed to counter-balance the shellac-hard edges of the traditional architecture, which I'm not as fond of.  Here are some of the examples I most enjoyed.

A vignette that reminded me of parts of California:

Check out the structure made out of rebar to the right of the plant here:

I'd like to have something like that.

We did have one of these, tucked into a corner just outside our home in Monterey:

One day it will probably up-end the place.  They produce babies like crazy and once placed in the corner, there is no fighting with them!

Someone took a look at the shirt Mark was wearing and commented on how appropriate it was.  I took a picture of him in it, but it didn't turn out well, so  here's a close-up of the fabric:

Unplanned, but good point!

Mark got that shirt when we went to San Miguel de Allende several years ago.  We went into a shop that had about 40 different fabrics that featured either Mexico or the desert, picked a size, and picked it up about three days later.

I later found the fabric and bought enough so that I can remake it twice.  I figure he's not likely to wear the shirt out more than three times in his lifetime.

I think I've mentioned before, I'm always on the lookout for texture when out and about:

One of these days I'm going to start making some landscape quilts that I can bring texture . . . just bought a fabulous fabric for a rusted roof the other day!

Finally, a couple of shots of the back of the Arboretum, near the test gardens:

including this detail-view: