Scarecrows and Hatters

Today was quite a full day!  We wanted to do something today because it was Saturday, and there were a few options out there.  The one that we settled on was a place that none of us had been to before, at least not entirely.

We went to the Gainesville Garden of the Atlanta Botanical Center.  The butterfly above was just one of many fluttering along outside from flower to flower.  There weren't as many flowers as there probably are earlier in the season, but there was plenty to see here, including the very reason we came by.  They had a scarecrow display here, as all along the trail there were various scarecrows made by people and organizations in the community.

We came by to check them all out.  The path wanders along, under the trees and by all sorts of different topiaries and plants, many of them carefully labeled.  It was interesting, but of course the scarecrows were what caught our attention the most.

We walked along, and there along the path in the middle of the woods would be a scarecrow like this one above.  It was actually pretty neat, this one.  The head is a gourd, as are the kittens all around.  One of the reasons we picked here today was a small gathering of venders they had near the entrance in the amphitheater.  They called it the Fall Woodland Ramble, and there were plenty of local artists and farmers there with things to share and sell.

Here's Madison with one group of beekeepers - they even let her put on the beekeeper suit!  We got some honey here, the idea being that perhaps a teaspoon of local honey each day would help Madison with her allergies.  We picked up a jar here, and we'll try that for a little bit to see how it does.

The topiaries were a lot of fun here.  There were a few frogs here, but also some other creations that you'll see below.  They all looked very nice, although it is the end of the season and I imagine these things must have an approaching expiration date.

Along the way there were plenty of places to stop and rest, although this was not the most ideal one.  For starters, have you ever tried to get up after sitting in one of these chairs?  The other thing is this:  it was really hot outside.  It was a summer sun, and the temperature was in the nineties, this being in early October.  We weren't miserable on our walk, but we were certainly glad to be walking in the shadows of the trees as we made our way through the forest path.

Until we ran into this guy!  Yikes!  Actually, it wasn't that bad of a scarecrow when you see that a lot of it is made out of metal piping.  It's almost a steampunk sort of scarecrow, although it was a bit on the creepy side.

Fortunately, there were plenty of other things that were quite beautiful along the trail.  There was a pond, for example, one with blooming flowers and lily pads, and calm, reflective surfaces.  Dragonflies and other small insects flittered about, as butterflies made their way overhead.  We could see spending more time here, just going for a walk.

Here's Madison again in one of those seats.  She enjoyed herself today, and was remembering the last time we were here.  We didn't see any of the gardens, but we were here for a wedding a couple years ago.  We had a great evening, although the weather was quite the opposite, with a sudden downpour of rain to make things interesting.  No rain today though!

Here's a scarecrow, a preacher standing in the woods, ready to share the word with passersby.  I think in all there were about twenty or so scarecrows to see, all of them scattered along the trail evenly, rather than all clumped together.  It was a good presentation, and yes, we're thinking of making our own to submit next year.  We don't do these things to compete, but rather for the fun of submitting and adding to the collection.  I say all that in the context of the upcoming art gallery we have some things submitted for.  There's a competition, but we're not in it for any prize.  Just to have stuff hanging up on a wall, or a scarecrow out there along the path... that's pretty awesome!

Here's one of the topiaries, a large completely random ogre head that sort of sat separate from the rest of the gardens.  He doesn't look happy, and we suspect the reason for this is because the rest of his body is buried underneath the ground there.

This topiary looks more at home though, right there in the pond.  From what we understand, they're building more on top of this existing area, increasing the size of the botanical garden by quite a bit.  Why they've chosen Hall County, or even this part of Hall County is a bit question mark, but we'll take it, especially if they have something like the scarecrows here.  Christmas might be interesting too - we'll have to see.

All along the area there were unique spots to pose and take pictures, which you can see here.  A stream trickled downward, and three bridges crossed over for some nice photo opportunities.

Speaking of which, look who is posing here.  This was the largest orb spider I've seen in a long time, and it had a web directly over the path, causing gasps from all those walking beneath.  Few dared to stop below with cameras, pointing directly upwards at this menacing creature.  Really, these things give me the creeps.  Let's look at something different, like another frog topiary:

Here he is.  This could be a toad, actually.  It was big, and it was resting there along the path, just sitting still.  It was camouflaged, so you sort of don't see it as it sits there, ready to suddenly strike!  Fortunately, we're not flies.  And also, it's not real, so there's that.

Ah, the lovely Madison.  She's resting on another swinging seat in the shade, a nice place we all sat down a few moments in to get some rest.  Not that we needed much rest, actually.  It's not a terribly long path, but if you take your time and enjoy it, you can spend an hour or so here.  We were at the gardens for a few hours, just because of the vendor area, looking around at weavings, artwork and honey.

Here's Madison in front of the pond in another seat.  She dressed up like a cat today because why not?    Along the way today, we did stop to get another October-themed shirt, one for our pumpkin journey coming up.  We found it online, so we went and picked it up today after the trip through the gardens here.  You'll see that shirt tomorrow.  In the meantime, let's see a few other items along the trail.

These are topiaries of pandas, of course, complete with the bamboo stalks nearby.  Madison was excited to see the pandas, obviously, and seems to be more interested in all things China of late.  In fact, she's ready to return now, a little more in her wanting to see the place where she came from.  These pandas were a nice reminder, a pleasant display there in the wooded area.

Oh my.  This is Agnes, and if you don't know who Agnes is, don't worry.  She's a ghost that lives at Pearce Auditorium at Brenau.  It's so great to see her actually recognized as a scarecrow here, as this has been somewhat of an urban legend going on for quite some time.  Apparently, Agnes is the ghost of a distraught student.  The reasons for her distress vary, although the leading reason is currently a love for a professor who in turn married someone else.  She hung herself off a diving board for a pool that was beneath the stage.  Some would argue that there was never a pool beneath the stage, and the only pool at Pearce Auditorium was too shallow for anyone to hang themselves off of.  But as we've learned this past month in national news, you never let actual facts get in the way of good acting and emotional arguments.  That being said, Agnes is real in the hearts of many who have attended Brenau, and been to the theater late at night, when all alone and all the lights are off.  What was that creaking sound?  The sudden slam of a door?  One story tells of a jar of pennies knocked off the shelf, shattered on the ground, and all the pennies landing ...face up?

Dr. Ray Stantz:  "Symmetrical book stacking.  Just like the Philadelphia Mass Turbulence of 1947."
Dr. Peter Venkman:  "You're right.  No human being would stack books like this."

It's funny how our imagination runs wild about things.  To some, Agnes is a fun story to tell, especially this time of year.  To others, Agnes is a real thing.  That in itself is scary.

Ah, here's another fun scarecrow, and one created by the youth at our church.  This is a PT Barnum scarecrow.  When Madison saw this one, she had to pose with it.  You can hear her now if you look close enough, singing, "This is the greatest show!"

Another unusual scarecrow, this one covered with all kinds of flowers.  It stood in the woods, reminding me of one of the characters of "A Wrinkle in Time."  She looks lovely here, although it is entirely possible that she got all those flowers by raiding a nearby garden.  This would explain the look on her face, as if she's just been caught!

The flowers were plentiful here at the garden.  Madison enjoyed these here, unusual ones that dangled low.  I remember Mommy posing with a few of these in Hawaii, lifting up two of the flowers as if they were an old telephone, talking into one bloom and hearing from another.  Despite the time of year, there were plenty of flowers to see and plenty of things to see as well, from scarecrows to vendors to topiaries, and even a working model train.

You pressed a button and the trains moved along the track, presumably to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.  This is located at the furthest location out along the paved walkway, although there are trails that take you further into the woods.  We didn't do those, as we had pretty much seen all the scarecrows... including these here:

We had a great time there today, and afterwards went to get some ice cream at Dairy Queen on the way back.

*** SMALL RANT ALERT ***

Sadly, this Dairy Queen on Green Street in Gainesville... didn't know how to make Blizzards either.  I mean, they had the ingredients in there, but these Blizzards just weren't prepared the right way.  This is a common occurrence with these Blizzards as of late.  The Dairy Queen in Cumming does not make good Blizzards either, nor does the one in Oakwood.  The one in Gainesville along Shallowford Road used to have a guy that could make them right, but I'm not sure if he's there anymore.  He made them the "old-fashioned" way, which is in fact the way they were originally made, which is to say "the right way."  They were mixed well, and not in a hurry, thrown together to get a line moving along.  These Blizzards nowadays, are not Blizzards anymore.

Not that what we had was disgusting or a terrible treat.  But it was disappointing yet again to have a Blizzard where the bottom half of the cup is nothing but ice cream, and the top half is nothing but the ingredients needed for that particular flavor... but not mixed up.

*** BACK TO NORMAL CONVERSATION ***

We went home after picking up that new pumpkin t-shirt, and we were ready for a few things.  Madison took a bath, and we had dinner - Mommy is amazing, by the way.  Today was a special date on the calendar though, and we couldn't let that pass by!

That's right, it's Mad Hatter Day!  We had a small tea party set up on the kitchen table, just like always.  Not like always, Mommy brought up a large caterpillar costume for Daddy, who promptly put it on for the tea party!

Who are you?  We posed for a few shots, but also had tea and cookies and muffins.  It was quick and fun, and completely mad.

Afterwards, we watched "Alice in Wonderland" once again, the Tim Burton version.  It was a nice ending to the day, just seated together on the couch watching a movie.  We read from our books afterwards, said our prayers and there were the usual zerberts and hiding places for Madison.  We went to bed on time, ready to start a new series tomorrow, and quite content with the amazing day we had today.