Gainesville Botanical Gardens at Christmas

 We went back to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens again, and instead of going to see scarecrows, this time we were there to see Christmas trees.  There was one specifically we were there to see, one that Ye-Ye, Nana and Mom made the ornaments for and then decorated.  My mom was over at the house, so she tagged along with us for a walk through the gardens, and it was a beautiful day as far as weather goes.  Let's cut to the chase and show the tree they worked on, and a several of the ornaments they made as well!

Here's the tree.  It's number ten, so it's a good ways in this time.  It has a nice look to it, and the ornaments seem to have lasted through a few bits of bad weather, although there's a good windstorm coming up soon.  Today was a good day to go check it out for more reasons than that, one of them being the perfectly beautiful weather outside.

Here are two of the creators of the ornaments posing with their tree.  Another couple had come by and saw us there, and they actually had Mom and Nana pose for a picture with them as well.  They did a great job with this tree. 

Here are a few of the close-ups of some of the ornaments, painted cut-outs of woodland creatures on round slices of branches.  They added some greenery to the ornaments to so that things looked a bit less three dimensional.  They turned out great though.

The next few shots are ones we took that are close-ups of the handmade ornaments on this tree.  Each one turned out really well, and we were repeatedly expressing how amazed we were at how things turned out to Nana.  She said there have been a few people wanting to purchase the ornaments already.  Maybe there's a bit of a Christmas business in the future, huh?

They all turned out nicely, and we sat there admiring the tree from different angles for a few moments, talking about all the work that went into the ornaments, and how it turned out.   

This ornament is going to be popular with the squirrels!  It's kind of funny given my dad and mom's ongoing war with the squirrels in the backyard and their attempts at getting all the bird food.

They don't have any problems with moose though.  At least I don't think they do!

Anyway, they did a great job with the tree!  We spent a few hours here today, walking through the grounds  and looking at all the other trees decorated by various local businesses and individuals like my parents.  The five of us had a great time!  

Winter tree

An Elf Tree

A tree themed to Gabriel and his announcement in the Bible.

A Patriotic Tree

A close-up of the top of a tree with gourds, and an owl.

Flowers were still in bloom at the gardens.

A nice tree nearby the blooming plants.

More flowers to see.

Mom and Nana walking along, talking.  Nana really enjoyed it!

Close-up of a bird on an ornament.  This tree had lots of birds painted on it.

This was a hiking themed tree, complete with a compass.

Fruit slices and organic decorations.

Madison takes a break on the swinging seat.

A leaf floats on the nearby pond.

The pond was calm and reflective.

Fairies topped a tree near the children's play area.

Madison takes a few pictures - you'll see them in a moment!

Madison is back on top of the dragon, taking a break.

Mom's reflection in one of the ponds.

Mom and I made turkeys with the hand painting area.

The train was still in operation, going down the tracks.

Madison and Nana at the children's area, in front of the big frog!

Nana and Mom enjoyed the afternoon on the grail.

Nana loves seeing the flowers and gardens.

Another picture from the pond, a bright red floating leaf against the darkened water.

As you saw, Madison was taking pictures too.  It is easy to take pictures at these gardens.  The next pictures you'll see here are from Madison's walk along the garden, taken with her cell phone camera.  

We had a nice afternoon together, and were there pretty much until closing time, which is a little earlier in the winter.  It was a good day - we also made a trip over to the library to pick up a few old movies, plus a new book for Madison.  She's reading "Allegiant" now, the third book in the series of books she's been into lately.  Book four is coming up afterwards, and it has a pretty creative name:  "Four." 

Tonight we watched a Christmas double feature: "The Santa Clause" and "The Santa Clause 2."  Both are historical gems.  With Nana here, we seem to watch movies a bit more, but at the Christas season, that's alright, as we have so many of them.  We're a little concerned, however, as we're going through 'em pretty fast this year!

Anyway, I was studying my lines a bit for the script tomorrow.  And we finished up the first adventure of Nicholas St. North.  We may do some more in this book series, but it really does set up a viewing of "The Rise of the Guardians" for us.  

Anyway, it was a full day, and a good one.  We said our prayers tonight, and tried to keep Nana's spirits up.  It's been difficult though.  Still, beautiful days like this are nice.