The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

The sky above the gardens this day matched my mood, but it also kept the afternoon from becoming too hot. Seventy-eight acres of natural woodland and wide open meadows returned my gaze at the entrance, and I had never before seen such a spectacular field of California poppies staring right back at me.

Having never visited, I had my expectations. But as The Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens website explains, the native garden is not "just another place with open space and pretty flowers."  

It is the sort of place to wander: an invitation to meditation, or education, or both. And almost involuntarily, I gave myself over.

We had gone on a whim, as some of the best jaunts begin. The parking was impossible. Why so busy on a random Wednesday morning?

Turns out it was Senior Day with no entrance fee! But as we moved past the entering crowd, the winding paths and secret spaces opened themselves up.

I was eager to capture the variety and detail...

but this less than sharp photo makes me want to try my hand at an impressionistic painting!

However, no picture can capture the scent nor the stillness; a peace broken only by the trickle of water, the call of a bird, or one's lone thoughts. . . .

"Granny's Bench"

Oxalis

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth."

Henry David Thoreau

Peace to you in all your wanderings,

Jacqueline